Prince, Justin Timberlake Rumored For SXSW
Every year, a whole lot of very, very famous people come to Austin for SXSW, mixing uneasily with the glut of unsigned bands and performing at vast, fun clusterfuck shows that usually require multiple hoop-jumps to get into. This year, the big two rumors happen to be two men who are very, very good at performing lithe, preening soul-funk: Prince and Justin Timberlake.
The Prince appearance isn’t confirmed, but we do have a possible time and place. An unnamed source tells Hitfix that Prince will perform with a 22-piece band at the La Zona Rosa nightclub on Saturday night, which will be amazing if true. Meanwhile, a Justin Timberlake performance has been rumored for a while, and now Austinist points out that the Austin Police Department, hilariously, has pretty much confirmed it, saying that they’ll be on their gun and badge shit for a private Timberlake party. No time and place for that one, so I fully expect some wiseass to send me to an empty parking lot halfway across town.
Meanwhile, SXSW will also host confirmed shows from big dogs like Depeche Mode, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Dave Grohl’s Sound City Players, and Green Day.