Berklee Presents its SXSW Party: Boston and Beyond with Media Sponsor Vanyaland

Berklee College of Music announces Boston-based music news website Vanyaland as media sponsor for its ninth annual SXSW Party: Boston and Beyond on Thursday, March 13, 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., at Brush Square Park in Austin, Texas.

January 15, 2014

Berklee College of Music, the only college to host an official party at the SXSW Music and Media Conference, announces Boston-based music news website Vanyaland as media sponsor for its ninth annual SXSW Party: Boston and Beyond on Thursday, March 13, 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., at Brush Square Park (West Tent), located at 409 East 5th Street (Neches and 5th), Austin, Texas.  

Launched by former Boston Phoenix music editor Michael Marotta in May of 2013, Vanyaland has quickly become a top destination for music news, live shows, new releases, downloads, live streams, and nightlife around Boston and beyond, and was named Best Music Blog at the 2013 Boston Music Awards. The site is one of the fastest growing new media companies in New England.

Vanyaland will collaborate with Berklee copresenters The Red Room @ Cafe 939, Alumni Affairs, and student-run label Heavy Rotation Records to curate a stellar lineup of student and alumni acts for Berklee’s SXSW Party: Boston and Beyond. Vanyaland also plans to live stream the event.

“We are very excited to partner with Berklee for SXSW, especially given that the event falls on the day before the one-year anniversary of the Boston Phoenix’s closing,” said Marotta, Vanyaland editor and cofounder. “We’ve aimed to fill the void in music coverage left by the Phoenix—for both Boston and national bands—and being a part of an official SXSW show is another step in our tremendous early growth. We’re honored to be a part of one of the best parties at SXSW.”   

“In our ninth year at SXSW, the anticipation hasn’t waned. Our team has grown in numbers and this year we are fortunate to have a new partner in Vanyaland. We attribute these exciting times to the fact that Berklee talent just gets better and better,” added Jackie Indrisano, Cafe 939 venue manager/talent buyer. “This year we’re bringing the bands, the blog and the oysters for an incredible afternoon of music and merriment.”

Past Berklee SXSW parties have featured up-and-coming artists including Lucius, Nini & Ben (of HAERTS), Melissa Ferrick, Air Traffic Controller, Elizabeth & the Catapult, Rebecca Loebe, Apollo Sunshine, Madi Diaz, Hallelujah the Hills, and Brad Barr from the Slip.

Berklee’s SXSW Party: Boston and Beyond is all ages and open to SXSW badge holders. The public can RSVP to attend free of charge. Free oyster bar provided by Island Creek Oysters. Stay tuned for RSVP information and lineup details.

Vanyaland is an online music magazine curated and published by outgoing Boston Phoenix music editor Michael Marotta. After the closing of the storied alt-weekly in March 2013, Marotta shifted his efforts and vision for Boston music coverage to his personal blog, Vanyaland, with the idea of expanding its scope to cover the vibrant Boston music scene from the basements and clubs of Allston, Somerville, and Cambridge to the larger theaters and music venues all over town. Relaunched May 2013, on the one year anniversary of the sale of WFNX’s 101.7 FM signal, Vanyaland is an interactive source for music news, live shows, new releases, downloads, live streams, and nightlife around Boston and beyond, focusing on the bands raised in our city but also welcoming to the touring acts that pass through it daily. It’s a destination to learn about the musical pulse of Boston, from venues to record stores to other entities that make our city the best in the world.

Margot Edwards is a manager in the Office of Media Relations. Media inquiries: medwards@berklee.edu.