Sounds From Spain will kick-off the SXSW festivities with a showcase at Esthers Follies, 525 East 6th at Red River, on March 18 featuring La Habitacion Roja, Los Coronas (with special guest Depedro), Nacho Vegas, SFDK, The Right Ons, and Underwater Tea Party.  On Thursday, March 19, Sounds From Spain will repeat the highly successful paella party at Brush Square Park open to all badge holders from 4:30pm to 8:30pm and accompanied by live music from the showcasing bands.  An invitation-only Latin networking and wine-tasting event will be held on the Sounds From Spain stand in the Austin Convention Center on Wednesday, March 18 from 4pm to 5pm.  There will be a further opportunity to meet the Spanish music companies at the Spanish International Speed Dating session in the Convention Center on Wednesday, March 18 from 1:30 to 2:30pm.

This years showcasing bands represent the wide spectrum of talent to be found in Spains vibrant music scene:  La Habitacion Roja has toured in Mexico several times and has appeared on VIVE LATINO, a festival that features Latin Americas hottest rock bands such as Babasonicos and Los Lobos.  Their current CD Quando yà no quede nada was produced by Nirvana producer Steve Albini.

Los Coronas have forged a name for themselves with their distinctive blend of surf-tinged atmospheric twang and are widely recognized as Spains best instrumental surf band.  Their most recent album, El baile final, mixes musical influences from Mexico and the Southern US into their rockn roll surf power.

A singer-songwriter in the classic indie-rock tradition, Nacho Vegas absorbs the influences of the likes of Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt and Nick Drake and uses them to create a distinctive, minimalist sound.  Vegass songs relate the stories of bittersweet characters and their complex lives with irony, humor and longing.

In the wake of Spanish hip hop mega-star Mala Rodriguezs SXSW 2008 success, Sounds From Spain will present rappers SFDK, one of the most impressive acts in the current Spanish music scene and the biggest-selling independent act of 2008.    Along with chart-topping CD sales, the hip-hop duo boasts a string of sold out shows across Latin America and their own clothing line, Lealty, as well as production credits on many other influential hip hop recordings. SFDK will also play the SXSW Daystage in the Austin Convention Center at 5pm on Friday, March 20.

In 2008, Esquire Magazine hailed The Right Ons, who sing in English, as one of the highlights of the SXSW festival.  Musically situated somewhere between funk, soul and garage rock, the infectious sound of The Right Ons is kind of music the wife of James Brown would play for the kids.  Their new album Look inside, now! will be released shortly on 2 Fer Records.