Rock 'n' Roll -- UPI Arts & Entertainment

The SXSW Music, Film and Interactive conference, the most important gathering for cutting-edge live and audio-visual arts in the world, begins its 2002 season March 8 and runs through March 17.

What began in 1987 as a grassroots music conference sponsored by alternative weekly newspapers around the United States has grown in stature over the years to the point where some of the most respected names in show business will be rubbing shoulders in the bars and screening rooms of Austin, Texas, over the next two weeks.

On March 14, Robbie Robertson, co-founder of The Band and a music and film star in his own right, will deliver the keynote address opening the 16th annual music conference on at the Austin Convention Center.

Since The Band's last performance in 1976, Robertson has scored and produced a number of soundtracks and released four solo albums, the most recent being 1998's "Contact from the Underworld of Red Boy." Currently, Robertson holds an executive post as creative advisor for DreamWorks Records.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of "The Last Waltz," The Band's all-star farewell performance documented on film by Martin Scorsese. A newly restored print, remixed in 5.1 surround sound, will be screened during the music portion of the SXSW conference. In addition, Robertson will meet with music journalist and former Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres for a one-on-one Q&A included in the SXSW panel schedule.

Robertson joins a unique group of artists, including Ray Davies, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Nick Lowe, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash, who have welcomed past SXSW participants with informal, engaging keynote speeches.

Rock star-actress Courtney Love will be the featured interview subject at this year's music conference, a session that will take place on Saturday afternoon, March 16, starting at 1:30.

Love, wife of the late Nirvana founder Kurt Cobain, also had her own band, Hole, which released three albums ("Pretty on the Inside," "Live Through This" and "Celebrity Skin") in the 1990s and emerged as one of the decade's most lauded and successful rock bands.

Ms. Love will be interviewed by Chuck Philips, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for the Los Angeles Times Business Section.

The 2002 South By Southwest Music Conference, which this year will host an estimated 8,000 registrants, will offer a full range of panels, demo listening and mentor sessions, interviews with notable personalities, receptions, and a trade show in the city, as well as festival events featuring over 900 musicians on 40 stages throughout the Texas capital.

The conference begins on Wednesday March 13 and concludes Saturday March 16. The SXSW Music Trade Show will be open Thursday March 14 through Saturday March 16.

Hundreds of bands from across the globe will perform live showcases at scores of local clubs during the course of the conference. Many of them will participate in satellite showcases not directly affiliated with SXSW. In past years, many of the best new rock and roots music groups have been showcased at SXSW, which is now considered the most crucial annual event for record industry talent scouts.

The schmoozing begins this week at the expanded SXSW film festival, which will feature dozens of World, U.S. and regional premieres.

From the feature debut of acclaimed filmmaker Roman Coppola to the latest work by American film icon Peter Bogdanovich ("The Cat's Meow"), highly anticipated work from every facet of filmmaking will be on display. Follow George W. Bush on his road to the White House ("Journeys With George"), witness the directorial debut of actor Ethan Hawke ("Chelsea Walls"), or relive the musical vigor of Martin Scorsese's film "The Last Waltz." There will also be a bevy of new voices, the latest works by the newest independent filmmakers. All of it comes together in nine days, six theaters, and one great film festival.

Other highlights include "Derrida," by directors Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering Kofman; "Texas," a documentary featuring Russell Crowe; "Blade 2," directed by Guillermo del Toro; "Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)," a documentary featuring They Might be Giants; "The Scoundrel's Wife," directed by Glen Pitre; "Hell House," directed by George Ratliff; and "1 Giant Leap," directed by Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman.

The SXSW Interactive festival will run concurrently with the film festival from March 8-12.

South by Southwest (SXSW, Inc.) is a private company based in Austin, Texas, with a year-round staff of professionals dedicated to building and delivering conference and festival events for entertainment and related media industry professionals. Since 1987, SXSW has produced the internationally recognized Music and Media Conference & Festival.

As the entertainment business adjusted to issues of future growth and development, seven years ago, SXSW added conferences and festivals for the film industry (SXSW Film) as well as for the blossoming interactive media (SXSW Interactive Festival). Now three industry events converge in Austin during a Texas-size week, mirroring the ever increasing convergence of entertainment/media outlets.