February 2, 2009 23:06

The Decemberists to preview entire new album at SXSW

And Austin festival launches social networking site

The Decemberists have announced that they will preview their entire forthcoming album at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas next month.

The quintet will play all 17 songs from their fifth studio album, 'The Hazards Of Love', in sequence when they headline NPR's music showcase at Stubb's on March 18. They will be joined on stage by Lavendar Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, who sing guest vocals on the album.

Also, South by Southwest has announced the launch of a social networking site that allows registrants to interact with one another, build their personalized conference schedules, join exclusive groups, form a network with other attendees and send each other public or private notes.

My.sxsw.com is also built to integrate with other networking sites including Twitter, Flickr and Facebook.

"We've always wanted to provide a space online for registrants to network before, during and after the 10 days in March that they spend in Austin," Scott Wilcox, CTO of SXSW, Inc, said in a statement. "We have tried to use the feedback we've received over the years to provide social networking opportunities for SXSW registrants."

The South by Southwest music festival is set to take place March 18-22 at various venues throughout Austin, as previously reported.

--By our Los Angeles staff.
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