SXSW early showcase picks include Chicago

Applications to play the annual South by Southwest music festival next March in Austin, Texas, are open through Friday, but the fest has already announced a slew of bands who’ve been given slots to play.

Two Chicago bands have made the early cut:

Mahogany — Fresh off a CMJ showcase, this “electric music-based multidisciplinary media ensemble” was founded at Michigan State Univ., also claims Philadelphia and New York as home and is now based here. Then again, as they’ve declared, “Mahogany was declared a sovereign city-state canton-town.” Their next EP, “Electric Prisms,” is expected soon via Chicago’s BLVD Records.

Musikanto — This Chicago-based folk-rocker, Mike Musikanto, released the “Sky of Dresses” album in August. Musikanto ceased studying painting to instead apply brushstrokes to some fine acoustic music, starting with “Ghost Pain” in 2009. He was just on NPR’s “Mountain Stage.”