Playlist

The SXSW Music festival begins March 17. Before then, we're getting to know the Texas artists who will be performing in Austin. This week: it's Sarah Jaffe, the local singer-songwriter who nearly upstaged Lykke Li last February.

What's the main difference between the music scene in Austin and the one in Dallas, in your opinion? I don't live in Dallas or Austin, but I'd say the difference could be comparable to Portland and Seattle. Both have great things going on; both have great bands that are successful. They're just very different places.

How would you describe your music? I just try to write songs that im proud of.

What's been your favorite concert or tour you've been involved with? Norah Jones and Midlake.

You're slated to tour with Norah Jones this spring. How did that come about? I met Norah a couple summers ago through some good friends. This past winter, she heard my record through a friend and asked me to do a few dates with her.

What shows do you want to see this year at SXSW? I'd like to see Miike Snow and Zoe Keating, this amazing cellist.

When/where/what time will you be performing at SXSW? I'll be playing some day parties on Thursday and Saturday: the Red Eyed Fly party, the Readymade magazine party and the Spune party. But my showcase is Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at St. David's Historical Society with Anni Rossi.

John Mayer put on a confident two-hour show Tuesday night at American Airlines Center. He played for more than 12,000 people. Armed with a seven-piece band, a strong repertoire of songs and several fiery electric guitars, Mayer proved his musical moxie will last much longer than his tabloid indiscretions.

So let's recap a few memorable moments:
"Love Is On the Way" -- Great hook, and groovy psychedelic images projected onto the screen behind him.
"Vultures" -- Smoking guitar work; thick R&B/funk/blues combo.
"Perfectly Lonely" -- Again in R&B mode; called being in such a state "empowering."
"Slow Dancing In a Burning Room" -- Hot blues.
"My Stupid Mouth" -- Acoustic, mid-set, he wore a Mavs Jersey.
"Free Fallin'" -- Yeah, the Tom Petty tune. Him and two other guitarists.

For a full review of the John Mayer concert, go to www.dallasnews.com/entertainment Wednesday afternoon or pick up a copy of GuideDaily Thursday morning.

Photo: Mayer makes his guitar sing at American Airlines Center (Andy Jacobsohn/DMN).

Stereogum has a BBC Live Lounge recording of Mumford & Sons covering Vampire Weekend's "Cousins." I can't decide which version I like more.

If you've grown tired of this crazy winter, fret not: spring is almost here. And with that come all the area's various spring festivals.

Guide's Joy Tipping, Bindu Varghese and Ann Pinson put together their own Best in DFW list of Best Spring Festivals, where you can find enormous turkey legs, hear music from different cultures and enjoy great works of art. Plus they often feature local bands, celebrities and personalities, and sometimes even a "big name." One of their picks, the North Texas Irish Festival, just ran over the weekend. Pictured above is a group of dancers with the North Texas Traditional Dance Society performing a dance called Contra with live music playing behind them in the picture above.

You can read over all of their selections here, but don't stop there. Let us know if we missed one you go to every year, regular bands you like to see, share memories or just tell us what you're looking forward to this season. E-mail us at guide@dallasnews.com. And whether or not you go out, follow some of our Guide staffers on Twitter as they grab their lawn chairs and meander through the crowds themselves.

PHOTO: Andy Jacobsohn / staff photographer, DMN

I've now seen the Pointer Sisters three times in concert, thankfully once when June Pointer was still alive. "Happiness" has become the trio's permanent opening number, even though the 1979 song never got further than No. 30 on the pop charts. Obviously, they think it's a great ice breaker, a song that hopefully foretells the mood of the succeeding hour-long show.

Monday night at the Winspear Opera House, the Pointers -- Anita, Ruth and new member Sadako Pointer (Ruth's granddaughter) -- performed for a nearly sold-out crowd and of course began with "Happiness" followed by "He's So Shy." Talk about back-to-back feel-good tunes.

But that, in a nutshell, is the vibe of the Pointers' sound, even dating back to 1973. For them, music has soul, heart, sass and especially joy. This is why 37 years after their first record, the Sisters still love what they do.

For a full review of the Pointer Sisters, go to www.dallasnews.com/entertainment Tuesday or pick up a copy of GuideDaily Wednesday.

Photo: Sadako, Anita and Ruth jubilantly perform at Winspear Opera House (Michael Ainsworth/DMN).

Grapevine-raised Bryce Avary, AKA the Rocket Summer, would never call himself fashion conscious. But he's definitely got an altruistic spirit. So he'll shill clothes in the name of charity. His clothing line, Call It Captivate, aims to give fans an arty style as well as help worthwhile causes. And the best part is folks who buy the clothes can pick which charity 25 percent of the proceeds go to. On the website, you'll find a list of seven charities to choose from, including the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the LA Dream Center and the Miracle League of El Paso.

"Having a clothing line is not a huge passion of mine," Avary told me. "It was purely for the idea of getting people involved and educating people on issues that weren't popular so much. I wanted to make it different and get people into it."

Photo: Avary in downtown Grapevine (Kye R. Lee/DMN).

OK Go, the band whose genius treadmill video for "Here It Goes Again" went viral, has struck gold again - this time with two new videos for "This Too Shall Pass," form their latest album, Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky. (Read music critic Mario Tarradell's review.)

First up, the official video with an elaborately planned machine that would make Rube Goldberg's eyes pop:

The second video features the Notre Dame marching band and it just as charming as the first. You can download the audio from this video at OKGo.net.

Live Nation announced the dates today for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' North American Tour. We get one of the first five shows, with Tom Petty (with Joe Cocker) scheduled at Superpages.Com Center on May 15 after stops in Raleigh, Charlotte and Tampa.

Tickets go on sale Monday, March 8, at livenation.com.

He'll play Milwaukee's Summerfest ("the world's largest music festival") with ZZ Top. Interestingly, this tour offers a variety of opening acts. But only one per each stop. The opening acts include Cocker for the first leg of the tour; Drive-By Truckers for the second leg; Crosby, Stills & Nash; and My Morning Jacket for a few dates near the end of the tour.

According to a release, "all 2010 Tour tickets purchased online will include an MP3 download of every track on the Heartbreakers' electrifying new album, Mojo," which will be released this spring.

(Tom Petty performing at 2008 Super Bowl. Photo by Matthew Emmons/US PRESSWIRE)

Cool performer: The influential rapper entertained 12,000 fans Tuesday night at American Airlines Center with a full band including a horn section, percussionist and DJ in tow.

Cool set: A skyscraper-like light display at the back of the stage immediately looked like the New York skyline, a nod to his hometown, of course. A variety of images were projected throughout the two-hour show, making it most striking.

Cool artistry: Jay-Z had the lower platform all to himself and he filled it up robustly. He's tall, imposing, an intense presence. His rapping flow is fast but clear. He doesn't chew his words. There's an engulfing quality to this music, from the thunderous beats to the rhymes, which have messiah-like potency.

Cool players: The crowd was with him from the onset, even with bill-sharer Young Jeezy's 25-minute set sandwiched between Jay-Z's stage time. Assisting Jay-Z was perennial sideman Memphis Bleek. Singer Bridget Kelly offered the Alicia Keys chorus on "Empire State of Mind," a definite highlight that arrived early in the gig. R&B vocalist Trey Songz was the opening act.

For more on Jay-Z's show, go to www.dallasnews.com/entertainment Wednesday or pick up GuideDaily Thursday.

Photo: Jay-Z's in control (Jason Janik/Special to DMN).

The new-and-improved-I-guess Stereogum has "Thieves," a track from the new She & Him album, Volume 2.

Zooey Deschanel's vocals sound like a modern-day Patsy Cline in the song, so of course I'm in favor.

See She & Him at SXSW on March 18 at Cedar Street Courtyard and on March 20 at Auditorium Shores.

Now that we know who will be playing SXSW, we're ready to get to know the talented artists who made the festival. Anthony Erickson of Austin's Fulton Read was more than happy to talk about his group's "psychadelic piano powerpop" sound in our e-mail survey.

How long has the group been together?
I've been truckin along as Fulton Read rockin community centers, churches, piano bars, or Neiman Marcus's for almost 5 years now, but our current incarnation has been playing together throughout Texas for about a year and a half.

How would you describe your music?
Texas Psychedelic Piano Powerpop - 'cuz we're Texan and proud, psychedelics are awesome, mind blowing and contribute to some great art, I slam some ivories, Duffy brings the Power, and we all bring the Pop!

Due to an illness, the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons show that was scheduled for Tuesday night at Bass Hall in Fort Worth has been rescheduled for April 22. Tickets for the original date will be honored but will need to be exchanged for tickets for the new date. Refunds are available through the Bass Hall box office. 817-212-4280 or www.basshall.com.

Call out the dreadheads: Rockwall's Jason Castro, a Top Four finalist on American Idol during the 2007-08 season, has joined record-label mate Matt Hires on Hires' State Lines 2010 tour. They'll make a Dallas stop on Wednesday, performing at 7:30 p.m. at the Loft, 1135 S. Lamar just south of downtown. $10. 1-800-745-3000. www.ticketmaster.com.

PHOTO of Jason Castro by Amy Conn-Gutierrez

What happened to the Mariah Carey that stunned me back in 1990 with "Vision of Love?" That gifted singer is not who I saw in concert Thursday night at Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie. The Mariah Carey I witnessed last night wouldn't stop talking about nonsense, kept changing her clothes and sang one throwaway song after another. What's worse, she did "Up Out My Face," perhaps the most embarrassing tune of her career. It's from last year's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, a musically lifeless disc.

I was at her Dallas stop on The Emancipation of Mimi tour a few years back. I enjoyed the gig. She did a nice job of combining splash with substance. She hasn't a clue anymore. This is a woman that once had a flowing quality to her soaring voice. Now she's just adept at caterwauling. Her pipes are cold and soulless.

Maybe I'll pull out my copy of her self-titled debut album to remind myself of what Mariah Carey used to be. But not for a few days. I need to let the memory of this show exit my brain.

For a full concert review of Mariah Carey, go to www.dallasnews.com/entertainment Friday or pick up GuideDaily Saturday.

Photo: Carey and the costumes (Mike Fuentes/Special to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram).

Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson, who played together for a sold-out crowd Wednesday night at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, relished in feel-good musicality during two new songs.

Haggard, backed by his six-man band the Strangers, which included his 17-year-old son Benion Haggard, sang "Pretty When It's New," a jaunty little number from his upcoming album, I Am What I Am (due April 20 on Vanguard Records).

Kristofferson turned cool and rhythmic with "Closer to the Bone," the title track from his 2009 album for New West Records. He strummed his acoustic guitar and kept his harmonica propped near his lips.

Both American music icons were in great form during only one of six shows they will share this year. For a full review of the gig, go to www.dallasnews.com/entertainment Thursday or pick up a copy of the GuideDaily section Friday.

Photo: Haggard and Kristofferson before a full house (Rodger Mallison/Fort Worth Star-Telegram).

Among the pages and pages of the SXSW Music schedule, you'll find plenty of awesome artists from the Lone Star State.

See the entire list after the jump.

The day has arrived! The SXSW Music schedule is up!

Several of the showcasing bands hadn't already been announced - pretty cool acts like Broken Social Scene, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Chamillionaire.

See the schedule here and start planning! Let us know who're you're going to see in the comments section.

Sasquatch, the three-day music festival the runs over Memorial Day weekend, announced its 2010 lineup of bands yesterday. The festival will be at Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington on May 29 - 31. Tickets and camping accommodations will be available at Ticketmaster. A few of the bands announced: Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Tegan & Sara, Girls, the New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene, Nada Surf, the Hold Steady, She & Him, and more.

The rest of the lineup is after the jump.

The Granada Theater has added a "Get Your Photo With Kinky!" event to his concert appearance there on Thursday night. The meet-and-greet will take place from 7 to 7:30 (for ticketholders only) before the 8 p.m. show. Friedman, who's running as a Democrat for Texas state agriculture commissioner, is also well-known as a singer, songwriter and writer. $12-$50. www.granadatheater.com or 214-824-9933.

Violinist extraordinaire David Garrett, whose influences include everything from Metallica to Mozart, has postponed his concert at House of Blues, originally slated for Tuesday. The concert is now set for April 8. Tickets for the original show will be honored, or refunds are available at point of purchase. www.livenation.com.