Like Lady Gaga, SXSW artist Neon Hitch is an eccentric-looking singer and songwriter who makes danceable pop. Unlike Lady Gaga, she has a legitimately eccentric background. Neon Hitch (real name, not made up by a producer) grew up traveling in a Gypsy caravan with hippie British parents and performed as a trapeze artist in circuses and freak shows. At 16 she ran away to India without ever having gone to school, but not before her dad gave her CDs by Michael Jackson, Madonna and the Spice Girls — three of her biggest influences. How Neon went from circus act to co-writing Ke$ha‘s “Blah Blah Blah” to signing with a major label for a solo debut (no release date yet) is beyond us. But it’s a good thing she’s excelling as a pop star. Her resume would be a mess without it.
After the jump, Neon’s SXSW picks.
“Not only is James a fellow Brit, he has a voice that makes you melt. His music is creative and original which I deeply respect. Reminds me a little of Massive Attack. He’s not bad to look at either ;)”
“Everything I’ve heard from this boy blows my mind. I don – ??t believe he’s not on some kind of hallucinogens to be making the type of music he does! I’m super exited to see his show coz I know I’ll be dancing like an animal! I’m also planning on stalking him until he works with me.”
There are a whopping 2,000 acts performing at South By Southwest in Austin this year. A few are household names (Duran Duran, Erykah Badu), some are respected indie veterans (Low, Hieroglyphics) and others feel like they’re about to be the next big thing. We’ve asked a diverse group of artists performing at this year’s fest to name acts in the lineup they’d love to see. We’re hoping this ongoing series will serve as not just a SXSW guide, but also an interesting snapshot of today’s music scene.
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