The first batch of acts for this year's South By Southwest (or SXSW) has been announced and includes The Stooges, Interpol, Lily Allen, Bloc Party, Devin the Dude, Hoodoo Gurus, Matt & Kim, Ghostland Observatory, the Watson Twins, the Stax 50th Anniversary Soul Review, Ozomatli, Turbonegro and Cold War Kids.

The festival's keynote speaker this year will be Pete Townshend, and included in the interview series will be chats with Gilberto Gil, Emmylou Harris, David Byrne, Terry McBride, Ricki Lee Jones, Booker T and Joe Boyd.

SXSW is a private media and entertainment company, based in Austin, TX, that gained worldwide exposure for their annual Music and Media Conference & Festival, which began in 1987. This year, the festival will run from March 9-18.