Three more days, and we will be in Austin, Texas for this year’s SXSW.  I don’t know what to expect when we get there. I’m pretty sure it will overload my senses. I’m discovering cool showcases everyday I want to check out, and cover, but the showcase that will be presented by Wax Poetics and Dubspot has a great purpose.  The showcase is called Funk Aid for Africa and Haiti. The purpose is to raise awareness  and funds for Africa and Haiti.

This official SXSW showcase will donate its proceeds to charities NextAid, whose mission is to improve the lives of African children affected by the AIDS crisis, and SOIL, which promotes disaster recovery in Haiti and sustainability as a solution to poverty.

We are also fortunate enough to have Maker’s Mark graciously matching all donations up to $5,000 made at this Funk Aid event.

The lineup is amazing. Check it out.

Adrian Younge & the Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra (LA, CA)
Ocote Soul Sounds (Austin, TX)
Chico Mann (Jersey City, NJ)
Jovi Rockwell (Kingston, Jamaica)
Grimy Styles (Austin, TX)
Keys N Krates (Toronto, ON, Canada)
Brownout (Austin, TX)

DJ sets provided by:

DJ Obah (NYC)
DJ Rich Medina (Philadelphia, PA)
DJ J. Boogie (San Francisco, CA)
DJ Chicken George (Austin TX)
DJ Smiles Davis (LA, CA)

One of the coolest part of SXSW I’m looking forward to besides the music portion is the interactive portion. There are some really cool panels that will be going on in Austin. Check out some of the panels via my schedule for SXSW. For example, there is a panel called Hyperlocal Focus: Growing A Vibrant Community Media Ecosystem.  The panel is about how to engage local content creators and build a vibrant media community.  Of course participating in all these panels can work up an appetite; therefore, a crew of Milwaukeeans have put together a Beer & Brat bash.  No offense Austin, but Milwaukee know how to do beer and brats better than anyone in this country.

The event will be on Tuesday, March 16th from 12:30 to 3:30pm at Cedar Door Austin. They will be serving a hearty lunch of authentic grilled Milwaukee bratwurst, Milwaukee beer, potato salad and cookies to top off the meal. The Cedar Door in Austin (http://www.cedardooraustin.com/)will prepare our food, and serve beer (2 beer drink tickets per person) and soda for 3 hours on their sunny patio (The Cedar Door has indoor space should it rain on Tuesday). For more details, visit the Milwaukee Beer & Brat Bash Facebook event page.