Friday, March 16   12:30 a.m.
Austin Music Hall Ballroom
Austin Convention Center   (500 E Cesar Chavez St)

Add this to your SXSW Calendar

Pop music can make miracles happen. Bad luck can turn good. Dreams can come true. Just ask composer, songwriter, and lead-vocalist of the Polyphonic Spree, Tim DeLaughter, one of music’s most unique and inspiring voices.

DeLaughter’s career began in 1991 as vocalist/guitarist of the Dallas-based alternative rock band Tripping Daisy. Inspired by the Beatles’ psychedelic period, the group was signed to Island Records and released four acclaimed albums before disbanding as a result of the untimely death of guitarist Wes Berggren from a drug overdose in 1999.

After leaving music for a brief time to start his family, DeLaughter soon found the lure of a return to performing and recording irresistible. The result was the Dallas symphonic pop group The Polyphonic Spree.
The Spree’s First first hit, “Light and Day” brought the robe wearing 24 piece alternative pop band into the spotlight and their tremendously entertaining live show keeps them there. Touring the world spreading positivity, unity, and togetherness, the Spree have written their own chapter in the history of music.

“The Fragile Army,” the title of their 3rd album, due out in 2007 will reinvent the band with a fresh new sound, a new look and a show that can’t be missed.

The Spree boasts a ten-member choir, a pair of keyboardists, a percussionist, bassist, guitarist, flautist, trumpeter, trombonist, violist, French horn player and even a theremin player, with DeLaughter serving as musical director, lead singer, and creative shaman. Generating huge interest with their performance at Austin’s South-by-Southwest music festival in 2002, the Spree were eventually hand-picked by David Bowie to play his Meltdown Festival at London’s Royal Festival Hall, and later signed to Hollywood Records. Their first album, “Together We’re Heavy”, was released in summer 2004, and their single “Follow The Day” was featured in Volkswagen commercials and on the soundtrack of the Focus Features motion picture Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. The Polyphonic Spree have been involved with such ad campaigns as Sun Chips, Sainsbury Grocery chain in the UK, Nokia, Adidas, Ipod and others. The band were selected to play at the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in 2005 along with every major festival in all corners of the earth.

The Spree most recently composed and performed the score for the independent feature film Thumbsucker. Based upon the Walter Kirn novel and starring Keanu Reeves, Tilda Swinton, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D’Onofrio and Benjamin Bratt, this unique coming-of-age story garnered huge attention at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.