KEEP AN EYE ON THESE ACTS.

Byline: Billy Altman Correspondent

Among the near-endless array of performers at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin last month, there were a number of interesting artists. From newcomers to veterans, here are six that listeners might want to check out:

ADRIENNE YOUNG & LITTLE SADIE: Talk about rootsy. This banjo-playing Nashville-based singer/songwriter's first CD, 2003's "Plow to the End of the Row," included a ready-to-sow packet of wildflower seeds. And righteous: Her latest, The Art of Virtue, features a pocket-size copy of Ben Franklin's "Thirteen Virtues" daily planner tucked inside. Using a pre-bluegrass acoustic string band style to anchor original compositions that question everything from America's suburban sprawl ("Hills and Hollers") to its global muscle-flexing ("Blinded by Stars"), Young's self-released recordings reveal a socially conscious performer committed to art over commerce.

THE MAGIC NUMBERS: At first blush, this group seems as unlikely a buzz band as imaginable in these idol- worshipping times. Two sets of siblings, all long-haired and plainly dressed, they look as if they just finished a walk in the woods - in 1968.

Their soft music initially resonates as sunshiney-bright pop-for-pop's sake, but the deeper you go, the more complex they get. And once you find yourself cheerily singing along to irresistible choruses belied by such sentiments as, "She don't love me like you," the Magic Numbers have you - hook, line and more hook.

MARSHALL CHAPMAN: Her songs have been recorded over the years by Nashville stars including Emmylou Harris, Tanya Tucker, Wynonna and, perhaps most familiarly, Sawyer Brown ("Betty's Bein' Bad"). But as per her signature tune "Why Can't I Be Like Other Girls," Chapman's edgy brand of rock-country (rather than the other way around) has always made Music City squirm in its conservative seat. She's just released "Mellolicious!" - her first new CD in a decade.

Don't be fooled by the title. She is, thankfully, as ornery as ever. As one track says: "Trouble With a Capital T."

WORLD PARTY: Wales native Karl Wallinger, who's been leading various backing musicians under the title World Party since the late 1980s, very nearly left the party - and the world - a while back due to a life-threatening aneurysm. Now almost fully recovered, he's reappeared with a current U.S. tour and a batch of fine new songs. And his voice still conjures up visions of both Mick Jagger and John Lennon. Not a bad axis, that.

BRANDI CARLILE: She possesses a voice that's truly as big as the all outdoors she grew up with in rural Washington. Put that together with some Starbucks double-espresso-worthy intensity and you've got one formidable young singer-songwriter. Carlile is one of those performers whose music envelops a listener, and her forthright folk-pop approach is made all the more impressive by her artistic fearlessness.

ART BRUT: Taking their name from the French-defined notion of "outsider" art, Art Brut is led by mustachioed frontman Eddie Argos, whose why-sing-when-talking-is-so much-less-strenuous vocals and overall blase persona probably wouldn't work if the group's songs weren't so pluperfectly smart/stupid. "Formed a band, we formed a band/Look at us, we formed a band," goes the chorus to (you guessed it) "Formed a Band."

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ADRIENNE YOUNG & LITTLE SADIE