Whether you have a wristband, badge, or just plan to show up in Austin and hope for the best, you’ll have a better experience at SXSW Music if you have a game plan. That doesn’t mean trying to schedule out exactly where you’ll be and when. That would be a mistake. After all, if you don’t walk away with a few surprise music discoveries, you’re doing SXSW wrong.
Instead, I recommend prioritizing the artists you’d like to catch during the week and then playing fast and loose with the specifics of when and where you catch them. Be willing to skip a showcase you want to see in favor of one that has good word of mouth or one that your friends are excited about. After all, you can probably catch the bands you want to see somewhere else later in the week.
Below you’ll find a list of a few of the top artists we recommend at this year’s SXSW along with where you can see them. Below that, you’ll find a few of the showcases that we recommend as well.
Disclaimer: This is probably not a complete list of sets for each of these bands – just what I was able to find with a moderate amount of Internet research. Also, bands often cancel some of their sets throughout the week – so be forewarned. And, of course, there are a LOT of other great bands worth catching.
Artists To Watch For:
A Million Billion Dying Suns
Wed – March 12 – 1:30 pm – Hold In The Wall (Chicken Ranch Records)
Fri – March 14 – 11:00 pm – Cheer Up Charlies (South by Sapporo)
Angel Olsen
Wed – March 12 – 4:00 pm – The Mohawk (House of Vans / SPIN SXSW party)
Fri – March 14 – 8:10 pm – Central Presbyterian (Pitchfork SXSW showcase)
Fri – March 14 – 12:00 am – Red Eyed Fly (Jagjaguwar SXSW showcase)
BANKS
Tues – March 11 – 12:00 pm – Haven (Harvest Records showcase)
Thurs – March 13 – TBA – Tumblr House
Thurs – March 13 – 12:00 am – Hype Hotel
BASECAMP
Wed – March 12 – 2:50 pm – Holy Mountain (Secret Sounds showcase)
Wed – March 12 – 11:10 pm – Red Eyed Fly (ASCAP showcase)
Fri – March 14 – 2:00 pm – Bangers (Dickies & Amazon)
Fri – March 14 – 6:15 pm – Krave (Vitalic Noise showcase)
Sat – March 15 – 4:00 pm – The Brew Exchange (The Green Room)
Sat – March 15 – 9:45 pm – The Parish (It’s A School Night)
The Casket Girls
Tues – March 11 – 5:00 pm – The Parish Underground (Audiofemme Day Show)
Wed – March 12 – 10:00 pm – Half Step (FrenchKiss showcase)
Thurs – March 13 – 4:15 pm Hotel Vegas (Austin Psych Fest)
Fri – March 14 – noon – Cheer Up Charlies (Flowerbooking Day Party)
Fri – March 14 – 2:40 pm – Home Slice Pizza (Music By The Slice)
Fri – March 14 – 1:00 am – TenOak (Graveface Showcase)
Sat – March 15 – 5:15 pm (Graveface Mega Day Showcase)
Cloud Nothings
Wed – March 12 – 11:00 pm – Cheer Up Charlies
Thurs – March 13 – 1:00 pm – The Parish Underground (Carpark Records)
Ex Hex
Wed – March 12 – TBD – French Legation Museum (Pitchfork Day Party)
Thurs – March 13 – 10:45 pm – Parish
Sat – March 15 – 10:15 pm – Cheer Up Charlies
GEMS
Wed – March 12 – 4:55 pm – Red Eyed Fly (B3SCI Presents)
Thurs – March 13 – 12:00 pm – Flamingo Cantina (Under The Radar)
Fri – March 14 – 2:00 pm – Hype Hotel
Fri – March 14 – 4:00 pm – Red Eyed Fly (After The Gold Rush II)
Fri – March 14 – 11:00 pm – Buffalo Billiards (Ache Productions)
Hundred Waters
Fri – March 14 – 7:00 pm – The Owl (Portals Showcase)
Fri – March 14 – 9:00 pm – Central Presbyterian Church (Pitchfork Showcase)
Jungle
Tues – March 11 – 2:00 pm – Spotify Compund
Tues – March 11 – 12:00 am – Latitude (Huw Stephens)
Wed – March 12 – 4:00 pm – Red Eyed Fly (Blahblahblah Science)
Thurs – March 13 – 3:15 pm – Red Eyed Fly (Neon Gold Records)
Thurs – March 13 – 5:30 pm – Blackheart Bar (Hidden Track Music)
Fri – March 14 – 2:00 pm – The Mohawk (Windish Day Party)
Fri – March 14 – 11:00 pm – Hype Hotel
Kurt Vile
Wed – March 12 – 12:00 am – Cheer Up Charlies
Thurs – March 13 – 10:00 pm – Clive Bar
Thurs – March 13 – 12:50 am – Red 7
MØ
Wed – March 12 – 5:00 pm – The Blackheart (PMA Village)
Thurs – March 13 – 10:00 pm – Empire Control Room
Thurs – March 13 – 1:00 pm – Spotify House
Fri – March 14 – TBD – Clive Bar (Filter x Tumblr)
Sat – March 15 – 12:15 am – Empire Garage (Neon Gold showcase)
Mutual Benefit
Wed – March 12 – 1:00 pm – Spotify House
Wed – March 12 – 4:00 pm – Friends & Neighbors (Other Music Party)
Wed – March 12 – 11:00 pm – Hype Hotel
Thurs – March 13 – 2:00 pm – The Mohawk (Stereogum Day Party)
Thurs – March 13 – 4:30 pm – Pitchfork Day Party
Fri – March 14 – 1:30 pm – Red 7 (Brooklyn Vegan)
Fri – March 14 – 4:30 pm – Red Eyed Fly (After The Gold Rush II)
Sat – March 15 – 1:50 pm – Holy Mountain (St. Jerome’s Laneway Fest)
NO
Wed – March 12 – 12:00 pm – Spotify Compound
Thurs – March 13 – 2:00 pm – Convention Center
Perfect Pussy
Wed – March 12 – 3:00 pm – French LegatioN Museum (Pitchfork Day Party)
Wed – March 12 – 8:00 pm – Stubbs (NPR Showcase)
Thurs – March 13 – 3:30 pm – The Mohawk – Stereogum
Fri – March 14 – 5:00 pm – Bar 96 (Dr. Martens / Filter)
Fri – March 14 – 11:20 pm – Red 7 Patio
Sat – March 15 – 2:15 pm – Scott Inn (Converse / Thrasher)
Sat – March 15 – 5:15 pm – Holy Mountain (Laneway Party)
SAINT PEPSI
Thurs – March 13 – 8:00 pm – The Parish (Carpark Showcase)
Thurs – March 13 – 9:30 pm – Hype Hotel
Fri – March 14 – 1:00 pm – FADER Fort
Fri – March 14 – 7:00 pm – The Owl (Portals Showcase)
Fri – March 14 – 1:00 am – The Madison
Sat – March 15 – 8:00 pm – Filter Container
Real Estate
Thurs – March 13 – 4:00 pm – Convention Center
Thurs – March 13 – 12:30 am – Bar 96 (Dr. Marten’s showcase)
Fri – March 14 – TBA – Spotify House
Fri – March 14 – 1:00 am – Central Presbyterian (Pitchfork showcase)
Running In The Fog
Wed – March 12 – 11:00 pm – The Lit Lounge (Official showcase)
Thurs – March 13 – 8:00 pm – Liberty (Liberation showcase)
Saint Vincent
Wed – March 12 – 8:00 pm – Stubbs (NPR Showcase)
Sylvan Esso
Wed – March 12 – 8:00 pm – Hype Hotel
Wed – March 12 – 12:00 am – Holy Mountain(Middle West / Paradigm)
Thurs – March 13 – 7:45 pm – Cedar Street Courtyard (Chevy)
Thurs – March 13 – TBA – Red 7 (Brooklyn Vegan)
Fri – March 14 – 1:00 pm – Blackheart (Onion / AV Club)
Typhoon
Wed – March 12 – 9:00 am – Four Seasons Hotel Ballroom (KUTX Live)
Thurs – March 13 – 5:05 – IFC Fairgrounds
Thurs – March 13 – 11:30 pm – Central Presbyterian Church
Wet
Tues – March 11 – 12:00 pm – Spotify Compound
Thurs – March 13 – 3:00 pm – Cedar Door
Fri – March 14 – 3:30 pm – The Mohawk (Windish Showcase)
Sat – March 15 – 9:30 pm – Empire Garage (Neon Gold Showcase)
A Few Notable Showcases:
Hype Hotel: All Week – Rad parties hosted by our buds at Yours Truly, Gorilla vs Bear, yvynyl, Ears of the Beholder, I Guess I’m Floating, ISO50, and so on.
Father/Daughter + Gold Robot + Small Plates + Inflated: Thursday – Four great labels and a ton of great artists. You can’t go wrong.
Carpark Records showcase: Thursday – SAINT PEPSI, Young Magic, Teen, etc. Nuff said.
Neon Gold Records showcase: Saturday – An unsurprisingly great lineup including MØ, Wet, Tove Lo, Haerts, and more.
NPR showcase: Wednesday – Features St. Vincent, Damon Albarn, and the incredibly hyped Perfect Pussy. Get there very early to lineup and good luck getting in.
The FADER Fort: All Week – Make sure you RSVP in advance and expect some lines. Nonetheless, FADER Fort always brings the top talent. This year you can catch Damon Albarn, Rick Ross, MØ, SZA, Wet, Chromeo, and more.
Pitchfork’s showcases: Wed & Thurs – This year Pitchfork is hosting a couple of day showcases and their evening showcase. You can expect long lines, but if you get in you’ll catch Mark Kozelek, Real Estate, Hundred Waters, Perfect Pussy, Ex Hex, Future Islands, and more.
PMA Presents: Wednesday – PMA brings a great showcase that includes a special DJ set from CATHEDRALS alongside sets from Goldroom, Supreme Cuts, and MØ.
New Shapes: Thursday – A solid showcase featuring Jungle, The Preatures, Great Good Fine OK, and more.
Graveface Records: Friday – If you like the Graveface lineup including The Casket Girls, dosh, and Hospital Ships then you have to hit this one.
Hardly Art / Suicide Squeeze: Friday – Two awesome Seattle labels join forces for one great showcase.
