South by South West 2009, better known as SXSW, one of the largest, most influential and anticipated music conferences and festivals in the US, will for the first time host an Indian band. An amalgamation of artistes and those working behind the scenes in the music business, 2009's edition of the SXSWeek 2009 begins on 13 March in Austin, Texas.

This year, an Indian band - 'Ashu', comprising members of music duo Ashu-Dhruv's troupe will perform at SXSW 2009. Prior to 'Ashu', Delhi based 'Menwhopause' had performed at the festival. "The organisers happened to check out our music on our myspace page and they liked it - we were quite lucky," says a modest Ashu Phatak, who recently scored the music for the Goldie Behl directed Hindi film Drona.

After releasing an album, Sigh of an angel in October this year, the band is already out doing free promotional gigs in metropolises all over India. "This is our first 'tour' and the response has been really good, we are promoting 'Sigh of an angel'- It's a good way to promote and let music lovers know about your work," adds Ashu. "We are also planning a US tour."

Speaking on the opportunities that such festivals offer, Ashu says, "SXSW is a huge platform for any musician since promoters, producers and talent buyers looking for new music and talent visit the place, you get exposed to the right people from the industry." Media around the globe is also known to cover the event extensively. Last year, SXSW drew 12,651 music industry professionals for compelling panels, industry discussions, demo listening sessions, trade show exhibits, and five nights of music by more than 1,800 acts hailing from 42 different countries, performing in over 80 venues in Austin.

Some of the well known artistes to have performed there are The Ting Tings, REM, Salvador Santana and Serj Tankien of System of a Down to name a few. 2009 would be the 23rd consecutive year of the Festival and Conference. The official website reads, "We will showcase more music from the best new talent and established artists alike, provide more opportunities to network, have more unique panels and artist interviews – in short, will offer even compelling reasons to make Austin a must-be-there destination in March" SXSW sponsors include Dell Lounge, Miller Lite, Sonicbids - a Web site that helps bands gigs and FUZE At FUZE a health beverage company.

Indian bands are finally getting the recognition outside the country. Prior to this tour, Ashu along with Shaa'ir + Func had performed at the Melkweg Cultural Centre in Amsterdam as part of the Amsterdam-India festival. While on their visit, Shaa'ir + Func reportedly made on to the cover of Dutch magazine! Similarly, The Raghu Dixit Project recently concluded a four country international mini-tour as part of an Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) promotion.

Corrigendum

The story earlier reported that 'Ashu' is the first band to play at SXSW. It should have been 'Menwhopause' who were the first to play at the festival. We regret the error.