Each year, Stubb's outdoor amphitheater hosts a nightly lineup of impressive, typically well-known acts, and this year was no exception.

Normally, I avoid this place like the plague during SXSW. Waiting in lines and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with tons of other fans isn't very conducive to taking notes for a music review. I scrapped this admittedly negative preconceived notion of mine on Friday (3/14), though, for one band, or more accurately for one man: Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D. [ tickets ] I headed that direction in anticipation of the usual long line, but nothing. I got right in without a moment's hesitation and just in time to catch a few songs from Australian pop singer Sia [ tickets ]. I'd never caught a song of hers before, but I was blown away by her smooth, calm voice while waiting in line for a drink. The blonde-bobbed singer, dressed in colorful garb, played soulful sing-along songs and reminded me of a happy, satisfied child (possibly due to her blunt, kid-like cut and recent album cover for "Some People Have Real Problems," for which her face was graffitied with magic markers.) Her positive outlook and easy stage presence were contagious.