As the dust settled on another ACL Fest, a storm of a different kind brewed at the Austin Ventures stage where local act White Denim turned in a whirlwind, psychedelic post-punk performance. The band eased into their set via "Migration Wind," building slowly, and closing with a soaring six-string jam injection courtesy of James Petralli. "All You Really Have To Do" followed immediately, and by the time "Mess Your Hair Up" arrived, the audience was pumping their fists in conjunction with each Petralli howl, clearly invigorated by the sonic explosion....

As the early bands battled it out for immediate attention during the hectic opening hours of the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival, local four piece The Strange Boys calmly transported us to decades past with a flurry of garage-pop ditties. Bringing back memories aplenty of bands we've witnessed via the historical catalog of footage from The Ed Sullivan Show, the band's demeanor, attitude, and style all tied in perfectly with their sugary sweet melodies....

If there's a vibe running through Friday's Austin Venture stage roster, it's simply that there is no vibe. Like ACL Fest, the stage is sporting everything from twee boy/girl indie-pop to grizzled country and sleaze rock. If you'd like some variety, this is the place....

Over the years, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones have accumulated several Grammy awards and many more nominations for the bluegrassy fusion jazz sound they so deftly create. They don’t do too bad as solo musicians either. As a group, they have been around for nearly 20 years, and still tour rigorously. The group is comprised of banjo pundit and band leader Béla Fleck, technical bass master and three-time winner of Bass Player Magazine’s “Bass......

Since 1975, Grammy Award winners BeauSoleil have charmed audiences as being one of the most heralded and esteemed Cajun groups in American music history. Band leader Michael Doucet artfully takes the rich traditions of Louisiana culture and blends other southern folk elements such as Zydeco, Jazz, Tejano, Country, Blues to astonishing effect. Beau Soleil have played The Grand Ole Opry, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and the Newport Folk Festival in the past.......

Austin-based singer and guitarist Jon Dee Graham has a gravel-filled voice that calls to mind Tom Waits. Graham's songwriting is full of salt-of-the-earth wisdom, and his style is comfortingly familiar without being overdone or unoriginal. That said, Graham's style is too high-energy to get him lumped into the singer-songwriter category. Jon Dee Graham Austin, TX Latest Release: Full, 2006 Saturday the 15th, 4 p.m., Austin Ventures Stage Ike Reilly Assassination is the project of one......

Sylvia St. James leads the masses at the House Of Blues’ Gospel Brunch in California. The Sunday menu there features cornbread muffins, hickory smoked bacon and sausage links, and an omelet station, along with inspirational hymns, motivational music, and Miss Sylvia’s vocal prowess (and official title of “Chief Mistress of Ceremonies for House of Blues Entertainment.”) Us lucky Austinites get our chance to witness her magic on Saturday afternoon during the 2007 Austin City Limits......

The Broken West play the sort of power pop you'll want as background for a trip to the beach, especially if you're into the Kinks and enjoy wearing vintage Adidas short shorts. The L.A.-based band released their first album earlier this year, and the sound is bright and dense, filled up with guitar and piano draped with harmonized vocals that seem to be looking toward George Harrison's work. The Broken West Los Angeles, CA......

Billy Joe Shaver is one of those Texas music legends with a life story that sounds like country and western fantasy. His father abandoned the family before he was born, he lost 2 fingers in a sawmill accident, he lost his mother and wife to cancer and his son to drug overdose within a single year, and he suffered a heart attack on stage. But, Shaver has long channeled his pain into his music. For......

Straight out of the suburbs of Atlanta, the young men of Manchester Orchestra have quickly found a spot in the Georgia indie-rock circuit. Guitarist and lead vocalist Andy Hull homeschooled himself his senior year of high school to allow himself more time to focus on his work with Manchester Orchestra. The result of that focus is the band's first full-length. Peppered with references to Woody Allen, the album is full up with moody music that......

Ian Ball has a voice that calls to mind a more chipper Jeff Mangum. The veteran musician, best known for his work with Gomezn, tends towards the rich orchestration of Leonard Cohen's lushest work. Ball's solo work sound may owe a debt to the college radio all stars that came before, but the impulse towards low-fi is muted if at all present. Ian Ball United States* Latest Release: How We Operate (with Gomez), 2006......

JJ Grey & Mofro churn out funky swamp rock of the breed that made Creedence Clearwater Revival famous, minus the whole, you know, Vietnam War protesting angle. The sound is southern rock full up of funk -- music for getting down, even when the steam's so thick you could cut it with a knife. JJ Grey & Mofro Jacksonville, FL Latest Release: Country Ghetto, 2007 Friday the 14th, 5:15 p.m., Austin Ventures Stage Like many......

Teenagers from the Isle of Man, Back Door Slam are a blues-rock three-piece drawing influences from all corners of the blues genre, even some outside of it. In fact, although most of Roll Away is littered with embellished guitar solos and high notes (the kind you can picture way down on the base of the guitar neck), some of the tracks are more folk-centered, even acoustic, and sound akin to contemporary country and western. Yet,......

There have been a few changes to the ACL schedule since last week - as Tom noted yesterday, both Ghostland Observatory and The Dears have been added to the lineup, replacing Feist and Kasey Chambers. And there's another dropout - Fields are off the schedule, so Brett Dennen has been added to the Austin Ventures Stage lineup on Sunday, shifting a few of the artists to later slots that day. You can check out......