One of the most heralded artists this year, British chanteuse Ellie Goulding was a hardly a name in the US when she hit up SXSW in 2011. The elfin girl with the big voice debuted at #1 in the UK with her 2010 album Lights and was subsequently offered the honor to perform at the Royal Wedding the following year. If Will and Kate could get into her, so could we!

Y! Music captured an intimate, exclusive performance from Goulding at SXSW 2011 from the Y! headquarters. Even without fancy equipment, a stage, or a mic, Goulding blew the windows out with a moving performance of her single "Starry Eyed":

2008 was English darlings The Ting Tings ended their salad days and ordered steak--with a side of sass. Like the second coming of Blondie, the duo's mélange of punk, dance and new wave launched them in the U.K. and exploded in the US, earning the insanely coveted iPod commercial later in the year. All this even before they released their debut album We Started Nothing. Actually, y'all started a lot!

The Ting Tings dialed it back for a rare acoustic performance at SXSW 2008 of their hit "Great DJ" for Yahoo! Music from the Gibson Showroom in Austin, TX.

South By Southwest kicks off this week with a mind-boggling lineup of amazing music, carrying on the Austin festival's tradition established way back in 1987. So we're looking back ourselves, at some of the amazing performances Yahoo! Music shot during our many past rock 'n' roll pilgrimages to Texas.

One of the standout acts of SXSW 2006 was moody Britrock combo Editors, who were in Austin to promote their much-hyped debut album. It was a major treat when they performed unplugged at Yahoo! Music's pop-up Austin headquarters that year, the Cedar Creek Studio, and we're happy to revisit that moment here. Enjoy:

dovesDecades in the making, Britpop band Doves were coming off their second consecutive UK #1 album when they made the pilgrimage to SXSW in 2005. Flooding the stage with expansive rock and shimmering pop, Yahoo! got the exclusive on the band's highly anticipated performance!

Watch Doves play their hit single "Black & White Town" at La Zona Rosa in Austin, TX:

South By Southwest kicks off this week with a mind-boggling lineup of amazing music, carrying on the Austin festival's tradition established way back in 1987. So we're looking back ourselves, at some of the amazing performances Yahoo! Music shot during our many past rock 'n' roll pilgrimages to Texas.

The standout act of SXSW 2007 was a verge-of-superstardom Amy Winehouse, who was in Austin to promote her breakout album, Back To Black, and was scheduled to perform at a series of high-profile parties and showcases. However, the troubled singer ended up canceling about half of her appearances. So Yahoo! staffers weren't entirely convinced that a shoot with Amy at a local Austin recording studio would go on as planned...until Amy actually arrived, in the tattooed flesh.

Back when they were still tearing up night clubs and underground venues, Bloc Party set foot on one of the many SXSW stages in 2005 just after the release of their critically-acclaimed debut album Silent Alarm. The raucous indie group's album shot up the charts, was certified platinum and deemed "Album of the Year" at the PLUG Awards and NME.

Watch the UK band perform their North American breakthrough single "Banquet" at Stubb's BBQ in Austin, TX.

South By Southwest kicks off this week with a mind-boggling lineup of amazing music, carrying on the Austin festival's tradition established way back in 1987. So we're looking back ourselves, at some of the amazing performances Yahoo! Music shot during our many past rock 'n' roll pilgrimages to Texas.

One of the standout acts of SXSW 2006 was no doubt bratty British rapper Lady Sovereign, who was in Austin to promote her much-hyped debut album. Looking like a pop star from the top of her cornrowed head to the tips of her Adidas shell-toes when she showed up at Yahoo! Music's pop-up Austin headquarters that year, Cedar Creek Studio, she immediately fell in with the Y! crew. When she wasn't rocking the mic, she practiced soccer kicks with a discarded rock, attacked our junk-food-laden craft services table with the gusto of a starving raccoon, or best yet, coaxed a crowd of curious neighborhood children into a nearby field for an impromptu game of stickball. She certainly knew how to keep herself and everyone around her entertained, and years later, her SXSW performance from that day is still supremely, randomly entertaining. Enjoy:

South By Southwest kicks off this week with a mind-boggling lineup of amazing music, carrying on the Austin festival's tradition established way back in 1987. So we're looking back ourselves, at some of the amazing performances Yahoo! Music shot during our many past rock 'n' roll pilgrimages to Texas.

One of the standout acts of SXSW 2007 was no doubt British dandy Mika, who was in Austin to promote his debut album, Life In Cartoon Motion. And he looked like a cartoon in motion himself, showing up at Yahoo! Music's pop-up Austin headquarters that year in an Easter-egg-bright, multi-colored ensemble with a pink-haired Perez Hilton in tow. Mika's performance of his signature song "Grace Kelly" was just as colorful, and we're happy to revisit that memorable moment here. Enjoy: