Saturday marked the 6th annual Perez Hilton’s One Night In Austin party. Now a staple at SXSW, the event was held at the Austin Music Hall with attendance capped at 3700 for a comfortably crowded yet exclusive ambiance.
As a blogger and TV personality, Perez Hilton has gained fame through covering celebrity news. The lineup for One Night In Austin showcased a number of Hilton’s favorite rising artists and included mainstream names like Macklemore and Fall Out Boy. Also performing were Capital Cities, Charli XCX, Paloma Faith, Brooke Candy, Stooche, Wynter Gordon, Stooshe, Angel Haze, Kerli, and Foxes. Famous attendees spotted at Perez Hilton's Austin party included Zac Efron, Bridget Kelly, and Alli Gornino.
One Night In Austin was organized far better than the majority of SXSW events. This year, attendees could purchase tickets in advance ($20 general admission, $75 VIP) to avoid standing in line for hours without guaranteed entrance. Additionally, the dozen scheduled acts hit the stage at their scheduled times – unprecedented!
All proceeds benefitted The VH1 Save The Music Foundation and GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network. Sponsors for the 2013 event included Tic Tac, VH1, Vita Coco, Strongbow, and TY KU Premium Sake & Spirits.
Read below for highlights of last night’s performances at One Night In Austin.
FOXES
As the first performer of Perez Hilton’s concert series, the 22-year-old London musician took the stage in a flowing dress while belting love anthems. Foxes has become known for both her vocal strength in emotionally-driven songs and her personal fashion sense. Indeed, attendees had a difficult time keep their eyes off of the lady in red.
KERLI
Rocking crazy-high high platforms, the audience soon realized that the Estonian artist’s outfit had glow-in-the-dark lining from head to toe! As one of the best talents to hail from Elva (and based in LA), Kerli smiled through her entire set of dance club songs. Often described as a "bubble goth" beauty exuding positivity, it's no wonder that Kerli was once listed as one of the 100 Most Influential Estonian Women.
ANGEL HAZE
As soon as she began rapping on stage, Angel Haze grabbed the audience’s attention and didn’t let go. At just 21 years old, she’s been rapidly growing a fan base after posting a series of mixtapes online. In an intimate moment during the show, Haze opened up about her persevering attitude to stay strong after both being homeless and attempting suicide in the past year. Encouraging the audience to also adopt a mentality to be “supreme”, Angel Haze made herself a name to remember.
STOOSHE
The edgy English group, Stooshe, took the stage to prove that they are not your typical girl band. Whipping up a storm at their only SXSW performance this year, the three beautiful members - Alexandra Buggs, Karis Anderson, and Courtney Rumbold - treated fans to edgy choreography while spitting their own written, and frank, material. Perhaps their swearing will make it hard to get on the radio, but you can expect to hear much more of this promising girl group.
CHARLI XCX
Earlier in the day, the stage equipment of the rising star was burned by the Texas heat, preventing the singer from performing at the AOS event. However Charli XCX was clearly ready to go by One Night In Austin, keeping the crowd entertained with her energetic performance.
CAPITAL CITIES
A new band to hail from Los Angeles, Capital Cities became a new favorite of many music lovers who were lucky enough to catch one their three SXSW shows. If having a trumpet player wasn’t enough, Capital Cities gained new fans by covering Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” on Saturday night.
WYNTER GORDAN
As “just a girl from South Jamaica, New York”, Wynter Gordan gave SXSW attendees a special acoustic set full of hypnotizing trills. The sultrier version of her electronic dance hit, “Dirty Talk”, quieted the room if for only three minutes. And if that wasn’t enough, she mesmerized audiences by switching verses of songs between English and Zulu!
LISSIE
With her soulful smile, Lissie is known for her folk music that earned her Paste Magazine's No. 1 best new solo artist of 2010. She rocked the house before nailing her signature cover of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness”.
PALOMA FAITH
Following Foxes’ lead, the English singer-songwriter also dazzled in her own flowing red dress. Breaking out from London's underground circuit, she's been making a name for herself since her debut album "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?" and its successor "Fall to Grace". Sticking her with soulful pop genre, Paloma performed a cover of INXS’ “Never Tear Us Apart”.
MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS
According to one tweet by a South By Southwest attendee, “Macklemore is everywhere!” At his 9th show for ONIAustin, Macklemore and his producer Ryan Lewis didn’t let fans down. Between songs, he spoke of his gratitude toward fans and the need for gay marriage rights. Wanz stepped in to perform the smash, “Thrift Shop”, which is the first independent song to hit the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. As his set carried over the midnight mark to St. Patrick’s Day, Macklemore celebrated his Irish heritage by performing “Irish Celebration” while passing around an Irish flag onstage.
BROOKE CANDY
In response to fan shout-out, “You’re sexy!”, Brooke announced, “I want to be scary!” Despite which way fans leaned toward describing the 23-year-old American rapper and internet icon, they certainly all agreed that Brooke knows how to entertain a crowd with her signature style, staggering beats, and lyrics empowering women.
FALL OUT BOY
The surprise guest of the Perez Hilton party proved that they’re ready to comeback with a new tour this year. Returning after a hiatus since 2009, Fall Out Boy showed off their new single ""My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" before pumping up the crowd with their hits, “Sugar, We’re Going Down” and “Dance, Dance”, and wrapping up the night with “Thnks fr th Mmrs”.
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