SXSW at Central Presbyterian Church
Since 2006, Central Presbyterian Church has been a venue for the SXSW Music Festival. Naturally, we're quite proud of the beauty of our space and the work done by our volunteers, but we really don't need to do any bragging - there are plenty of reviewers, bloggers, and general World Wide Web writers who do all the "bragging" that we need!
TimeOut New York: SXSW 2010: Live photos of Ben Sollee at Central Presbyterian Church
You'll already know from our album review here and interview here how much we dig the Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore record. So we jumped at the chance of catching the pair play Austin's beautiful Central Presbyterian Church: The acoustics in this lovely space perfectly picked up every pop and vibration from Sollee's cello.
-- Sophie Harris
March 20, 2010
LAist On Location: SXSW 2010 - Day 3
Band of Horses at Central Presbyterian Church
Photo by Amanda Stovall
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-- Molly Bergen
March 20, 2010
NY Times: SXSW: Nine O'Clock Services, With M. Ward
At South by Southwest, the Central Presbyterian Church is almost always going to be a tough ticket. The bookings are carefully curated, the acoustics are great and the space is finite. But it was a whole order of tough outside the M. Ward gig last night. Wristbands and badges, the coin of the realm here, were all nigh useless as a crowd surrounded the church like a moat. And as it turned out, there was good reason to try and fight your way in. The violinist and vocalist Anni Rossi, who was signed by 4AD Records out of Minnesota - embraced the churchy vibe, sending ethereal sounds up into the rafters as people sat quietly before exploding with applause. And the reverence went up a notch when M. Ward came out. A huge cross was the only splash of light in the dimly lit church, apart from the flashes of cameras. The singer said very little, but played an exquisite set, including a Neil Young cover and guitar work that demonstrated that all those great words come from a very musical place. On "Sad, Sad Song," he sang, "the hardest thing in the world to do is to find somebody believes in you." Less hard, it should be pointed out, when you are in a church full of believers.
-- David Carr
March 19, 2009
Twittering in Church
True enough, the line wrapped around the block, and around 8 p.m. someone told the hordes that they'd have to wait three or four hours for a seat. Indie indignation! But a sign near the church entrance read "Open for Prayer," and maybe it worked, because midway through the night the crowd turned over, and new, still well-behaved people filled the pews.
-- Melena Ryzik
March 19, 2009
Free Press [Houston] Blog Home: SXSW 2008 Day Four
The evening started out with Jandek performing at the Central Presbyterian Church. ... Inside the church, with its lush acoustics it sounded massive and warm like nothing I'd have expected from the albums I'd owned. It was very spiritual, patient, and as ethereal as a dream cloud. It was an inspiring and emotionally engaging highlight of SXSW for me. Honestly!
-- Ramon Medina
March 16, 2008
IGN: SXSW 2007: Rage Against The Machine Removed
Another thing of note was the fact that up until this point Morello had been rather attentive to dropping swear words from his songs. He would omit them altogether or drop his richly gruff baritone down to an inaudible whisper whenever one popped up. At this juncture in the evening, however, he slyly stated "I was told by the nice ladies backstage to keep the swearing to a minimum, but..."
-- Spence D.
March 20, 2007
Rolling Stone: Donovan Photo Gallery
You see: Is that the sound of "Hurdy Gurdy Man" filling the air? Donovan, handing out some deeply religious experiences to the fans at Central Presbyterian Church.
-- Photo by Noah Kalina
March 14, 2007
Paste Magazine: Eight Things to Remember for SXSW 2010
[#3] Go to a show at Central Presbyterian Church already.
The sound is beautiful and, though your desire to do this will be considerably lessened by your very comfortable and supportive shoes, there are places to sit down.
March 22, 2009
Paste Magazine: Seven Things to Remember for SXSW 2011
[#6] Drag all your co-workers to Central Presbyterian Church for five-plus hours of
music again.
Even if there's another total sad-trombone of a set like jj's glorified karaoke
and dismal art-school video projections, it's one of the most pleasant places
you'll ever see a show. Plus, if you're lucky, they'll be selling cupcakes again
so you can eat another one illicitly inside the sanctuary. (Sorry, very nice
church ladies - this is rock 'n f---in' roll.)
March 21, 2010
-- Also from Rachael Maddux:
Gonna plant my ass on a pew and say a little prayer of thanks for Austin, Tex.'s very cool Presbyterians. Now, if only they sold beer.
Austin360.com: SXSW Review: St. Vincent
Despite a rocky beginning, Clark left the stage with an utterly enraptured audience and perhaps, for those gathered for M. Ward or Camera Obscura before and after her set, even a few new converts. With a quiet, seated, attentive audience, the ethereal show was a nice balm for weary revelers who had spent the day trying to listen to performers over chit-chat and iPhone conversations. The venue filled up quickly and hundreds were queued up outside, but for those lucky enough to get in, it was clear: Somebody up there likes us.
-- Patrick CaldwellMarch 19, 2009
MTV: Jane's Addiction, Grizzly Bear Soar At SXSW '09
Grizzly Bear's gig at the Central Presbyterian Church - a warm and cozy chapel with high-arching ceilings and knotty wood-paneled walls - was perfectly tailored to their brand of atmospheric, harmonized indie, as the intertwined vocals of frontmen Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen floated up to the eaves, curled like puffs of smoke, then disappeared.
-- James MontgomeryMarch 20, 2009
SXSW 2008: Mark Kozelek and No Age
Despite its reputation for sweaty clubs and packed outdoor tents, some of the best music at SXSW is performed in churches. The two church venues provide a refreshingly different vibe as church members sell cookies and tea for a dollar. Finishing up our cups of tea (how civilized) we talk with the beekeeper whose honey we pour into our green teas.
Tonight singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon) is performing a solo acoustic set in the larger of the two churches - the beautiful Central Presbyterian church a couple blocks north of the sixth street craziness. ... As a solo performer, Mark is delicate and spacious - his guitar and voice amplified just enough to accentuate the hall's natural reverb without overwhelming it.
-- Brian EysterMarch 16, 2008
donewaiting.com » SXSW Day 1 Recap
Next up I went to the Central Presbyterian Church to see Bowerbirds, a band my friend Eric Metronome recommended. The thing about this venue is that yes, it's a church! I sat in a pew and they played in front of a giant cross. Really great place to see a rock show actually.-- Robert Duffy
March 13, 2008
NPR: Temporary Texans: A SXSW Blog
"A Bar Is Just a Church Where They Serve Beer"
For one thing, a bar may well be a church where they serve beer, but every SXSW, the Central Presbyterian Church turns into a bar where people actually shut up and stop networking long enough to listen to shows. The awed hush and ample seating more than compensate for the lack of alcohol; I guess they didn't want the sound of clinking bottles to detract from the music, huh?
-- Stephen Thompson
March 17, 2007
Pitchfork: SXSW Report: Saturday
The best venue at SXSW, hands down, is the Central Presbyterian Church, which is exactly what it says: a church. The audience sits in the pews, there's cookies and coffee available in the courtyard, and the staff thanks you for coming when you leave.
-- Amy PhillipsMarch 19, 2007
Pop Finally Starts Paying Attention
The most memorable event, and one of the hottest tickets, was Saturday's late night Anti- Records Hootenany at the Central Presbyterian Church, with its huge banner proclaiming "Deliberately Diverse and Fully Inclusive." Savvy Elders welcomed the half-staggering crowds (more than one friend smuggled in a six-pack) with fair trade chocolate (the best!) and hot cocoa for sale.
-- Linda RayMarch 30, 2006
Your Webmaster got a chuckle from an error by another writer on the same page: "[Harry Shearer's show] was also aggravated by the fact that it was held in a frackin' Baptist church."
Band of Horses - Central Presb. Church SXSW 3/19/10 from newgranada, Mar 24, 2010
The xx "Intro" @ Central Presbyterian Church SXSW 2010 from norgegiangrl, Mar 20, 2010
Amanda Palmer @ SXSW 1, Central Presbyterian Church, 2009-03-19 from skullgame, Mar 25, 2009
Anni Rossi @ Central Presbyterian Church, SXSW 2009 from mashfest, Mar 28, 2009
SXSW 2008: Mark Kozelek from cunningrabbit, Mar 14, 2008
Peter and the Wolf -- SXSW 2008 from cch1667, Mar 13, 2008
SKYE SXSW from Skyestube, Mar 24, 2007
M. Ward at Central Presbyterian Church
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Photo from You Ain't No Picasso, March 20, 2009
St. Vincent at Central Presbyterian Church
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Photo by Sergio Garza, from BeatCrave, March 19, 2009
Space City Gamelan at Central Presbyterian Church
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Photo by B.C. Walker, from The Signal to Noise Blog: STN@SXSW windup by grrrrshon, March 17, 2008
The Austin Chronicle: Music: Review - The Cowsills: "Even without their late brothers, Barry and Bill, the Cowsills made a joyful noise in the acoustically lovely setting of Central Presbyterian Church."
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Photo by Todd V. Wolfson, from review by Margaret Moser, March 13, 2008
Jo Mango at Central Presbyterian Church
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Uploaded to Flickr on March 15, 2007 by -Dons
Keren Ann SXSW (Central Presbyterian Church) 002
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Uploaded to Flickr on March 20, 2007 by baonguyen
Central Presbyterian Church Gig: "The weirdest gig I've ever been to was here at SxSW. They do say "keep Austin weird"..."
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Uploaded to Flickr on March 30, 2006 by ben-yacobi.com
2010: on cpcaustin.org (plain) // on my.sxsw.com (pretty)
2009: on cpcaustin.org (plain) // on 2009.sxsw.com (pretty)
2008: on cpcaustin.org (plain) // on 2008.sxsw.com (pretty)
2007: on cpcaustin.org (plain) // on 2007.sxsw.com (pretty)
2006: on cpcaustin.org (plain) // on 2006.sxsw.com (pretty)