The notoriously stage-shy songwriter has only recently begun taking his band on the road, and will be rolling into the Emo's courtyard tonight, hot on the heels of his latest album Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, joined by fellow Tennessean James Jackson Toth and Austin's own Charlie Potts Magic Windmill Band. ...

For those unfamiliar with Silver Jews and the songwriting and craft of David Berman, this is as good of a time to jump in as any....

David Berman, the head honcho behind the massively influential Silver Jews, made a turnaround these past couple of years that has both shocked and delighted his many loyal fans. While Berman became renowned through Silver Jews releases like The Natural Bridge and American Water, not to mention a turn at poetry with 1999’s Actual Air, he more recently experienced a religious rebirth and crawled out of his “hell-hole life,” as he described it, discovering an only hinted-at passion for Judaism as well as a renewed appreciation for everyday life....

With all due respect, It's easy to get lost in the scuffed gloss of Austin's rather self-aware indie-rock scene. Take it from us, and we honestly love the damned thing, in all of its shabby hipster glory. We just sometimes need a change of pace to keep a healthy perspective on all the different pockets of music in this crazy burg. This evening, we encourage you, if you're so inclined, to join us for an evening of solid, unconventional artistry in a scene that is thriving and gaining Austin national recognition for something other than our hallowed go-to bands. ...

Michael Tully came of age at the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he made friends with such latter-day indie stars as director David Gordon Green and songwriter Dave Berman. His documentary, Silver Jew, about Berman's band The Silver Jews and their recent tour in Israel, is set to screen during SXSW. We caught up with him via email to ask the tough questions: So the documentary is only 51 minutes long. Does......

SXSW Film Festival recently released their lineup of feature films to be screened this year. Check out the full roster after the jump. LONE STAR STATES Forfeit Directed by Andrew Shea, written by John Rafter Lee. Featuring: Billy Burke, Sherry Stringfield, Gregory Itzin, Wayne Knight. An ex-con tries to manage his way back into society, reunite with his high school sweetheart, and commit one more crime. (World Premiere) Inside the Circle Directed by Marcy......

C-Side Records' psychedelic folk-rock heroes, The Channel, are playing tonight at The Mohawk, and they'll be joined by The Eames Era, Black Before Red and Go Nova. You might remember what we had to say about The Channel's double CD, Tales From the Two Hill Heart / Sibylline Machine earlier this year: Their double-CD, Tales From the Two Hill Heart / Sibylline Machine is one of those rare double CDs that contains music which......

Austin's C-Side Records has been busy the last few months, releasing albums by two bands to watch back to back. Golden Bear's self-titled debut is a near perfect collection of songs with influences as diverse as Spacehog, early Built to Spill and My Morning Jacket. Austin music scene bright lights such as Pink Nasty, Voxtrot’s Jared Van Fleet, The Black Angels’ Kyle Hunt, and Jason Morales of Tia Carrera help out on the album,......

The Theater Fire struggles with the challenge they've faced themselves with: playing slow, droning folk-rock without being boring and forgettable. When you're writing music in the same rough genre as Palace, Kozelek, and Iron & Wine, you need to be memorable. Unfortunately for Theater Fire, they succeed as musicians and fail as songwriters: the songs are well-executed and crisp, but they shuffle standing still, and leave you feeling confused and bored. ...

We stopped by Waterloo last Thursday to catch the free Constantines in-store and were so happy, we trucked over to Emo's later that night for their full-length show as well. We weren't disappointed: they followed up their easy-on-the-ears (but wonderful in its Springsteen-esque vibe) Waterloo session with a no-holds-barred rock show at Emo's. Kicking things off with "Draw Us Lines" and moving between hand-clapping and foot-stomping favorites like "Working Full Time", "Good Nurse" and "Thieves"......