SXSW 2018 – Wrap Up and Photos

Written by James ATX Cover photo by Bang Ho

Going into South by Southwest (SXSW) 2018 felt no different than any previous year. Once the film, interactive and music festival started, the difference was palpable. Crowds were smaller, less money spent on overblown brand experiences and there was even room to walk on Sixth Street.

During Interactive, however, a few brands went big! HBO pulled up with a real-life Westworld experience at J. Lorraine Ghost Town by constructing additional buildings and bringing in actors to make it the come to life for guests! New York Times Magazine lunched with a party and performance from Edinburgh’s Young Fathers on their Cocoa Sugar album release day. Fox Sports took over Fair Market with some World Cup soccer action. The interactive weekend was a great chance for out-of-towners to catch some or Austin’s best at Hotel Vegas curated by the good folks at Do512. There were Batmobiles, escape rooms, Imposters photo ops, and much more.

Once again Capital One had the best music lineup during Interactive week at SXSW their nightly parties. Capitol One typically opens the evening with a local artist which is appreciated. The last night was an all-local lineup of Star Parks, Band of Heathens, and Shakey Graves. Meow Wolf setup interactive visual and textual art with a scavenger hunt to find a golden box and a scavenger hunt to find cassette tapes of unreleased tracks from the soon to be released Shakey Graves album “Can’t Wake Up.” The Austin singer enjoyed increased attention at SXSW in advance of his coming new record in May.

SXSW music week began Monday night with a new convergence program of the festivals and conferences allowing Interactive badgeholder to gain entry to film and music events for example. Film happens during this time to but until we rename to Everything Felon, it’s going to be missing from our recap.

Soundcloud and Vevo brought the buzzing, up-and-coming artists to the early part of the week by throwing exclusive parties with artist such as Elohim, Weathen, Jade Bird, Noah Cyrus, Dermot Kennedy, Duckwrth, Billie Eilish and more. Culture Collide took over most of Rainey St with their own mini festival at 4 venues. The Cosmic Clash took over East Austin venues, Hard Luck Lounge, Lustre Pearl East and Sahara Lounge with Four Daze of Clash which included phenomenal local and international acts. The events culminated in Women of Clash, an all woman-fronted unofficial SXSW party on March 17. Sound Australia brought a ton of Aussies, including G Flip who was surprised by her sister before her first ever G Flip performance. Quantum Collective’s Southwest Invasion took over the Wholefoods rooftop with two stage and tons of awesome artists. There were tons more unofficial parties but these were our favorites.

The huge public showcases at Auditorium shores went off without a hitch. Budweiser took over Fair Market and filled it with up and coming country stars Thursday evening. Due to a bomb threat, they unfortunately canceled Bud Light X The Roots and Friends Jam which would have been a phenomenal showcase. SXSW was scaled back as far as megastar talent was concerned but that made the festival much more enjoyable for attendees who experienced less crowded venues. We’re hoping that trend continues in 2019.

MF Mabel interviews during SXSW – Lime Cordiale, Jukebox the Ghost, Step Rockets, morgxn, *repeat repeat, LUCIA, and Emme Woods

SXSW 2018 Top 20 Artists

Standout performances:

Young Fathers (Edinburgh, Scotland) – Blew minds with their avant garde music on their Cocoa Sugar album release day
Blastfamous USA (Austin, TX) – flocked to Do512 opening party killin’ it with their political charged hip-hop fronted by Zeale
Saint Motel (Los Angeles, CA) – Brought the party to the Capital One House even ended up singing to crowd on top of Antone’s Bar
Matt and Kim (Brooklyn, NY) – Kept the party going and at one point Kim got on the lead singer of Major Grizz’ shoulders
Nnamdi Ogbonnaya (Chicago, IL) – Rocked the fuck out at all their performances
Tunde Olaniran (Flint, MI) – Brought love and innovative new music (went to 3 performances)
Elohim (Los Angeles, CA) – destroyed their short set with the best in new electronic/alternative
Dermot Kennedy (Dublin, Ireland) – honey soaked soulful vocals over amazing production wowed (may have shed a tear)
Duckwrth (Los Angeles, CA) – new hip-hop that isn’t like all the rest, it’s much better
Billie Eilish (Los Angeles, CA) – sweet song writing and vocals (Steve Aoki even stopped by to check them out before his set)
Mallrat (Brisbane, Australia) – phenomenal Aussie came correct with the hip-hop infused electro pop
Stella Donnelly (Perth, Australia) – outstanding folk with lyrics that dig deep
G Flip (Melbourne, Australia) – brand new artist, beautiful drummer and singer creating exceptional pop
Lime Cordiale (Sydney, Australia) – brothers in a band that is creating perfect rock, pop, and soul
Stop Light Observations (Charleston, SC) – a rockin band with thoughtful lyrics
Superorganism (Everywhere) – buzzworthy music collective make some of the best new music
*repeat repeat (Nashville, TN) – Super conscious, super awesome rockers
Mr. Lewis and The Funeral 5 (Austin, TX) – Old school rockers that prove rocks not dead
Peelander-Z (Planet Peelander) – is it even SXSW without these punk rock aliens?
Linqua Franqa (Athens, GA) – super conscious rapper running for County Commissioner
Gangs of Youth (Sydney, Australia) – Pure rock’n’roll from down under
Emme Woods (Glasgow, Scotland) – soulful rock’n’roll blues with beautiful vocals
LUCIA (Glasgow, Scotland) – great performance and the exact sound of indie music
Jared & the Mill (Phoenix, AZ) – These western indie rockers provided a party full set
Flint Eastwood (Detroit, MI) – Phenomenal electro-pop with heart and teeth
Okkervil River (Austin, TX) – Seasoned local favorites that know how to rock
Jukebox the Ghost (Washington, D.C.) – the most fun to see live and if you like Queen you’ll love their new album
Abhi The Nomad (Austin, TX) – crisscrossing genres of indie pop and rap to create some amazing new tunes
The Wild Now (Austin, TX) – phenomenal band that creates chill indie rock with soulful vocals, dreamy/surf rock guitar riffs
Calliope Musicals (Austin, TX) – psych-folk rockers that bring the party and only the best vibes
Dual Core (Austin, TX) – rapper with an in-your-face performance and witty lyrics
Mega Ran (Phoenix, AZ) – Drops sick video game bars with an amazing flow
Caroline Rose (New York, NY) – unique and refreshing artist whose music jumps genres perfectly
Darkbird (Austin, TX) – wailing vocals and fist pumping beats
Walker Lukens (Austin, TX) – genre bending pop, rock, blues, soul, electronic, and rock star in the making
Otis the Destroyer (Austin, TX) – high energy rock that leaves it all on the stage
The Canvas People (Austin, TX) – intensely talented, chill harmonizing indie rock

Photos by Bang Ho