Austin, Texas — March 7, 2023 — Chicken Ranch Records (CRR) is excited to announce the details for their festival event week of March 12 – 17, 2023, including a day party and guitar battle contest on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at Hole in the Wall (2538 Guadalupe St), and culminating in an official South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals showcase on Friday, March 17, 2023 at Valhalla (710 Red River St. Austin, TX).
Comedian, author (multiple books, GQ, NY Times), musician (Valley Lodge, Painted Doll, DiamondSnake with Moby) and all-around cultural bon vivant Dave Hill (named one of Ten Comics To Watch by Variety) will host the evening activities of the CRR day party, RANCH x CHICKEN RANCH (RXCR23), starting 12 NOON on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at Hole in the Wall (2538 Guadalupe St.).
This festival-within-a-festival will include performances from more than 30 artists, special guest appearances, surprises, swag and an epic, day-long guitar battle. Here are the artists:
Dave Hill, Peelander Z, Civic (AU), The Bad Ends, Caleb De Casper, The Waymores, JM Stevens, Chris Canterbury, Mr. Lewis & The Funeral 5, Adwaith, The Brown Goose, Izzy Heltai, Walter Daniels & the Del Valle Trustees, Brad Byrd, Danny and the Stools, Souls Extolled, Kentaro Saito’s Project Bazooka, Transy Warhol, Boscomujo, Venus Twins, Desert Mambas, Tom Markey, Ava Maybee, Dropper, Sonnet Noel, Makeshift Tapedeck, JK Webb, Tosha Hill, Broken Gold (acoustic), Siamese Bikes, Sasquatch Slim, Cody Bolden, Thee PQs: Near Beer, GODCOCK!
The evening’s entertainment is eclectic to say the least, with country, punk, synth pop rock and then some from all over the world and beyond. In fact, “Japanese Action Comic Punk band hailing from the Z area of Planet Peelander” Peelander Z, headlines the show because nobody wants to follow their legendary joyfully raucous live show. Other highlights include Australian rock-and-roll quintet Civic, who were named “Melbourne’s New Kings of Wild Rock And Roll” by Vice Magazine. Whereas the Athens, GA-based The Bad Ends are led by Mike Mantione of Athens cult-favorite Five Eight and though regular drummer Bill Berry (of REM fame) will not be with them, John Q. Swint of the Modern Skirts will. Either way, this is a supergroup that brings the jangle pop anthems of angst, acceptance and hope we need today.
CRR is equally proud to present artists from their own roster, like queer, electro-glam rocker Caleb De Casper, whose notoriously theatrical live shows have groupies and press calling him “a superstar” more times than we can count or the iconic Opry-esque harmonies of The Waymores, the Atlanta-based husband and wife duo described by American Songwriter as a “rebooted incarnation of Conway and Loretta, Porter and Dolly, and Johnny and June.” Then there’s singer-songwriter JM Stevens who creates music in the vein of “sweet spot of pop-rock represented by guys like Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne,Tom Petty and others.” (Ditty TV) Stevens pairs well with the soulful, haunting country of critically-lauded Chris Canterbury of Nashville. And no CRR day party in 2023 would be complete without Mr. Lewis & The Funeral 5, who dish out “cabaret-style rock from Austin, Texas (that) doth make a critic’s heart bound a little faster.” (Pop Matters).
Throughout the day, guests and event-goers of RXCR23 will be encouraged to take part in a casual (yet no holds barred) player-vs-player guitar battle dubbed Licks That Kill. Players of all styles and levels can pick, pluck and finger-tap their way to ultimate fret supremacy, win CRR merch and prizes, and be eligible to take part in an end-of-evening face-off between host Dave Hill’s team of selected shredders and a team of contestants assembled by Peelander Yellow, frontman for Peelander Z.
For those of us who perhaps prefer concert events with less than 40,000 acts on stage, CRR has also curated a charcuterie board of sonic delights with their official SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST 2023 SHOWCASE, starting 7:30 PM on Friday, March 17, 2023 at Valhalla (710 Red River St. Austin, TX); featuring Peelander Z, Caleb De Casper, Mr. Lewis & The Funeral 5, Austin indie rockers Broken Gold (who boast members of Band of Horses, Riverboat Gamblers, Fastball, Alejandro Escovedo and more), and full-band performances from The Waymores and JM Stevens.
