Spotify

The fifth and final day of Spotify House had our fans dancing in the Austin sunshine right until the last song was played.

Gregory Alan Isakov started the day for us on a chill vibe, playing a toned down set filled with stunning vocals that drew a large crowd to our yard including one passerby who was stopped in his tracks by the music and remarked loudly “Wow!”

The fans didn’t budge once the set was over and the audience urged Isakov to keep playing. It didn’t take much convincing and the band quickly unpacked their instruments to play “The Stable Song”.

The Jane Doze were DJing from our porch throughout the day and played a steady stream of Britney Spears, Ke$ha, and Beyonce in between our live sets.

Wallpaper. brought the party to a peak with songs that seemed to have been written for and about SXSW with lyrics like “Seriously, it’s like the best night ever”. Lead singer Ricky Reed ran around our backyard, high fiving everyone he could get to before jumping back on stage to rock out with the rest of the band in a performance that had us all smiling and wishing that the week would never end.

Sidewalk traffic outside of the house came to a standstill when “America’s Most Talented Kids” winner Tori Kelly began playing in our front yard. Following Isakov’s lead, Kelly treated her fans to an encore following her innovative covers of Frank Ocean’s “Thinking About You”, Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T.” and Justin Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie” which Mashable had just yesterday declared as being better than the original.

Diamond Rings was our final act of SXSW 2013 and he closed out this year from our front porch while wearing our signature green Spotify headphones. Groups of people gathered around and sang along to every song he remixed in his electro-pop style.

We’re closing the doors on an epic week and couldn’t thank all of the bands and fans that stopped by to discover new music with us this week. And a special thanks to all of our friends at Cenote, Cuvee, VitaCoco, Coca-Cola, Pop Chips, Bacardi, Miller, and KIND for keeping our guests fed and hydrated in the Texas heat.

We’ll see ya’ll next year!

Last night we rocked Austin with Spotify Live, our second annual SXSW marquee event.

The crowds turned out in record numbers both at the warehouse and online to our live-stream on Billboard.com.

DJ Hesta Prynn got the dance party started, mixing favorites ranging from Biggie to Icona Pop which had the crowd screaming along “I don’t care, I love it!” which seemed to be the theme of the night.

Youngblood Hawke’s energetic set was accompanied by a spectacular visual projection show from Obscura Digital featuring video of the band donning scuba gear and swimming with sharks.

The Obscura visuals continued throughout the night, forming the perfect backdrop for our headliner, Kendrick Lamar who took to the stage amid a roar of applause.

Kendrick invited friends and fans alike to join him on stage for much of his hour-long set which included a cover of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness”, as well as his own top hits like “Swimming Pools” and “Poetic Justice”.

Swedish EDM duo CAZZETTE spun the last tracks of the night and kept the crowd pumped and getting down until the very end.

If you missed the event, make sure you come by Spotify House today and tomorrow for the final acts of the week before we close the doors on SXSW 2013!

A mix of bands and artists representing almost every genre turned out for Day Four of Spotify House.

British folk singer Tom Odell warmed up the audience from our front porch where his piano had been placed in perfect view of our growing crowd.

Immediately after his set, our hungry guests ran to greet the Chilantro food truck out back. Burritos, tacos and kimchi fries revived the masses and provided the energy needed to rock out with us for the rest of the day.

So-Cal indie-pop duo Pacific Air had a crowd mixed with fans and bands whose albums you can find on Spotify, including Semi Precious Weapons and Saints of Valory. Ra Ra Riot also came by to support their tour mates in between their own shows.

Our rockstar DJ from last night’s Spotify Live event, Hesta Prynn, was on hand for most of the day, serving as our house DJ and mixing together some of our favorite party classics.

DJs Sean Glass and Flight Facilities took over the reins from Prynn to finish out Day Four with two hours packed with hits from every genre and era of music.

If you haven’t come by yet, tomorrow is your last day to check out Spotify House so make sure you squeeze us into your SXSW schedules! Doors open at noon and we’ll be keeping the music flowing until the very last minute with Gregory Alan Isakov, Tori Kelly, Diamond Rings, and Wallpaper.

The lead singer of The Last Bison started their set by proclaiming “Every day is the best day ever.”

We couldn’t agree more as Day 3 of Spotify House was even more epic than the past two we’ve had here at SXSW and we still have a full night of incredible performances ahead of us! Nick Cave and The Sheepdogs were amongst the attendees that rocked out with us and enjoyed tacos from The Peached Tortilla food truck.

The Last Bison certainly set the tone for the day with a lively performance that drew a big audience. Their folky cover of M83’s “Midnight City” started with a mix of unique musical instruments and ended with a crowd that was ready to party with us all day. The band hung around the house for most of the day, enjoying our photo booth and cooling down with the free iced coffee we have on tap.

Angel Haze exploded on the stage next and shared how surreal the experience was for her after having been homeless this time last year. She ended her set by running around amongst her fans during a killer performance of “New York”.

Funny or Die’s alien talk show host Gorburger dropped by during Neon Indian’s DJ set and danced with his posse in the yard.

Flume was last up, spinning some high energy tracks to amp up the crowd before they walked up to 5th Street for our Live Show.

We hope to see you there for Kendrick Lamar, Youngblood Hawke and CAZZETTE but if you can’t make it, we’re livestreaming all the action from Austin on Billboard starting at 7pm CST so that you don’t have to miss a minute of the show: http://spoti.fi/ZnNZTb

See you at Spotify Live!

Day Two of Spotify House was a scorcher but our loyal users braved the hot, hot heat to catch the amazing lineup of artists and DJs!

Jamie N Commons was first up and started off the day on a bluesy note with a soulful set under the shade of a tree in our front yard.

Trending artists Twenty | One | Pilots sweated it out in skeleton masks, delivering an energy packed performance that had everyone at the House up and dancing.

Keeping with the masked theme, The White Panda donned their signature light-up panda masks while spinning and singing from the front porch. They were followed up by Sam Spiegel, who took over the DJ booth without missing a beat to keep the crowd going until we had to close the House for the day.

Surfer Blood and Skaters stopped by to check out the scene at the House and signed drum heads for us before mixing in with the crowd to check out the music and grab a bite to eat.

And a huge thank you to Hat Creek Burgers for serving up some amazing fresh food and sticking around until every last person had their fill of their tasty burgers!

Be sure to rest up tonight, Austin! We’ll be partying with you all day and night tomorrow with another full day of Spotify House with The Last Bison, Angel Haze, Neon Indian and Flume, followed by our huge Spotify Live event with Kendrick Lamar, Youngblood Hawke & CAZZETTE!

We opened the doors of our Big Green Spotify House in Austin today for SXSW! Day One was filled with sunshine, live music, DJs, a Seahawk, and one friendly duck.

Ivan & Alyosha kicked off the day with a live set in our front yard. An acoustic, unplugged version of their hit “Easy to Love” drew the crowd in for one of the most intimate performances of the day.

Robert DeLong brought along face painters and treated our guests to some facial art before bringing down the house in a one-man show featuring drums, a joystick and even a Wii remote.

Watch the Duck closed out the day with a two hour session on our front porch with their mascot dancing amongst the crowd. Mixing in some Marvin Gaye, Law & Order theme songs and Barney, the sun set on day one with some serious partying.

Seattle Seahawk Russell Okung and Downloaded Director Alex Winter were amongst the guests checking out our photo booth, iced coffee from our friends at Cenote and Cuvee, and grub from East Side Kings.

The lineup tomorrow is sure to keep the party going as the music portion of SXSW gets started. Doors open at 12pm so get here early to secure a spot for performances by Jamie N Commons at 1pm and Twenty One Pilots at 3pm followed by DJ sets from White Panda at 4pm and Sam Spiegel at 5pm.

And keep following us on Twitter at @SxSpotify for all of your live updates from the Spotify House.

This SXSW, keep your eyes peeled for Downloaded, a new feature documentary about the rise and fall of Napster and the birth of the digital revolution.

Several years in the making, Downloaded focuses on the advent of digital media sharing, including the rise of game changing company Napster and and its controversial pioneers Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker. The digital revolution ultimately created a technology paradigm shift, upended big business and musical artists and changed the world. The film, an official SXSW selection will premiere this week.

Ahead of the release, check out this playlist curated by Director Alex Winter that will transport you to the Napster v1 Era and be sure to Follow co-founder Sean Parker on Spotify to find out what he’s listening to these days!

SXSW is almost upon us and we can’t wait to step into the Southern sunshine and p.a.r.t.y!

With all the crazy festivities in Austin, it’s sometimes a challenge to keep up with all the gigs, venues and artists to watch and so we thought we’d help SXSW newbies and Music aficionados alike with our Musical Guide to SXSW. 

Our fun Foursquare list will guide you to some of our favorite go-to places in Austin! Check it out here. Don’t have Foursquare yet? Get started at foursquare.com.

What’s more, there’s an awesome SxSpotify Foursquare badge up for grabs for those out and about. There are three ways to get kitted with our exclusive badge:

• Complete 5 check-ins at our 20 tipped music venues
• Check in at our Spotify House
• Check in to our Spotify Live show

What’s a badge without some cool goodies? The first 20 people every day  to show their badges at the Spotify House will get their hands on some custom Spotify and AIAIAI headphones. On Wednesday 3/13, those 20 lucky badge-holders will also get entry to our massive Spotify Live show - just present your badge to us at the Spotify House to get on the VIP list. 

Looking forward to see y’all at SXSW! 

SXSW 2013 is almost here! With compelling daytime programming and stellar nighttime showcases, it’s no wonder that the Conference has a reputation as the biggest and most anticipated convergence of all things music! With so many incredible acts descending on Austin, we wanted to help highlight some of the most buzzed about bands. Check out these awesome “Artist to Watch” playlists curated by the music experts at Pitchfork, Boiler Room, NME and AllHipHop.com along with some general SXSW picks.

Now tell us, who are you most excited to see in Austin this year?

SXSW Picks

Pitchfork Selects

Boiler Room Selects

FILTER Magazine’s Picks

NME Selects

AllHipHop.com Picks