Depeche ModeEarlier this week, venerable synthpop gods Depeche Mode announced their plan to make their first-ever appearance at the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, the music portion of which kicks off next Tuesday. This was cause for black celebration indeed, but there was just one issue: The legendary group's Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andy Fletcher were only scheduled to take part in a public Q&A, with no official concert on the SXSW calendar. Rumors immediately began swirling that the Mode would play a "secret" show at SXSW, but now it's not a secret anymore: Yahoo! Music is thrilled to exclusively reveal that Depeche will indeed be playing at SXSW--and their showcase will be presented by Yahoo!

Yes, Depeche Mode will perform an exclusive Yahoo! show at Austin's shiny new venue Brazos Hall on Friday, March 15, taking the stage at 10pm. Doors will open at 7pm, with the other acts on the bill including psychedelic dream-pop combo Feathers, L.A. indie buzz band the

Members of Peelander-Z, from New York via Japan, in downtown Austin, Texas during the SXSW Music Festival on Wednesday, March 14, 2012.(Jack Plunkett/AP)

Talk to the person who asked the best question

You've managed to squeeze into the day's most in-demand panel, stocked with representatives from companies you'd love to work for (or pitch your work to). When the session is over, a line will immediately form around the presenters. Instead of following suit, make your way over to the person who asked the best question during the Q&A. Chances are that person is just as likely to hire you or know someone who can. Even if said Q&Aer is at the same place as you in their career, she can introduce you to new networks, be a point of contact in another city, or turn into a professional sounding board for future ventures.

Go visit some Austin businesses

We're three deep at their bars, our rental cars are clogging their highways and SXSW has flipped their town into a wasteland of convention overflow. The least we can do is show homegrown Austin businesses some love. And getting time away from official activities will provide a needed mental health

LL Cool J (CBS)

LL Cool has a lesson on authentic hip-hop planned for the SXSW Music Festival.

The veteran rapper enlists Public Enemy, Ice Cube and Doug E. Fresh to share a concert bill with him on March 14 at a Doritos-sponsored event in Austin, Texas.

[Related: What Prompted The Rise Of Hip-Hop At The SXSW Music Festival?]

“Authentic is my whole focus on my new album,” he says in an exclusive interview with Yahoo! Music. “I feel like Public Enemy, Ice Cube and Doug E. Fresh are all authentic. Not to say that no artists in the new era are authentic but these are just some guys that I feel people haven’t seen on stage in a long time. I’ve been out there and bleed when they’ve beaten up the stage.”

The Austin, Texas, musicfest South by Southwest—or “SXSW,” as it is often affectionately/lazily nicknamed—started off in 1987 as a springboard for unsigned acts, an industry convention where music’s next big thing could be discovered while busking on Sixth Street. (For years, this possibility was sort of the rock ‘n’ roll equivalent of Lana Turner getting scouted at Schwab’s.) But my, how things have changed: Last year’s headliners included mega-names like Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, 50 Cent with Eminem, and Jack White, and this year’s SXSW will also draw many huge acts who are more accustomed to playing stadiums than Stubb’s.

If you’re heading to SXSW—the music portion of which begins Tuesday, March 12—in hopes of seeing some Texas-sized headliners, here’s who you should check out...

The music portion of South By Southwest—or “SXSW,” as the Austin fest is affectionately known in the biz—kicks off and kicks up its heels on March 12. And while it’s been a long time since the beer-soaked, BBQ-laden Texas convention has been a platform for totally unknown, unsigned artists (last year’s big headliner was Bruce Springsteen, and Justin Timberlake is rumored to be making an appearance this year), SXSW is still a great place for buzzy baby bands to elevate their indie profiles. If you’re headed to SXSW to mess with Texas this year, here are our top 10 picks for up-and-coming acts to check out amid the March madness.

Jay-Z (Gary Miller, FilmMagic)

Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Eminem played Austin, Texas’s South by Southwest Music Festival last year, making it one of the event’s biggest years for hip-hop.

Yahoo! Music has taken notice. Though we have covered the festival for the last 15+ years, this year, we will have a stronger hip-hop presence. This writer, Yahoo! Music senior editor and Hip Hop Media Training blogger, will be on the scene from March 12 to 17.

In anticipation of the trek, Hip Hop Media Training interviewed Matt Sonzala, who was involved with booking SXSW hip hop acts for more than 10 years. He left his post as Hip Hop Music Fest Coordinator in 2012. In this Q&A, Sonzala offers an overview of his role in the evolution of rap music at the annual music celebration.

There's an interesting scenario that often emerges as a hypothetical talent gauge these days, especially when so much contemporary music emerges via studio and electronic means: Take a performer and plop him or her on a desert island with a crew of castaways and just one music instrument. How will that work out?

In the case of England's Michael Kiwanuka, the answer may be almost laughably obvious.

Staggeringly well.

With just a guitar in hand, and his strikingly soulful, emotive voice, Kiwanuka could likely entertain anyone anywhere. On a desert island, or in a makeshift studio in Austin, Texas, during this year's South by Southwest music conference.

Consider this a welcome early preview of Kiwanuka, who's already been on the receiving end of a whirlwind of raves overseas. His first full album, Home Again, is slated to receive its American debut on July 31st at the moment, and it's every bit as good and soul-searing as the performances you can witness below. We all have a lot to look forward to.