Polarizing TV chef Rachael Ray is having another party at South By Southwest this year; it’ll take place Saturday March 21, and last all day, and probably be ridiculously hard to get into once again. And yes, there will be food (like, um, seven layer sliders, the ingredient list of which gives me stomach cramps). And drink! And bands: The Hold Steady, The New York Dolls, Bob Schneider, The Airborne Toxic Event, Ra Ra Riot, Semi Precious Weapons, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Thermals ,and John Pringle. Also The Cringe, a.k.a. her husband’s band. There is a flyer, but I kind of like the one that Christopher R. Weingarten and I brainstormed a little better. [RachaelRay.com]

The extremely polarizing TV chef/daytime host/magazine editor/lifestyle brand Rachael Ray will once again host a showcase at Austin’s South By Southwest Festival, the sequel to a 2008 concert that featured the Raveonettes and band-whose-name-you-can’t-say-on-TV Holy Fuck. No artists have been confirmed yet, although rumors floated by MTV claim that barroom standbys the Hold Steady and the Pitchfork-disliked, NBC-beloved Airborne Toxic Event may be on the bill. There’s a warmup party at Andrew WK’s New York City club Santos Party House scheduled for late February, although alas, Mr. WK is not on the bill for that yet. (Maybe he’ll be Rachael’s sous chef for the evening instead? We can all hope!) [MTV]

The first batch of bands for this year’s installment of the South By Southwest Music Festival has been announced, which means that we can finally put festival programmer Darin Klein’s claims about just how bands are selected for Austin’s annual Shiner-and-short sets fest to the test. (Aww, the lede of Lucas’ piece mentions free Sparks. How sad.) Among the highlights on the list, which is after the jump: Ida Maria, Ebony Bones, St. Vincent. And Primal Scream, hey!

8Ball & MJG (Memphis, TN)
Akron/Family (Williamsport, PA)
Al Kapone (Memphis, TN)
Alina Simone (Brooklyn, NY)
Amanda Blank (Philadelphia, PA)
Amber Smith (Budapest, HUNGARY)
Angry vs The Bear (Essex, ENGLAND)
Anthony Snape (Sydney, AUSTRALIA)
ARABROT (Oslo, NORWAY)
Arc Angels (Austin, TX)
Asher Roth (Morrisville, PA)
Asobi Seksu (Brooklyn, NY)
Astrid Williamson (Shetland Islands, SCOTLAND)
B.o.B. (Atlanta, GA)
Banda de Turistas (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Bar-Kays (Memphis, TN)
Bavu Blakes (Austin, TX)
Ben Kweller (Austin, TX)
Benny Gallagher (West Wickham, ENGLAND)
Black Cherry (London, ENGLAND)
BLACK SKIES (Chapel Hill, NC)
Blaqstarr (Baltimore, MD)
Blue Scholars (Seattle, WA)
Bomba Estereo (Bogota, Columbia)
Brick Bandits (Philadelphia, PA)
Buck 65 (Halifax, NS)
Buraka Som Sistema (Lisbon, Portugal)
Candy Coated Killahz (Toronto, CANADA)
Cashier No.9 (Belfast, IRELAND)
Casiokids (Bergen, NORWAY)
Charles Hamilton (New York, NY)
Choc Quib Town (Bogota, Columbia)
CHOO-CHOO (Bern, SWITZERLAND)
Chris T-T (Brighton, ENGLAND)
Come On Gang! (Edinburgh, SCOTLAND)
Crystal Method (Los Angeles, CA)
Crystal Stilts (New York, NY)
Damero (Berlin, Germany)
Dananananaykroyd (Glasgow, Scotland)
Dave Alvin (Los Angeles, CA)
David Garza (Austin, TX)
Dead Prez (New York, NY)
Dekadens (Bucharest, ROMANIA)
Dirtblonde (Liverpool, ENGLAND)
Division Miniscula (Matamoros, Mexico)
Doctor Krapula (Bogota, Columbia)
EBONY BONES! (London, ENGLAND)
Ella (Bristol, ENGLAND)
Empire ISIS (Montreal, CANADA)
Explosions in the Sky (Austin, TX)
Flood of Red (Glasgow, SCOTLAND)
Franki Chan (Los Angeles, CA)
Free Sol (Memphis, TN)
Futumomo Satisfaction (Tokyo, Japan)
Gabi Almedia (Sao Paolo, Brazil)
Gary Clark Jr. (Austin, TX)
Grimy Styles (Austin, TX)
Hacienda (San Antonio, TX)
Hickoids (Austin, TX)
Ida Maria (Stockholm, Sweden)
Insite (Mexicali, Mexico)
Invincible (Detroit, MI)
Jokers of the Scene (Ottawa, ON)
Kap Bambino (Bordeaux, France)
Kid Sister (Chicago, IL)
Killer Mike (Atlanta, GA)
LA Riots (Los Angeles, CA)
Los Fancy Free (Mexico City, Mexico)
Madi Diaz (Nashville, TN)
Manana (Basil, SWITZERLAND)
Mandi Perkins (Los Angeles, CA)
Mexican Institute of Sound (Mexico City, Mexico)
Micachu (London, ENGLAND)
Midnight Youth (Auckland, NEW ZEALAND)
Mika Miko (Los Angeles, CA)
Mike Badger (Liverpool, ENGLAND)
Mistah FAB (Oakland, CA)
Monokino (Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS)
Moriarty (Montreuil, FRANCE)
Motel (Mexico City, Mexico)
Mundo Livre Sa (Recife, Brazil)
My Crew Be Unruly (Baltimore, MD)
My Federation (Hove, ENGLAND)
Nacho Vegas (Gijon, Spain)
Nacional (Glasgow, SCOTLAND)
NAVEL (Erschwil, SWITZERLAND)
Outasight (New York, NY)
P.O.S. (Minneapolis, MN)
Pato Machete (Monterrey, Mexico)
Peter Bjorn & John (Stockholm, Sweden)
Peter Rosenberg (New York, NY)
Port O’Brien (Cambria, CA)
Primal Scream (Glasgow, Scotland)
Reflection Eternal (Ohio/New York)
Rob Quest (Houston, TX)
Sage Francis (Providence, RI)
San Quinn (San Francisco, CA)
Scribe (Christchurch, NZ)
Shad (London, Ontario)
Shawn David McMillen (Austin, TX)
Simplifires (Mexico City, Mexico)
Soulico (Tel Aviv, Israel)
St. Vincent (Dallas, TX)
Suzy & Los Quattro (Barcelona, Spain)
T Bird & The Breaks (Austin, TX)
Tanya Morgan (Brooklyn, NY)
Temposhark (London, ENGLAND)
The Beat Poets (Belfast, IRELAND)
The Carrivick Sisters (Devon, ENGLAND)
The Courteneers (Manchester, UK)
The deBretts (London, ENGLAND)
The Deep Dark Woods (Saskatoon, CANADA)
the Devil Wears Prada (Dayton, OH)
The Everyday Visuals (Boston, MA)
The Knux (New Orleans, LA)
THE MOOG (Budapest, HUNGARY)
The Pepper Pots (Girona, Spain)
The Sonics (Seattle, WA)
The Temper Trap (Nth Fitzroy, AUSTRALIA)
thecocknbullkid (London, ENGLAND)
Thee Oh See’s (San Francisco, CA)
This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb (Pensacola, FL)
Tittsworth (Washington, DC)
Tommy Tee (Oslo, Norway)
Toy Horses (Barry, WALES)
Twilight Hotel (Winnipeg, CANADA)
Virgin Passages (London, ENGLAND)
Volodja Balzalorsky (Ljubljana, SLOVENIA)
WAZ (Los Angeles, CA)
We Have Band (London, ENGLAND)
We Should Be Dead (Limerick, IRELAND)
White Lies (London, ENGLAND)
Whitechapel (Knoxville, TN)
Willem Maker (Turkey Heaven, AL)
Willy Joy (Chicago, IL)
Yarah Bravo (New York, NY)

SXSW Music [Official site]
Earlier: In Case You’re Thinking Of A Last-Minute Application, Here’s How Bands Get Picked For SXSW