The French Connection: ATX6

On a painfully early Sunday morning flight, “Playback” says “au revior” to Texas and begins a journey to the French city of Angers – pronounced “ahn-zhay.” Something like that. The reason for my French connection? To hear Austin music, of course.

Sept. 12-18, our sister city hosts a banquet of music, food, film, tech, and arts for its second annual Austin Week. Hopping the pond to perform at the cultural exchange program’s concerts series are Afrobeat aliens Golden Dawn Arkestra, painter and weird whisperer Ethan Azarian, pedal steel renegade Bob Hoffnar, soulful country tough Doug Strahan, and smooth folk rocker Kalu James.

Also stepping up to the mic, a six-pack of singer-songwriters handpicked by Chris Brecht of Austin Independent Radio. You remember, the 2016 ATX6: Jai Malano, Elijah Ford, Tate Mayeux of swampy-tonk duo Mayeux & Broussard, Beth Chrisman from the Carper Family and High Planes Jamboree, Andy Bianculli (Star Parks/ex- Preservation), and Grace Park, frontwoman for the Deer.

Levitation France, the European version of Austin’s annual psych-rock gathering, also reverberates through Angers as part of Austin Week.

I’ll be embedded with the Texas music representatives, documenting their songs and experiences in a series of posts as well as in my column of Sept. 22. A preview of sorts on my upcoming adventures can be found in Angers Mag (if you’re our own Abby Johnston and read French, that is). For bite-size bits from abroad, follow me on Twitter (@Playback_Austin), Instagram (Dirt_Curtin), and Facebook (Kevin Curtin), not to mention all the official Austin Chronicle social media.