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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Your A-List: Best Music Festival
Two things can certainly be said for the Heart of Texas: it has chutzpah and it knows that timing and location are everything. How else could you explain the fact that this festival runs each March right smack in the, pardon the pun, heart of SXSW?
The local fest, which proudly identifies itself as truly being the fest for independent bands, began in 2000 with only 16 bands playing in one venue and has expanded over the years to a popular festival that draws close to 200 bands to five stages in downtown Austin. Much like SXSW in its earlier years, the Heart of Texas’ mission is to offer unsigned bands an opportunity to be seen (and hopefully signed by) record labels, and what better way to get that exposure than by piggy-backing on the popularity of the behemoth that is SXSW.
With a fiercely independent spirit and tenacity to spare, the festival has carved a niche for itself in the Austin music landscape, a niche it appears happy to fill for years to come.
Heart of Texas Rock Fest [site] [MySpace]
Others receiving votes:
- Austin City Limits, 31 percent
- South by Southwest, 24 percent
- Kerrville Folk Fest, 3 percent
- Fun Fun Fun Fest, 2 percent
- Old Settler’s, 2 percent
- Extreme Texas Metal Fest, 2 percent
- Reggae Fest, 1 percent
- Urban Music Fest, < 1 percent
- Chaos in Tejas, < 1 percent
Write-in: Heart of Texas Quadruple Bypass Rockfest.
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Your A-List: Best Sporting Goods Store
Not only does Academy offer “the right stuff, the right price,” the Texas-based superstore also has one of the most memorable advertising jingles of the past 20 years, and for them that’s probably a good thing. Any time you think, “I need a pair of sweatpants and a fishing rod, where should I go?” and an ad jingle enters your head, you know the attached company has entered the collective consciousness.
Academy indeed offers “the right stuff,” meaning virtually every sporting-related product imaginable, at low prices, and with convenient locations, friendly staff and a recognizable brand, they will probably be doing so for many years to come in Austin.
Academy Sports + Outdoors [official site]
Various locations
Others receiving votes:
- REI, 17 percent
- RunTex, 13 percent
- Cabela’s, 10 percent
- Whole Earth, 8 percent
- Ozone Bikes, 4 percent
- Sports Authority, 3 percent
- Bicycle Sports Shop, 3 percent
- Soccer World, 2 percent
- Jack and Adam’s Bicycles, 2 percent
- Austin Tri-Cyclist, 1 percent
- University Cyclery, 1 percent
Write-ins: McBride’s, Rooster Andrews, The Soccer Post and Southwest Cycle Sport.
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