Getting there isn't always half the fun as some Colorado bands that headed to Austin for the 2015 South By Southwest music fest found out.
The perils of making the trek ranged from the minor – Write Minded found themselves stranded for a few hours in Oklahoma thanks to a dead battery – to the major – Eldren's violinist was almost deported just before the band headed out for the festival – to the miraculous – a very good Samaritan took to Facebook to return a wallet to Stella Luce bassist Brett Schreiber.
As always though, the show must go on, regardless of the challenge of…
Deportation
Josh Lee, the violinist for Denver-based psychedelic band Eldren, is originally from South Korea.
In 2012, Lee was detained for four months and facing deportation.
"We had to really rally behind him and get the community behind him," said guitarist Tyler Imbrogno. "(His status) is still in process, but we have him here with us for now at least. His trial has been postponed to 2019."
Injury
Wheelchair Sports Camp's Kalyn Heffernan suffered a broken arm during a regional tour on the way to SXSW.
At a show a rowdy fan knocked into the MC, who has osteogenesis imperfect – or brittle bone disease. Heffernan decided to keep her SXSW showcase schedule and wears a brace on her arm, which severely impacts her ability to bust her rhymes. The 55-pound rapper is very animated onstage but the injury only hampered her slightly during the Colorado Music Party's Rooftop Hip-hop Showcase.
Heffernan hasn't let much stop her in her travels to SXSW – including getting arrested with her crew on marijuana possession and graffiti charges four years ago.
"I expected to play for like, two, people and we played for 300 people and a lot of them were pretty influential industry people that have helped us along the way," she said. "Now we're a touring band and we've played outside of the country so – South By has been really, really good to us."
Theft
Daisy Mauterer and Brian Weikel are hoping the festival will be that way for them as well. The Fort Collins rock 'n' roll couple was devastated when their car was broken into and more than $4,500 in music gear was stolen only weeks before the festival. On Thursday both were on hand at the festival for their bands, The B.A.B.E.S and Wasteland Hop.
As Weikel wrapped up a Wasteland Hop show with his new bass, Mauterer beamed about the support they have received from the community, including almost $2,500 so far in donations to their Community Funded crowdsource campaign and a replacement Flying V guitar for cheap.
"It's not our old stuff but it's great to have something," Mauterer said. "It just goes to show, you can't stop us."
And once you do get to the annual music festival you get to rock out.
Editor's Note: Reporter Stacy Nick is in Austin, Texas reporting from the 2015 South By Southwest festival and the Colorado Music Party. You can follow Stacy Nick on Twitter for updates: @StacyNick
