By Chip Chandler — Producer
More than two dozen touring bands and several Amarillo favorites will be in the spotlight over the next two weeks at a trio of San Jacinto-area bars.
The annual SXSanJac Music Festival — previously SXSWhat? — will feature 25 bands on their way to and from South by Southwest in Austin between March 9 and 24.
"For years we’ve been hosting SXSWhat? here at The 806, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to host anywhere from 30-40 bands over a two- or three-week period," 806 owner Jason Barrett said.
The festival has been a hit for years, said Leftwoods booker Branden Mann.
"I fell in love with this years ago, when (during) the week of spring break, I could walk down from the Nat to the 806 and see some of the best indie bands in America for free," Mann said.
So, beginning last year, The 806 Coffee + Lounge, Golden Light Cantina and Leftwoods joined forces "in order spread the love, diversify the genres we’re able to host and not try to pack multiple bands into a small coffeehouse each night," Barrett said.
"The San Jacinto bar families have always loved working together," Mann said. "In lieu of competing, we all can do better if we work together to keep 6th Street the coolest place to be in Amarillo."
The additional venues along Historic Route 66 called for a new name, Barrett said.
"We felt (the name) SXSJ was more representative of our efforts to bring all these great SXSW bands through Amarillo every year and expose them to various crowds," he said.
The three venues also will offer SXSJ Cards for $10, entitling bearers to drink specials and some freebies at each club from March 9 to 25, Barrett said.
FM90, our sister radio station, is the official media sponsor of the festival and plans to feature some of the bands in in-studio performances. Tune in or watch its Facebook page for more details.
The lineup (which is subject to change) includes:
March 9
- Amarillo-based Americana act Brian Wynne & The Radio Band at Golden Light Cantina, 2906 S.W. Sixth Ave.
- Denver-based experimental folk band Ponder the Albatross at Leftwoods, 2511 S.W. Sixth Ave.
March 10
- Amarillo indie rock band The Wookies at The 806 Coffee + Lounge, 2812 S.W. Sixth Ave.
- Los Angeles-based psychedelic soul band The Marias at Golden Light Cantina
- Amarillo rock band Jen Williams & The Pottymouths at Leftwoods
March 12
- Bellingham, Wash.-based indie band The Co Founder and Seattle indie band Special Explosion at The 806 Coffee + Lounge
March 13
- Colorado Springs-based punk-bluegrass band Tejon Street Corner Thieves with Colorado rock bands Pink Fuzz (formerly Bandits) and The Velveteers at Golden Light Cantina
March 14
- L.A.-based electronic band Amera at The 806 Coffee + Lounge
- Denver-based one-man band Randall Conrad Olinger at Leftwoods (free show)
March 15
- Atlanta-based Americana singer-songwriter Reverend Hylton at The 806 Coffee + Lounge
- Albuquerque funk band Merican Slang and reggae band Mondo Vibrations at Leftwoods
March 16
- Lubbock psychedelic band Indica Children at The 806 Coffee + Lounge
- Rocker Tino Drima at 8:30 p.m. and Georgia-based country band Few Miles South at 10 p.m. at Golden Light Cantina
- L.A.-based hip-hop artist Abstract Rude at Leftwoods
March 17
- Seattle-based rock bands Emma Lee Toyoda and Hardly Boys at The 806 Coffee + Lounge
- Red Dirt act The Charlie Hickman Band at Golden Light Cantina
- Amarillo rockers Piles of Potential and The Bastard Sons of David Hasselhoff at Leftwoods
March 18
- European indie-folk band Sleepwalker's Station at The 806 Coffee + Lounge
March 19
- Seattle rock band McGee & The Lost Hope at The 806 Coffee + Lounge
March 20
- Multimedia performing arts rock group Al1ce at The 806 Coffee + Lounge
- New York indie band A Deer A Horse with Amarillo goth-punk band Deathbelles at Golden Light Cantina
March 21
- Acoustic singer-songwriter Roger Wendover at Leftwoods
March 23
- Indie-rock duo TGTG at The 806 Coffee + Lounge
- Amarillo country band Agave Posse Band at Golden Light Cantina
March 24
- Amarillo-based indie rock band Mount Ivy at The 806 Coffee + Lounge
- Amarillo-based Americana band Eddie & The Eat at Golden Light Cantina
Cover charge is $5 for Golden Light and Leftwoods shows (except as noted). Suggested donations are $3 for solo shows and $5 for duo shows at The 806.
Chip Chandler is a producer for Panhandle PBS. He can be contacted at Chip.Chandler@actx.edu, at @chipchandler1 on Twitter and on Facebook.
