There are quite possibly few people more excited about the upcoming Ford and KickKickSnare Emerging Artist showcase than me. You may know that we are hosting Matthew Dear, Body Language, ZZ Ward and Johnny Stimson in awesome performances Monday, March 12, 2012, at Stubb’s in Austin, Texas.

Matthew Dear is a genius, a man who no longer belongs to a genre, and simultaneously hits the high points of house, electronica, dance, DJ and pop. Body Language, opening for Dear on tour, makes me want to hit the dance floor every time they bounce out their retro-minded, shifty disco rock. ZZ Ward, is, mark my words, a bluesy, jazzy new artist tht you’ll be dying to download. And Kick Kick Snare’s own personal musical crush, Johnny Stimson, is like clean-cut, and every song is infectious, well-written, and radio-worthy…not to mention just plain awesome.

Invites are out, RSVPs are in, and with these four artists, we’re going to have an amazing crowd (including our contest winners!) on hand for our daytime showcase and night time party.

But this is also the time to give a special shout out to Ford for helping out with these four amazing artists and being musically awesome in the process. Stuff like this doesn’t just happen, and by doing this in cooperation with Ford, we are already helping create great music together. Not only did they jump up and down at the thought of our line-up, but they’ve also been on the music train for a while. The new 2013 Escape Ford is bringing to Austin is not just cool in design, but it’s something every band and performer from Tampa to Temecula should think about.

Consider this: Ford designed the Escape with sound in mind, and we think they did it right. Engineers tested dozens of songs for specific tonal qualities to make sure they got it on point, and they included all genres of music: bass extension, tonal balance, panning vocals and making sure back-up singers hit the right sound depth. Shout-out to all the picky bands out there: You cringe just as much as I do when you hear poor sound quality in a car, and there’s nothing radder than being able to plug in your mp3 and rock out to a new song that makes your heart thump. So we now have the ideal car to play our tunes in and haul around our gear.

So if you’re in Austin on March 12, 2012, stop by the Kick Kick Snare showcase and escape with us—you might even be lucky enough to catch one of our artists doing a live acoustic set from a 2013 Ford Escape, just to prove me right.

Editor’s note: Brent Burns is the founder and creator of Kick Kick Snare (kickkicksnare.com),an influential daily Internet publication devoted to music criticism and commentary, downloads, music news and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, with a range that extends from indie to hip hop, dance to pop, jazz to experimental. Since its inception in 2010, Kick Kick Snare has rapidly become a leading voice in the music world, recognized by industry insiders, labels, and journalists alike for its insights and breaking new artists on the scene.