Chronicle Picks 2 Click date back even before my tenure here, which is to say more than two decades. Local acts deserving national attention: That’s us 24/7/365/33. Nevertheless, one of team Music’s favorite annual tasks remains picking seven Austin groups showcased at South by Southwest. “Eight!?” cried Editor-in-Chief Louis Black when it was announced there would be an additional band spotlighted this year. “Did the editorial board vote on this!?” Eh, no … but that’s how institutionalized the tradition is here. That we’re able to hold it to eight showcasers strikes me as the bigger shock.

This article appears in February 28 • 2014.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.