Tickets are $35 and $50 at frontgatetickets.com. The event will help raise funds for GiM’s growing music education program in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Austin. Grounded in Music’s students are taught a variety of  skills in musicianship, which range from writing lyrics, playing instruments, and exploring other areas  of the music industry. Statistics show that students  who are involved in music programs early in life perform better academically in the areas of math and  reading. The data also shows that students score higher on the SATs in the areas of math and verbal,  regardless of their socio-economic background.

“Grounded in Music has a very simple mission: to leverage the power of music to transform young lives by creating self-confidence, opportunity and hope. These kids are learning that they can do anything they set their mind to and developing the confidence to push themselves to achieve things they never thought they could,” said Joe Stallone, Grounded in Music’s Founder.

“Some of the  kids in the program have a hard shell to crack,” remarks Michael Longoria, Grounded in Music’s  Program Director. “But as we mentor, teach, and share with them, the music dissolves that shell.”

… then I went.

… and now, I will probably not ever go again either. (I also happen to be in Park City this weekend, yay!)

It’s awesome, yes, that X Games are in Aspen. But it’s really crowded, the views are not awesome, and the lines for the buses are beyond ridiculous.

However, the music in town for X Games is also ridiculous. Ridiculous. So we have to appreciate that!

Saturday the always-free Hi-Fi Concert Series at the base of Aspen mountain features AWOLNATION, at 5:30p. Although I enjoyed Big Boi last year, AWOLNATION is definitely a hot-hot act right now and sure to please the X Games crowd.

Belly Up has some stellar acts, a few of which are already sold old (Deadmau5 sold out in a flash and caused a lot of drama to boot):

Plus Sunday night TheGoodLife! & Louie Vito present Raekwon & Ghostface Killah with very special guests DJ Spider & 12th Planet.

Heading to the actual X Games? Map below:

Buttermilk Mountain Winter X Games Aspen 2012 spectator map. Click here to download the large version of this map.

EatAspen has a list of all the X Games deals in town here.

Tim Berg – Seek Bromance (Avicii Vocal Edit) – 127 BPM

Katy Perry – The One That Got Away – 135 BPM

Alexandra Stan – Mr. Saxobeat (Maan Studio Remix) – 126 BPM

Flo Rida – Good Feeling – 129 BPM

Wolfgang Gartner & Will.I.Am – Forever – 128 BPM

Hot Chelle Rae – Tonight Tonight (Goldstein Remix) – 118 BPM

Taio Cruz & Flo Rida – Hangover – 129 BPM

Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull & The WAV.s – I Like How It Feels – 129 BPM

Kaskade & Skrillex – Lick It – 128 BPM

Kelly Clarkson – What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger) – 117 BPM

Schedule:
9am: Indie rockers Ha Ha Tonka
10am: Funk/soul/R&B sensation Charles Bradley
11am: Award-winning singer-songwriter Hayes Carll
12pm: Grammy-nominated country/blues rockers North Mississippi All Stars

Easy peasy!

In its stead, check out the first-ever open-to-the-public (normally just VIPs are invited) Davis Cup Draw Ceremony with Asleep at the Wheel, at ACL Live on Thursday. Tickets are $5 and benefit the Joplin Tornado Relief Fund.

Doors at 11am, program and performance at noon.  The teams, including the US and Spanish teams, will be present at the event and the draw will be performed by Ray Benson. More information and tickets at acl-live.com. What a lunch break, huh?

Original post:

Have you heard about ACL Live’s popular Wine Down Wednesday nights? Basically, someone awesome comes to play, free food from awesome 2nd Street restaurants is had, with happy hour prices on Clos du Bois wine.

The series was so popular in June that they’ve added two July dates: Dan Dyer (who, I will add, played at my friend’s April wedding!) on July 6th with complimentary food (while it lasts) from Malaga Tapas & Bar and Wendy Colonna on July 13th with complimentary food (while it lasts) from TRACE.

Wine Down Wednesday is free and open to the public and takes place from 5 – 7 pm.

“Wine Down Wednesdays are a great way to celebrate the middle of the week, “ said Rose Reyes, Director of Music Marketing for ACVB. “Great Austin music, a world-class venue, fine wines and a breezy porch makes this the perfect spot for visitors and locals alike.”

For more information on the schedule of dates, acl-live.com.

… don’t be scurrrrred of falling glass!

EMU is designed to be environmentally friendly from the ground up with 100 percent sustainable tents, biodegradable water bottles, plates and utensils. In addition, the festival’s ticket vendor will plant a tree through the nonprofit organization Trees, Water & People for each ticket sold. These efforts will help offset up to 220 pounds of carbon emissions for every tree planted, and once the concert is sold out, the festival would be offsetting 1.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide.

Unfortunately, many of the adventure activities like the 3K Uphill Climb and Capture-the-Flag have been canceled due to all the snow we still have. Luckily, there’s stilly plenty of mountainside music! Among the musical acts scheduled to entertain at Snowmass are local faves Leftover Salmon, plus Perpetual Groove, Tea Leaf Green, The New Mastersounds, Stokeswood, and RJD2.

General Admission tickets are $70 and VIP tickets are $250. Kids 12 years old and younger are free, with the purchase of an adult ticket.

Which is sort of ironic since a little fest called SXSW is happening in Austin with lots of big names, but not this one! Enjoy!

All-Inclusive Hotel & Indie Day Party: Travaasa Austin + StyleCaster

Travaasa Austin is a new destination hotel in Austin overlooking Lake Travis in the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve and debuting mid-April. For the sneak SXSW preview, Travaasa Austin partners with StyleCaster for Hit The Lights, March 17-20, with exclusive accommodations and packages and an outdoor bash at Cheer Up Charlie’s on the east side on March 19 with an all-star Indie lineup that includes Dan Deacon, Pains of Being Pure at Heart as well as Heavy Hawaii, Diamond Rings, Dirty Beaches, Writer and Manhattan Murder Mystery. Sponsored by Wonderful Pistachios and Sigg.

The rooms include locally-sourced organic breakfast and free shuttles between downtown Austin and the Travaasa Austin hotel on Friday and Saturday to provide easy transportation for hotel guests andconcert attendees. Single occupancy is $249, double $299. To book (a perfect last minute choice!), call (855) 868.7282 or visit www.stylecaster.com/sxsw/vip.

Beatles Complete on Ukelele

Remember this marathon from last year? It’s SO Austin. At SXSJ on Wednesday, March 16^th from noon to 6pm, stop by to see tons of artists performing the full 185-song Beatles catalog … the main reason I’m posting this is because one of the Beatle-crooning musicians is the group Bowling for Soup (“Mexican food sucks north of here anyways”), which is so freshman year of college. Others include Drew Smith, Amy Cook, Ben Kweller, and more.

Friends Play SXSW: Jones Street Station

Support my friend’s friend’s older brother’s band:

New Late-Night Bites: Haddingtons

You can be certain you’ll hear more about the most amazing burger I had at Second Bar & Kitchen the other night, late, but like 9pm late not like 1am late. For the 1am and on crowd, Haddingtons is having a limited SXSW late-night menu now through March 19, 11pm to 2am. The menu includes the infamous Toasted Pots; Bleu Burger with caramelized onions & blue cheese; Fish & Chips with celeriac remoulade; Roasted Lamb Sandwich with arugula, red onions & mint aioli; TLT Sandwich smoked sun-dried tomatoes & brun-ustoo cheese. Valet parking during SXSW 5pm to 2:30am.

More Hotel Love: The Omni

All week through March 15, the hotel is offering its guests an Early Riser Bar, 6-9am with complimentary breakfast tacos and Bloody Mary Bar. There’s a late night menu too, from 11p to close, with breakfast and burgers, whichever tickles your fancy. Guests, you already know they greeted you with a pretty sweet swag bag…

App: The “Pandora of Social Restaurant Recommendations”?

Obviously there are tons and tons and tons of apps being released right now, so sorting through them is kind of a madhouse. But Grubster promises to help you choose not only the restaurant but what to order (though I never liked that specificity) in a Pandora-style fashion. If it works, it’ll be awesome.

The iPhone app is currently available in the App Store here, and the website grubthis.com functions the same way as the iPhone app.

Phew! So there are six more things about SXSW. Does your brain hurt yet?

2. See a SXSW Film. It’s cheap and worth waiting in line to see big name premieres.

3. SXSW Music exhausts me. The easiest thing to do is wander the streets, people watch, and pop into the occasional bar for a free bevvie.

4. Drink lots of water. Way more than you think you need. If it’s after 7pm, you need to be going 1:1 with booze.

5. RSVP to every single party you mightpossiblymaybeI’llthinkaboutitletyouknow attend.

6. Get on twitter, foursquare, gowalla, where, track, your momma’s app, whatever. Get with the technology, it’s how you’ll find out about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING cool.

7. Wear sunscreen.

8. Eat. A lot. We have awesome food. Take advantage.

9. Sleep. 8 hours is preferable. Even if you go to bed at 4am, you can be up by noon. Trust me, you need sleep.

10. Call a cab, walk, or bike. Don’t be an idiot with drinking.

11. Chill out. This doesn’t mean take a yoga class, this means you need to relax and enjoy the madness that is SXSW. If you get your proverbial panties in a wad over a long line, rude bouncer, NYC skinny-jean-wearing smoker, whatever, you are only ruining the fest for yourself.