SXSW MUSIC FESTIVAL FIRST ROUND OF SHOWCASING ARTISTS ANNOUNCED
Spotlighting Emerging Talents and Legendary Artists
Austin, Texas - October 19, 2022 - The South by Southwest® Music Festival (SXSW®) has announced the first round of Showcasing Artists invited to perform at the 37th annual event. The festival features multiple one-of-a-kind events that spotlight emerging talents and legendary artists performing for the international creative community and passionate music fans. The first essential and global music event on the industry’s calendar, the SXSW Music Festival takes place March 13 - 18, 2023 on Austin’s iconic and offbeat stages.
CIFIKA at Central Presbyterian Church Photo by Adam Kissick
Each year, SXSW Music Festival programmers present the best new artists and established acts from countries around the world including Armenia, Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Wales. Highlights from this first round of artists include: Armani White (Philadelphia PA), Algiers (Atlanta, GA), Balming Tiger (Seoul SOUTH KOREA), Beenzino (Seoul SOUTH KOREA), Edie Bens (Swansea UK-WALES), iLe (San Juan PUERTO RICO), Ladaniva (Lille FRANCE), Max Cooper (London UK-ENGLAND), Mightmare (Chapel Hill NC), Núria Graham (Vic SPAIN), The Orielles(Manchester UK-ENGLAND), Otoboke Beaver (Kyoto JAPAN), RVG (Melbourne AUSTRALIA), Sarah Shook & the Disarmers (Chapel Hill NC), Son Rompe Pera (Naucalpan MEXICO), Steam Down (London UK-ENGLAND), Thao (Oakland CA), Yazmin Lacey (London UK-ENGLAND) and Yogetsu Akasaka (Setagaya-Ku JAPAN).
Poppy Ajudha at Cedar Street Courtyard Photo by Caleb Pickens
This is the first of several announcements of can't-miss showcases spanning six nights. Showcases are curated by SXSW programmers in collaboration with record labels, booking agencies, export offices, management and PR firms, publishers, media outlets, lifestyle brands and festivals. These showcases give attendees the opportunity to experience today’s and tomorrow’s headliners in small-stage performances. A few of this year’s showcase presenters include Anniversary Group, Atomic Music Group, Athens in Austin, British Music Embassy, Don Giovanni Records, Fire Records, FOCUS Wales, Gorilla vs Bear, Jazz re:freshed Outernational, Pop Montreal, M for Montreal, Music From Ireland, New West Records, Space Agency, and Wide Days Scotland.
The first round of artists invited to perform include:
250 (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)
Ailbhe Reddy (Dublin IRELAND)
Albertine Sarges (Berlin GERMANY)
Algiers (Atlanta GA)
Alien Tango (London UK-ENGLAND)
Amber Arcades (Utrecht NETHERLANDS)
Anna Salman (Lahore PAKISTAN)
Ariel & The Culture (Dallas TX)
Armani White (Philadelphia PA)
ASHY (Christchurch NEW ZEALAND)
Automelodi (Montreal CANADA)
Avalanche Party (Middlesbrough UK-ENGLAND)
Baby; Baby: Explores the Reasons Why That Gum is Still on the Sidewalk (Providence RI)
Balimaya Project (London UK-ENGLAND)
Balming Tiger (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)
Beatenberg (Cape Town SOUTH AFRICA)
Been Stellar (Brooklyn NY)
Beenzino (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)
Being Dead (Austin TX)
Beverly Kills (Gothenburg SWEDEN)
Bibi Club (Montreal CANADA)
Big Bill (Austin TX)
BIRTHH (Florence ITALY)
bj wnjn (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)
Blondshell (Los Angeles CA)
Bloomsday (Brooklyn NY)
Bones and Jones (Geelong AUSTRALIA)
Brighde Chaimbeul (Isle Of Skye UK-SCOTLAND)
Cafuné (Brooklyn NY)
Cailin Russo (San Diego CA)
Campfire Social (Wrexham UK-WALES)
The Chairs (Taiwan TAIWAN)
Chief Cleopatra (Austin TX)
Chiiild (Montreal CANADA)
Choses Sauvages (Montreal CANADA)
CHROMA (Pontypridd UK-WALES)
Coach Party (Newport UK-ENGLAND)
Colin Gilmore (Austin TX)
Constant Follower (Stirling UK-SCOTLAND)
Crawlers (Liverpool UK-ENGLAND)
Criibaby (San Francisco CA)
Darling West (Oslo NORWAY)
Data Animal (Berlin GERMANY)
Dead Gowns (Portland ME)
Dead Pony (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)
Death And Vanilla (Malmö SWEDEN)
Demob Happy (Newcastle Upon Tyne UK-ENGLAND)
Die Spitz (Austin TX)
Disq (Madison WI)
DoomCannon (London UK-ENGLAND)
Dream, Ivory (Lake Elsinore CA)
DYGL (Tokyo JAPAN)
Edie Bens (Swansea UK-WALES)
ena mori (Parañque PHILIPPINES)
Exit Kid (London UK-ENGLAND)
Far Caspian (Enniskillen IRELAND)
Fat Tony (Houston TX)
Flowerkid (Sydney AUSTRALIA)
foamboy (Portland OR)
Folly Group (London UK-ENGLAND)
Foyer Red (Brooklyn NY)
Fragile Rock (Austin TX)
fuvk (Austin TX)
Germein (Adelaide AUSTRALIA)
Ghouljaboy (Jerez SPAIN)
GHUM (London UK-ENGLAND)
Ginevra Nervi (Rome ITALY)
Gloria de Oliveira (Berlin GERMANY)
Godcaster (New York NY)
The Golden Dregs (London UK-ENGLAND)
Grace Pettis (Nashville TN)
Great Gable (Perth AUSTRALIA)
HARU NEMURI (Yokohama JAPAN)
Hayley Warner (Sydney AUSTRALIA)
Helen Ganya (Brighton UK-ENGLAND)
Her Skin (Modena ITALY)
Hope (Berlin GERMANY)
Housewife (Toronto CANADA)
Iguana Death Cult (Rotterdam NETHERLANDS)
iLe (San Juan PUERTO RICO)
Immaterial Possession (Athens GA)
Izzy Heltai (Boston MA)
Jad Fair and The Placebos (Austin TX)
Jaguar Jonze (Brisbane AUSTRALIA)
James and the Cold Gun (Cardiff UK-WALES)
Jane Weaver (Liverpool UK-ENGLAND)
Jazz re:freshed DJ's (London UK-ENGLAND)
Jealous (Berlin GERMANY)
Jeannel (Berlin GERMANY)
Jembaa Groove (Berlin GERMANY)
JessB (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)
JESSWAR (Gold Coast AUSTRALIA)
JEVERSON (Nashville TN)
Jobber (Brooklyn NY)
Julie Doiron (Memramcook CANADA)
Julie Odell (New Orleans LA)
Kalush Orchestra (Kyiv UKRAINE)
Kidd Kenn (Chicago IL)
Kiwi Jr. (Toronto CANADA)
Knifeplay (Philadelphia PA)
Krooked Kings (Salt Lake City UT)
Kym Register (Loamlands)
(Durham NC)
Ladaniva (Lille FRANCE)
layzi (Boston MA)
Le Couleur (Montreal CANADA)
Lee Bains + The Glory Fires (Birmingham AL)
Leesuho (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)
Lemonade Shoelace (Newcastle UK-N. IRELAND)
Letting Up Despite Great Faults (Austin TX)
Living Hour (Winnipeg CANADA)
Lola Brooke (Brooklyn NY)
The Lounge Society (Hebden Bridge UK-ENGLAND)
MANE (Adelaide AUSTRALIA)
Marina Allen (Los Angeles CA)
Max Cooper (London UK-ENGLAND)
Medium Build (Anchorage AK)
Meltt (Vancouver CANADA)
M(h)
aol (Dublin IRELAND)
Mightmare (Chapel Hill NC)
milk. (Dublin IRELAND)
modernlove (Drogheda IRELAND)
Moritz Fasbender (Leipzig GERMANY)
MOSES (London UK-ENGLAND)
Mudd the student (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)
mui zyu (London UK-ENGLAND)
Mynolia (Berlin GERMANY)
Nadeem Din-Gabisi (London UK-ENGLAND)
NEMOPHILA (Tokyo JAPAN)
N'famady Kouyaté (Cardiff UK-WALES)
Nisa (Brooklyn NY)
NTsKi (Kyoto JAPAN)
Núria Graham (Vic SPAIN)
Omega Sapien (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)
Orchestra Gold (Oakland CA)
The Orielles (Manchester UK-ENGLAND)
Orions Belte (Oslo NORWAY)
Otoboke Beaver (Kyoto JAPAN)
Paisley Fields (Brooklyn NY)
Panic Shack (Cardiff UK-WALES)
Pearla (Brooklyn NY)
Pickle Darling (Christchurch NEW ZEALAND)
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (Newcastle Upon Tyne UK-ENGLAND)
Plàsi (Stockholm SWEDEN)
Plattenbau (Berlin GERMANY)
poolblood (Toronto CANADA)
Poster Paints (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)
Quarters of Change (New York NY)
Red Rum Club (Liverpool UK-ENGLAND)
Rett Madison (Los Angeles CA)
Ric Wilson (Chicago IL)
Robocobra Quartet (Belfast UK-N. IRELAND)
Ron Gallo (Philadelphia PA)
Rosie Darling (Boston MA)
RVG (Melbourne AUSTRALIA)
Saloon Dion (Bristol UK-ENGLAND)
San Saba County (Austin TX)
Sarah Shook & the Disarmers (Chapel Hill NC)
Scorey (Syracuse NY)
Sea Lemon (Seattle WA)
Sego (Los Angeles CA)
Shadow Show (Detroit MI)
Sid Simons (Brooklyn NY)
Silverbacks (Dublin IRELAND)
Smut (Chicago IL)
Snøw (Salem MA)
Somebody's Child (Dublin IRELAND)
Son Rompe Pera (Naucalpan MEXICO)
Sophia Galaté (Los Angeles CA)
SPARKLING (Cologne GERMANY)
spill tab (Los Angeles CA)
Steam Down (London UK-ENGLAND)
Sug Daniels (Philadelphia PA)
Sweet Pill (Philadelphia PA)
Tamzene (Cromarty UK-ENGLAND)
TC Superstar (Austin TX)
Teenage Halloween (Asbury Park NJ)
Thanya Iyer (Montreal CANADA)
Thao (Oakland CA)
TmbaTa Orchestra (Yerevan ARMENIA)
Tomato Flower (Baltimore MD)
The Trials of Cato (Wrexham UK-WALES)
Tribe Mafia (Austin TX)
The Vices (Groningen NETHERLANDS)
Vox Rea (Vancouver CANADA)
The Wandering Hearts (London UK-ENGLAND)
Warm Human (Chicago IL)
Why Bonnie (Austin TX)
Wynona Bleach (Belfast UK-N. IRELAND)
Yazmin Lacey (London UK-ENGLAND)
Yogetsu Akasaka (Setagaya-Ku JAPAN)
Your Grandparents (Los Angeles CA)
(This list is subject to change. More performers will be announced at later dates.)
Listen to the artists who will be performing at SXSW 2023 by subscribing to the official SXSW Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube Music Video playlists.
All SXSW Music registrants receive primary access to Music and Convergence Conference programming, including Keynotes and Featured Speakers, Music Festival showcases, the Comedy Festival, exhibitions, networking Meet Ups, the Flatstock Poster Show, Registrant Lounge, and the BBQ & softball tournament. Secondary access is available for most Interactive and Film events.
The online SXSW Schedule, launching October 25, provides a complete rundown of 2023 programming, broken down by time and event category, with the ability to build a customized schedule. Please visit https://schedule.sxsw.com/.
SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of tech, film and television, music, education, and culture. An essential destination for global professionals, the annual March event features sessions, music, and comedy showcases, film screenings, exhibitions, professional development, and a variety of networking opportunities. SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together. SXSW 2023 will take place March 10 - 19, 2023 in Austin. For more information, please visit sxsw.com. To register for the event, please visit sxsw.com/attend.
SXSW 2023 is sponsored by White Claw, Porsche, Itau Unibanco, and The Austin Chronicle.
Unbounded Bash Puts Queer and Trans BIPOC Performers at the Forefront
Television shows like Pose and Legendary have reminded us of the trails blazed by the queer and trans heroes before us. They have also portrayed ballroom culture and how underground balls were a quintessential part of queer and trans liberation. This Wednesday (March 16), Unbounded Bash will bring a real-life ball to Austin’s Coconut Club as part of SXSW.
Spearheaded by Unbounded Agency, Unbounded Bash celebrates queer and trans people of color, and will feature performances by various queer and trans acts. The bash will feature three different activations.
“We have At the Discoteca hosting the DJ showcase,” says Unbounded Agency founder Anita Obasi. “At the Discoteca is a traveling party celebrating Black music for the queer and BIPOC community. We also have live performances that will precede the Dirty South Ball.”
The Dirty South Ball will be hosted by Austin’s iconic House of Lepore and will feature previous cast members from Legendary, along with various regional houses, including Puerto Rican house, Laboratoria Boricua de Vogue.
Unbounded Agency was invited to be an official presenter at SXSW in 2020, however, COVID-19 forced the conference to shut down. Obasi, however, says Unbounded’s return couldn’t be more timely.
“72 hours before the events, we basically had to cancel everything,” Obasi says. “So it was definitely a really hard moment for everyone involved. But it's really exciting to be able to bring everyone back and put our best effort in. I think it was also a blessing in disguise in the sense that we've had two years to reflect on ourselves as a whole, and then come back to the table feeling more refreshed and renewed.”
Born and raised in northern Virginia, Obasi is a first-generation American of Nigerian and Indian descent. She arrived to Austin in 2013 after graduating college and landing a job in the tech industry.
Obasi worked with a group of people who ran a coworking space called Topology, a 2,000-square-foot warehouse in which she and her peers operated the space as a creative hub. The warehouse has since been torn down, But Obasi was determined to use her creative and collaborative spirit to make a difference in the community she holds dearest to her heart.
“I was trying to figure out how to take the ethos of that space and turn it into something that could exist without walls or without necessarily a physical location,” Obasi says. “And part of the ethos of Topology was incorporated into our own personal values. And for me, it was creating space for queer and BIPOC people.”
Obasi founded Unbounded Agency in 2018, with a mission to organize events centering queer and trans people of color. Unbounded Bash will celebrate the voices she sought out to amplify during the genesis of her company.
With a line-up of predominately Black and Latinx performers, Unbounded Bash aims to remind us of all the reasons why we love queer culture. Performers include Argentinian DJ Tayhana, Xa’Pariis Nike of Legendary fame, non-binary rapper Babiboi, and Chicago house legend DJ Shani.
“DJ Shani is very representative of the true nature and history of house music, which is something that, as it has become popularized has seen more of a ‘white bro-y’ face to it. We're excited to have her here to remind people of the roots of house music and specifically the depth of Black history in that space.”
Although Obasi now resides in Los Angeles, she is elated to return to Austin, the city she called home for six years. For her, there is no other city where she would rather launch Unbounded Bash.
“I think people forget that queer and BIPOC identities still continue to exist in Texas,” Obasi says. “We're all human beings who exist in this space and we need to take up space and remind people that we are existing and thriving.”
Unbounded Bash kicks off Wednesday, March 16 at Colorado Club. SXSW badge holders will have priority entry. RSVPs and more information about the showcase can be found at unboundedagency.org/sxsw.