by Maggie Adams

The Olivia Management team flew to Austin last week to accompany our very own Secret Sisters as they made their debut at SXSW. If I were to describe the whole week in three words it would be: exhausting yet productive! The girls had a jam-packed schedule with five showcases in total (two of which were official SXSW showcases presented by the Americana Music Association and New West Records) and at least two promo events each day, some of which including short sets for radio. That meant singing up to 2 or 3 times a day! The girls maintained their stamina with incredible Austin eateries, a lot of caffeine and a trusty rental car to carry them through the congested SXSW traffic. Check out the gallery of our trip below!

Radio interview with The Current!

Check out Minnesota's public radio station The Current at thecurrent.org

CLIF Bar + Noisetrade + PledgeMusic showcase

The Secret Sisters SXSW debut showcase at The Blackheart.

Americana Showcase

The girls killed their harmonies at their first official SXSW showcase which took place at Cooper's BBQ in downtown Austin. Thanks Americana Music Association!

artsy beer shot

In Erin's words, the Lone Star is the fancy PBR of Austin and it's "freely flowing" everywhere at SXSW. Artsy photo cred to Erin Anderson.

KUTX session

Austin's incredible station KUTX 98.9 did a short, but gorgeous session with the girls. Check them out at kutx.org

Americana Showcase

Another great shot of the official SXSW Americana showcase

Twangfest at The Broken Spoke

This was a really fun show, not only because it was packed, but also because The Broken Spoke has a lot of old western character. There was an amazing lineup that day which included one of The Secret Sisters' new favorites - High Plains Jamboree.

Radio Coffee & Beer

As a newbie to Austin, I thoroughly enjoyed discovering sweet, local cafes like this one. Yes, it's just a picture of a coffee cup, but a quick google search will show you the sunny vibes of this gem.

Luck Reunion

This beaut is from Willie Nelson's ranch. I was internally fan-girling this whole night. Keyword *internally* because I'm a professional woman and we must keep our giddiness to a minimum when on the job.

Luck Reunion

If you ever get a chance to go to this, I highly recommend you do! Quite magical.

Collings Guitars

We were able to visit the Collings Guitar factory and see the beautiful hand-made guitars in various stages of their creation.

Collings Guitars

We were able to visit the Collings Guitar factory and see the beautiful hand-made guitars in various stages of their creation.

Slacker Radio

The girls had a great session with Slacker Radio on Friday afternoon.

Brooklyn Country Cantina at Licha's Cantina

At the girls last show of SXSW, there was a large crowd, and a responsive one at that. A wonderful and energetic close to the week.

TACOS

Austin is to tacos as Nashville is to hot chicken. These were the best tacos I've ever had, made by a sweet and talented Austin local who hosted us during The Secret Sisters' session with KUTX. He slow cooked the pork for over 24 hours...it was heaven.

Check out what other people said about The Secret Sisters' SXSW debut below!

American Songwriter - Lynne Margolis
Tucson Weekly - Danyelle Khmara
Riverfront Times - Roy Kasten

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