Morning live-music broadcasts from downtown hotels with stations such as KUTX and KGSR have long been a big part of SXSW week. But a nice new addition the past two years has been Sun Radio’s afternoon broadcasts from El Mercado Backstage.
A fundraising event for the Americana-oriented public station, the series began Tuesday and ran through Saturday, with a nice mix of hometown favorites who sometimes guest at the club’s popular “Mystery Monday” series and out-of-town performers adding day gigs to their official SXSW showcase itineraries.
Aaron Lee Tasjan and Brian Wright played Sun Radio’s live broadcast at El Mercado Backstage on Saturday, March 19, 2016. Photo by Peter Blackstock
We caught locals Willy & Cody Braun of Reckless Kelly (with guest mandolinist Kym Warner) and the Malford Milligan-fronted new band Big Cat on Tuesday when we stopped by, plus sets by the duos Aaron Tasjan & Brian Wright and Teddy Thompson & Kelly Jones early Saturday afternoon. (See video above).
Others who stopped by the South First Street Mexican restaurant, which added its impressive Backstage room just before last year’s SXSW, included Wynonna & the Big Noise, Aoife O’Donovan, Robbie Fulks, Jack INgram and Marcia Ball.
