Legendary Austin music festival South By Southwest will be hosting its third annual "K-Pop Night Out" showcase Thursday, March 19, at the Elysium Nightclub. Presented by the Korea Creative Content Agency, the showcase features performances by a selection of South Korean pop artists, with this year's bill including Hitchhiker, Epik High (pictured above), Crayon Pop, The Barbarettes, Asian Chairshot, EE and Eastern Sidekick.
Though the term K-pop may suggest that all these artists fall under the same genre of music, "K-Pop Night Out" boasts quite a diverse selection. SXSW describes Epik High as the group responsible for "bringing hip-hop to the mainstream in Korea," while Eastern Sidekick is described as "an edgier Korean version of The Strokes." Other styles of music that are being represented at the showcase include girl group pop (Crayon Pop, The Barbarettes), alternative rock (Asian Chairshot) and bizarre dance music (EE, Hitchhiker).
Artists who performed at last year's "K-Pop Night Out" showcase included Hyuna, Jay Park, Crying Nut, Nell, Kiha and the Faces, Idiotape and Jambinai. Performers at the 2013 showcase included The Geeks, Yi Sung Yoi, Guckkasten, No Brain, Jeong Cha Sik, Galaxy Express and F(x).
The film and interactive portions of South By Southwest begin March 13, while the music portion of the festival runs from March 17 to 22. Among the biggest acts performing at this year's festival include Thee Oh Sees, Swervedriver, The Pop Group, Courtney Barnett, Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts, Gang of Four, The Cribs, AWOLNATION and Twin Shadow. You can check out the official SXSW line-up here.
You can purchase badges for SXSW 2015 through the festival's website.
You can check out the totally strange music video for Hitchhiker's "11" here:
Are you a fan of K-pop? What do you think of these artists? Let us know down in the comments section.
