SXSW Gets To Talking

The South By Southwest Music Conference and Film Festival have announced their speakers and guests for the March 12-16 event in Austin, Texas, with Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty and vet promoter Louis Messina part of the mix.

Lou Reed is the keynote speaker, which will be held in conjunction with a screening of Julian Schnabel’s film "Lou Reed’s ‘Berlin,’" which documents a recent performance of Reed’s 1973 album. Daryl Hall is a featured speaker, as is Seymour Stein, president of Sire Records. Stein helped introduce punk and New Wave artists like The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Pretenders and Madonna.

In what can be called a surreal, if genius, pairing, famed composer Steve Reich will have a chat with Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. Music conference topics will include "Brands, Bands and Fans," "The Blog Factor" and "It’s Not Easy Being Green."

Moriarty will be interviewed by Wall Street Journal reporter Ethan Smith, while Pace Concerts founder Messina will be interviewed by Joe Nick Patoski, author of the forthcoming "Willie Nelson: An Epic Life."