South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW, is an annual interactive media festival held in Austin, Texas. It combines a speaker series and networking with talks from musicians and a live showcase of artists performing. There was so much to see and hear, so we did a deep dive into the best music-related activities this year. Here are our favorite music moments from SXSW 2024.
SXSW prides itself on being a world-renowned space for music to be created, saying that it “brings together artists, industry professionals, and music lovers from around the world to make connections, elevate their careers, and celebrate the magic of live music – from legendary performers to the most exciting new talent.” And there was new talent in heaps this year!
Photos and Text by Gaby Deimeke
Elle Shimada, a Tokyo-born violinist, producer, dancer and singer, combines her love of jazz music and dance beats into her music. “For me, I never start a song saying I want to make a drum and bass song mixed with jazz. I have a feeling or message and the instrumentation is just there to support that story.” She recently released a new single called Resolute, which she says is “a song about believing in your power and never giving up.”
Local Austin artist Sisi has roots in Texas and Venezuela, blending a mix of folk, country, English and Spanish into her music. Performing at South by San Jose, Sisi played her latest single Who’s Gonna Worry About Me, letting her raspy vocal tone blend into the live band.
Puerto Rican artist Juan Pablo Rivera, known by his stage name Pink Pablo, performed on the Radio Day Stage at SXSW, showcasing his new music with his latest EP road 2 neverland. He loves to blend all genres that he grew up being obsessed with, saying, “It could be coming from Frank Ocean, it could be coming from Frank Zappa.”
Digging from her Tasmanian Aboriginal roots, Miss Kanina graced the stage, performing songs that were a powerful expression of her experiences as a Black woman, and captivated the audience. Her bold songwriting and stage presence kept the crowd engaged and pumped up.
Melbourne’s pop sweetheart Ivoris blends bubblegum pop and R&B into an inviting sparkly and pastel aesthetic. Her self-produced single “I Wish My Mind Would Shut Up” became a trending audio on Chinese TikTok, and she performed it at Australia house on Saturday of SXSW.
18-year-old rapper J Noa (also known as “La Hija del Rap”) blew us away with her speed and fire flow as she rapped Spanish songs about powerful topics: social injustices she has witnessed in her home country of the Dominican Republic. She had the crowd chanting “J Noa” by the end of her impressive set.
Other artists used the festivities to promote their music, handing out CD’s and waiting with headphones to show passersby what their music sounds like. Blake Robert set up his amp and started busking, playing country music outside the convention center in the morning.
Changing styles a bit, German House hosted melodic art pop band ATNA. They specialize in crafting organic beats enhanced with delicate effects, and unique, surreal vocals. Their sound was very futuristic, including lush rhythms and catchy beats.
Folk rock duo Altameda performed at Canada House to a packed crowd. The Toronto-based band crooned thoughtful lyrics over a piano and synth. “When you’re making music, there’s no promise of anything working out the way you hope it will, said lead singer Troy Snaterse. “You just have to love the process and learn to stay excited and invigorated by the adventure.”
On the events side of the festival, we stopped by so many interesting music related events during the week. AIMI, aka AI Music Initiative, held a Future of Music dinner, unveiling their new software that uses AI to turn sonic elements into on-demand music. They did a live demo where they used their AI programming to make a song from scratch on the spot. Founder Edward Balassanian stated, “We didn’t want to create a tool for imitating music. We wanted to create a platform to create music.” They launched their new product, AIMI music services, at the dinner.
Another highlight was a film about Sixities soul singer Jackie Shane as she told her life story through a series of recorded phone calls over the last year of her life. From executive producer Elliot Page, Any Other Way shows how Jackie Shane boldly carved a new path as one of music’s pioneering Black trans performers in the American South in the 1950s.Director Michael Mabbott shared, “When I first heard Jackie’s music, I needed to know everything about her. Little did I know that would start a 10-year-odyssey, and a friendship I’ll never forget. I’m incredibly grateful that she entrusted us with her story. I’m beyond excited for her story to return to the stage at this festival.”
Selena Gomez and her mother and co-founder Mandy Teefey spoke on a panel about mental health and their new “ecosystem” called Wondermind. It’s an inclusive space where people could come together to explore, discuss, and navigate their feelings, and gives you tools to use “mental health fitness.” They want to normalize talking about mental health and give others tools to help, as well as create a community where folks can talk and share their experiences.
Flatstock 92 kicked off on Wednesday with a gorgeous display of concert posters and artwork. It’s an art exhibition of gig poster artists, featuring handmade, limited-edition posters from artists around the globe. Fans were able to purchase the artwork and learn more about the creators of some of their favorite live music art.
3D printing company ICON hosted their Domus Ex Machina event at the Long Center, a music and technology event with DJ Danger Foley DJ’ing on the first 3D printed stage ever in the world. The event, which had free Tiff’s Treats, also included a live 3D printing demonstration.
Friends were made and friendship bracelets were shared at the Swiftie meetup on Monday morning. Folks gathered to share their favorite albums and eras of Taylor Swift. Favorite bracelets included ‘SXSWiftie’ and ‘In My SXSW Era.’
Off Stage Presence: Artists as Brands featured artist Jaden Hossler (known by his stage name JXDN) and discussed how he has successfully rebranded from TikTok stardom to punk rock phenom to pop star, and explored the process of artist’s channeling musical talent into creative branding.
In the live performance realm, there was a lot to take in. From a surprise Thomas Rhett autograph session to The Knocks hosting the Yahoo Unplugged event, The Black Keys performing at Stubb’s, Skepta doing a DJ set at UK House, and Questove DJing at Camp Funk, we didn’t know where to go first.
Rolling Stone’s Future of Music Showcase at ACL Live created quite the turmoil on Wednesday night where the lineup boasted popular Latin artists. Fans showed up and waited all day for the chance to see Kevin Kaarl, Young Miko and Peso Pluma.
Kaarl played his classic love ballads and strummed his guitar while Puerto Rican artist Miko hyped up the crowd and sauntered around stage rapping in her signature sassy style. But none of that compared to the frenzy experienced when Peso Pluma took the stage.
Playing a modern mix of trap mixed with traditional Mexican corridos with a full band, the crowd went wild for every single song, dancing until midnight when the lively performance ended.
Marshall Fun House had a variety of music, Bad Larry burgers, carnival games and more over their two-day pop up event at Parish (with a literal circus tent). Highlights were Dry Cleaning, Snooper, and X Ambassadors.
Other nights, Rolling Stone hosted Preacher, Pheelz, Flo Milli, and on Friday night, Spanish indie girl band Hinds and singer-songwriter Faye Webster. The band chose the word “Hinds” as it means “female deers” and got the audience ready for Faye.
Faye began her set making a statement, saying that she considered pulling out of SXSW due to their sponsorship of the Army, and making it clear that she does not support “war profiteers,” to huge cheers from the crowd.
Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion happened just outside of Austin in Luck, Texas. Classic country and folk artists played the packed festival, including Durand Jones, Old Crow Medicine Show, Tyler Childers, and the night ended with Willie Nelson and Family.
Illenium closed out the weekend with a hype fire-and-CO2-filled set of his hits at Billboard’s The Stage at SXSW. Overall, it was a fabulous week filled with live music and important conversation, and if you have never been, we highly recommend checking out SXSW next year.
