Last year’s secret music shows gave us performances from the then newly-reunited Death From Above 1979 and hip-hop dynamic duo Kanye West and Jay-Z, but what about this year? Who will surprise us with their presence and leave us recollecting their performance for weeks, maybe even months, to come? Here are our predictions:

At the Drive-In: It would not be a long shot to question the group’s appearance at SXSW. The newly-reunited post-hardcore act are only performing American dates at this year’s Coachella Music Festival. But considering that guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez will be unveiling his latest movie, “Los Chidos,” during the film portion of SXSW, there is the possibility that the guitarist may stick around long enough to surprise fans with his old band.

“It’s hard to say if they’ll be coming through,” said biology senior Waytao Shing. Originally from El Paso, Shing is not getting his hopes up in seeing the iconic group perform. “Stuff always happens at the last minute; last year it was only Kanye on the bill, but Jay-Z decided to fly in the night before, and it ended up being West and Jay-Z.”

Animal Collective: Although the group has been hard at work making a new record, now would be the perfect time to showcase that new material. The group’s record label, Paw Tracks, will be having an official showcase with label Carpark, featuring bands Prince Rama, Young Magic and Cloud Nothings. There could be a moment when the group takes over the stage at the end of all of the performances.

Eminem: This hip-hop heavyweight hasn’t been up to much, except widening his roster with up-and-comers like Yelawolf. But, with the announcement of his record label’s Shady 2.0 SXSW Showcase, and the fact that protege 50 Cent will be performing his hit album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in its entirety live for the first time, there’s a possibility that Eminem will make a guest appearance.

D’Angelo: Out of all of these, it would definitely be a stretch to say that D’Angelo may make a guest appearance at this year’s SXSW, but it would prove that the soulful singer-songwriter is back for good. Like Fiona Apple and John Mayer, D’Angelo could use SXSW as a means of rekindling his musical fire. Considering the artist did a couple of well-received international performances, what better place than SXSW to grab the attention of music lovers coming from all over the world?

Printed on Friday, March 9, 2012 as: Unannounced shows might feature big industry names