Courtney Barnett: SXSW 2015

Since the summer of 2013, Aussie dynamo Courtney Barnett has been on a dizzying ascent, sparked by her vivid, very funny song detailing a panic attack, "Avant Gardener," which became an unlikely international hit. A flurry of brilliant gigs at New York's CMJ Music Marathon later that fall sealed the deal: the Melbourne-based songwriter was utterly unique, a genial Scheherazade of the indie rock set with a wickedly dry sense of humor.

Barnett, a former member of Immigrant Union, managed to tour worldwide just on the strength of her two self-released EPs, later packaged and rereleased as The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas. But after taking her time to write and record a debut album over the last couple of years, Courtney Barnett is ready to begin the next chapter of her career, with her new album, Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit. She ran the SXSW gauntlet of showcases and for her final Austin gig, she put the "rock" in Public Radio Rocks on March 20, treating us to brand new songs like the raucous howl of "Pedestrian at Best" and the close-to-home "An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in NY)."

Part of WFUV's SXSW 2015 showcase, Public Radio Rocks with Courtney Barnett, Gang of Four, Twin Shadow, Best Coast, Ryan Bingham and Madisen Ward and Mama Bear.

Funding for WFUV's ongoing coverage of live concerts and festivals comes from The Agnes Varis Trust, supporting affordable access to the arts, education and healthcare.

More:

Courtney Barnett—FUV Live from Electric Lady Studios—2014
Courtney Barnett—FUV Live in Studio A—2013