The South By Southwest (SXSW) festival kicks off in Texas today, with over a dozen Irish artists hoping to make an impact at the world's most renowned music event.

With 2010 widely regarded as one of the best year's for Irish music it's fitting that such a large range of homegrown will be on hand to impress industry moguls and music fans alike.

More than 15 Irish musical acts will perform in total, including Choice Prize nominees James Vincent McMorrow, Halves, Adebisi Shank and O Emperor (full lineup is below).

These homegrown heroes will represent the country under the 'Music From Ireland' project, which is run by First Music Contact in partnership with Culture Ireland and IMRO, as part of Culture Ireland’s year of Irish arts in America 2011.

If your plans for the week somehow don’t include a visit to Texas then fear not as RTÉ 2FM's Jenny Huston will be on hand to provide your festival entertainment as she broadcasts live from SXSW on Wednesday March 16 and Thursday March 17 from 9 - 11pm.

Similarly, The Paul Mcloone show on Today FM will be tracking the progress of the Irish artists, and getting as many live sessions with them as he can, from Wednesday March 16 to Friday March 18.

In the meantime you can sample the bands' respective delights through the links below - go forth and discover!

James V. McMorrow - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/jamesvincentmcmorrow[/link]
Funeral Suits - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/funeralsuits[/link]
Pierce Turner - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/pierceturner[/link]
LaFaro - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/lafaro[/link]
The Mighty Stef - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/themightystef[/link]
Rams’ Pocket Radio - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/ramspocketradio[/link]
Sweet Jane - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/sweetjane[/link]
RSAG - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/rsag[/link]
O Emperor - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/oemperor[/link]
Sacred Animals - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/sacredanimals[/link]
Halves - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/halves[/link]
Ham Sandwich - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/hamsandwich[/link]
The Lost Brothers - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/thelostbrothers[/link]
Adebisi Shank - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/adebisishank[/link]
Oh Ruin - [link]www.breakingtunes.com/ohruin[/link]

For more information and stage times see [link]www.musicfromireland.org[/link]