Following the release of our second EP Always last November, 2014 has been an exciting year for Panama. Starting the year off playing Field Day, followed by a national tour, it also saw us take to foreign shores for our first international run of shows. Here’s some brief words and imagery to help better describe my experience.
South by South West, for any band, is a valuable and exhilarating experience. You have the chance to showcase your music to an international audience of music industry professionals and music lovers a-like. A week jammed with tonnes of live music, breakfast tacos, chicken tacos, BBQ, bean tacos, dancing, beer, burritos, some more live music, and sometimes… sleep.
Although SXSW takes place all over Austin, its main hub is along 6th street. If you could just imagine the main street in your city for a second… then imagine every single shop/bar/car-garage fitted out with a stage and sound system. And from mid-day till the wee hours of the morning, music blares out of every crevice. And as the day grows older, the crowds grow, and the lines grow, and the vibe grows, and then once again, the city is alive with people from all around the world drinking and dancing and enjoying live music.
Tom and I getting the standard 6th Street shot.
Being so close to Mexico, it is known that Austin is home to some quality cuisine. Cuisine that I had been looking forward to for quite some time. So naturally, upon arrival into Texas, our first port of call (after a hotel check-in) was a big family feast with some friends that were also attending SXSW. Followed by a short bar-hop to whet our appetite for the week to come.
South by South West would see us perform 5 shows during our time there. Our first show was at #PMAVILLAGE on Rainey Street (My favourite street of venues, pictured below on the left…).
We forgot to grab coffee, so it only seemed appropriate we start the day with tequila…
Personally, my highlight of the trip was our performance at the Soundcloud venue. We had no expectations pre-show, but the moment we walked on stage, the atmosphere was electric.
The Aussie BBQ // Maggie Maes – 323 E 6th St // 15.05.14 (Check out more photos from this event HERE)
There is so much to discover at South by South West, not only your new possible favourite band, but maybe your new favourite type of food. Maybe even your new favourite beverage or clothing store?! I how ever, discovered my new favourite human at 3am in the morning.
It was an absolute pleasure being able to experience this great event once again, and I can only encourage anyone reading this to consider this one for your bucket list!
Photos, Videos and Article by Tim Commandeur.
Learn more about the band:
– www.facebook.com/wearepanamatheband
– http://wearepanamatheband.com/
– www.facebook.com/timcommandeurofficial
