North Texas bands vie for spot on Austin City Limits stage

by Sarah Crisman

Industry judges have narrowed the Top 100 artists in this year's The Sound and The Jury competition down to the Top 20 -- including three North Texas acts rabidly campaigning for their shot at playing one of the world's most well-known music festivals. Fan voting for the Top 5 is now open until September 18. Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are all a tither with gentle pleading from artists and fans alike to bring these humble bands a potentially huge break. (At the very least, they'd be playing in front of a much larger crowd than they may have garnered here at home.)

Who are these kids?

Erin Austin, Denton: Singer/songwriter who splits her time between Denton and San Francisco (so you know she has to be cool). Austin's early aspirations to become a country singer were slightly hampered by a New York upbringing, but she seems to be doing well to come away from that stigma. Her vocals are reminiscent of Neko Case and Rilo Kiley -- more Americana than country, really. She has a pure sound that could fit in well with the festival crowd.

Air Review, Dallas: More signs of life that the ghosts of Deep Ellum have a score or two to settle. This well-coiffed rock group looks and sounds as though it remembers the better parts of Deep Ellum's previous (and presently emerging) rock scene. They seem to be a decent candidate to represent Big D's epic tendencies. If you like Coldplay, you'll probably dig these guys.

Andrew Tinker, Denton: If you love you some Grey's Anatomy soundtracks, you'll be all over the boyish charm of former Polyphonic Spreer-er, Andrew Tinker. The energetic piano-player/crowd-worker is backed by a very talented band, including Kelyn Crapp (of Fatty Lumpkin), a very hot bass player, Julia Adamy, and Jeff Randall (one of the more beloved drummers Denton has to offer). Despite the fact that the band is 3/4 male, this is a total chick band. (His shows err on the side of sorority bash.)

Take a listen, cast a vote before September 18. We'll be watching to see what happens next.