First official day of music kicks off at SXSW with Street Parade

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band made Austin feel a lot like Bourbon Street today.

The 2018 Street Parade got started a little early, as filmmakers celebrated the world premiere of the film, A Tuba to Cuba. The parade is named after a documentary that had a screening Saturday and another Wednesday at SXSW.

Fans anxiously waited at the the Paramount Theatre traveling from near and far.

The documentary shows how close ties are from Cuba to New Orleans in relationship to The Preservation Hall Jazz Band. "I've loved Preservation Hall for probably about 25 years so this will be the 5th or 6th time I've seen them,” Jason Gammage says.

Gammage is from Austin and says a group of musicians were asked if they’d like to participate in the parade today. "Basically a notification we got from the Preservation Hall band we saw it on Facebook and we have a little group that got a notification and we all showed up."

Cate Johnson from Washington, D.C. says the film was beautiful.

“"It's inspiring to see something that goes beyond language that can be healing like music. So it's a reminder of our similarities and to be able to bring unity into the world especially in times like today is absolutely inspirational."