The Black and White Years exploded onto the One World Theatre stage Saturday night with an impressive light show and an offering of never-before-performed songs from their upcoming album.

Their showcase was the culmination of a night of Sessions performances that brought a diverse dance crowd to the local venue. The event marked a branching out for some of the bands and the testing of new, younger waters for OWT.

“This is a opportunity for us to play to a different crowd,” said The Black and White Years lead singer, Scott Butler. “Not everybody is interested in coming out to the Mohawk or the Red River district.”

“It helps you to test your value in the market,” added guitarist Landon Thompson. “We’ve invested a lot in the performance tonight in production and lights. We want to make sure everybody gets their money’s worth.”

Lauren Bucherie and C.J. Vinson kicked off the Austin Sessions performances at the Hideout Café on Congress Avenue in June 2009. Their idea was simple and effective – bring emerging talent together for live performances that feed creativity. It’s an idea the couple saw work in Los Angeles, New York City and Las Vegas. The Sessions just finished a June tour, taking some of their artists across the country from the East Coast to the West Coast with stops in Chicago, Memphis and Nashville. Saturday’s OWT dance party was the first Sessions performance since the completion of that maiden tour.

“We were really happy with the [turnout],” Bucherie said of Saturday’s OWT show. “I loved seeing everyone let loose and dance with L.A.X. and Black and White Years. The goal is to have the crowd know – wherever the Sessions is throwing an event – that we are always going to deliver. When the artists and the audience is beaming with excitement like they were Saturday, I know we’ve done our job.”

L.A.X. rocked the OWT crowd with its trademark pounding dance beats and drop-dead harmonies as a prelude to the highly anticipated the Black and White Years performance. L.A.X. singers Erin Jantzen and Yadira Brown brought even the back-of-the-room lurkers to their toes on the dance floor to lend their bobbing heads and tapping feet to the energy of the room.

Bucherie said that she and Vinson chose the bands carefully for the OWT event.

“We looked for music we love with a real dance feel,” she said. “And all the bands are local.”

Kicking off the evening was a new band getting a lot of attention around Austin right now, Cowboy and Indian. Only five weeks old, the three-person band of Jazz Mills, Jesse Plemons and Daniel James played a set that stopped conversation during the OWT cocktail hour. The crowd there was not expecting the haunting, clear and powerful voice of Mills or the magic of the new band’s music. San Angelo native Mills said she had been uncertain what to expect of the OWT crowd and was happy with the reaction.

“We aren’t really sure what our crowd is yet; we’re still evolving,” she said, accepting compliments while beaming in her Indian headdress after the band’s performance. “I’m just in love with Jesse and David and happy to be playing music with them.”

The Sessions founders plan to continue performances at the Hideout Café downtown, while continuing to branch out to other venues, including OWT.

“We look forward to the relationship with One World,” Bucherie said. “I think there are things we can offer each other to make the venture a really positive experience for everyone involved.”

“We looked for music we love with a real dance feel,” she said. “And all the bands are local.”

Kicking off the evening was a new band getting a lot of attention around Austin right  now, Cowboy and Indian. Only five weeks old, the three-person band of Jazz Mills, Jesse Plemons and Daniel James played a set that stopped conversation during the OWT cocktail hour. The crowd there was not expecting the clear and powerful voice of Mills or the magic of the new band’s music. San Angelo native Mills said she had been uncertain what to expect of the OWT crowd and was happy with the reaction.

“We aren’t really sure what our crowd is yet; we’re still evolving,” she said, accepting compliments while beaming in her Indian headdress after the band’s performance.

“I’m just in love with Jesse and David and happy to be playing music with them.”

The Sessions founders plan to continue performances at the Hideout Café downtown, while continuing to branch out to other venues, including OWT.

“We look forward to the relationship with One World,” Bucherie said. “I think there are things we can offer each other to make the venture a really positive experience for everyone involved.”