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Best of the Fests: This is music festival season in Texas. Musicians everywhere are taking time out of their recording and touring schedules to gear up for days and days of performances, sounding through both the open air and the dark smoke-filled regions of our state. Of course the South by Southwest music fest gets underway this week. The festival, held in Austin, may be the largest in the country and offers a great opportunity for the interested to discover new bands from Texas and around the world. I noted quite a few groups venturing from Dublin, Tokyo, and London this year, and I'm not talking about the Texas counterparts of these cities. Nevertheless, SXSW really remains a Texas festival, and the people who book the showcases deserve credit for keeping the list heavy with Texas groups. I'm not going to bother listing all the notable bands coming to town in this space, so if you're curious, check out the schedule yourself at the SXSW homepage.
Other festivals in April are worth marking on your calendar. The Old Settlers Music Festival in Round Rock, April 3 & 4, will feature an acoustic set by Grammy-winner Shawn Colvin as well as Lubbock native Jimmie Dale Gilmore and some of his friends. Out-of-state bluegrass stars Bela Fleck and Jerry Douglas will also come to town. A Tribute to the Golden Era of Country Music with western swing legends Hank Thompson and the Brazos Valley Boys and Dale Watson will take place on April 4 at the Bronco Bowl. And Houston's International Festival, April 18 - 26, will bring Denton's polka stars Brave Combo and spirited rockers The Old '97s (from Dallas) as well as an "international" component including reggae great Burning Spear. Also look out for the Bowie Street Blues Fest in San Antonio featuring W.C. Clark and the Blues Review. 
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On the record: Michael Fracasso World in a Drop of Water (Bohemia Beat): You believe Michael Fracasso when he belts out the declarative opening lines of the first song, "Hospital:" "Don't ask me about the ever after/ I'm living in the here and now." This third album from the Austin singer-songwriter is his cleanest, most seamless offering yet, and though Fracasso sings of living in the moment, the songs have a timeless feel to them. He delivers a throwback quality with Orbison-like singing on the upbeat "Started on the Wrong Foot," and the folksy "Gold." His ultra-sincere, clear-throated voice is perfectly matched with his intelligent songwriting and the album features superb guitar playing and instrumentals as supplied by backup musicians, including Charlie Sexton, who also produced the CD. (And he did a fine job, I might add. It's got a great sound).
The Hunger Cinematic Superthug (Universal): Houston brothers Jeff and Thomas Wilson, both vocalists and keyboard players, began playing with bassist Brian Albritton in 1991 and issued the self-produced single,"Never Again." Adding guitarist and drummer Max Schuldberg, the band now finds itself at the moment of the release of its fourth album -- its first on a nationwide label. The style here is what I've heard called "Techno-Rock" and has the distorted power guitar riffing of hard rock mixed with techno drums and synthesizers to give it an edgy, rave-like feel. I may be crazy, but it all sounds kind of eighties to me and the songs -- titles like "Hey God," "Whore," and "Anarchy" -- are offered with an all-too-heartfelt Billy Idolish sneer. The band is metronome tight and as singers, the Wilsons possess these kind of pre-fab rock voices that complete the paradigm. I imagine that there are a great deal of teen rockers out there who will eat this stuff up.
