At SXSW anything can happen and often days. Last night at Stubbs BBQ, Mike Mills and Peter Buck of REM, Ken Stringfellow and members of Big Star joined Blitzen Trapper on stage.
This year’s SXSW marked the two year anniversary of the death of Big Star / The Boxtops singer Alex Chilton who passed away just two days before a Big Star reunion show was scheduled at SXSW 2010.
The occasion was marked at SXSW with the screening on the new Big Star documentary ‘Big Easy Express’ and various scheduled tribute shows.
An unscheduled performance was the surprise with Blitzen Trapper when the REM and Big Star band members joined the band on stage to perform Big Star’s ‘Easy’.
“I can’t believe that really just happened,” drummer Brian Adrian Koch said as they left the stage.
Blitzen Trapper were a late addition to the line-up. Headliner John Mayer cancelled all upcoming appearances last week due to his ongoing throat issues.
Blitzen Trapper ended their show with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Good Times Bad Times’. They then joined the audience with REM to watch the night’s closing act Keane.