Miles Raymer of The Chicago Reader penned a great feature on Closed Sessions: ATX, going in-depth on the formation of Closed Sessions, and how everything came together.

Back when albums could still sell big and labels had actual A&R budgets, South by Southwest had a pretty clear purpose: to put unsigned, unknown bands in front of people who could, at least in theory, offer them record deals and media exposure. But more and more the festival showcases performers who are already firmly established or at least thoroughly hyped, and corporate and media entities with little connection to music have populated it in increasing numbers as well—it's hard to see why SXSW still exists, other than to perpetuate itself.

Read the full story here.