SXSW: Looking Back, Looking Forward

A recap of SXSW 2025 Music and some thoughts on SXSW 2026's consolidation

Just before the official start of SXSW—which kicked off on March 7, which from my vantage point feels roughly two months ago—I moderated a press conference for the 25th Anniversary of the Texas Film Awards and the 40th Anniversary of the Austin Film Society. At that event, one of the participants mentioned to me how difficult it is to attend a conference in the city where you live. That is true! Life doesn't stop because the circus has rolled into town. Those obligations can mean that it's difficult to become fully immersed in a conference, particularly one as immersive as SXSW. And it's also true that recovery from the event can take longer, especially when the end of the conference happens at the beginning of spring break, as it did here in Austin this year.

Having a pair of young kids home from preschool does mean that it's difficult for me to dash off a newsletter, so this brief postmortem is arriving a bit late, after the initial post-SX controversy has settled: namely, the news that the conference is consolidating to a single week for 2026. The contraction makes sense. The Austin Convention Center is about to be remodeled, leaving the conference without a central hub. Logistically, this will be a pain, but it does give SXSW the opportunity to scale back by having the tech, film and music tracks run concurrently. The conference already has been in the process of downscaling in the past five (or even ten) years and, theoretically, having a tighter time frame could make the conference more potent.

As a resident of Austin, I haven't minded how SXSW no longer seems to consume the city the way it did fifteen years ago. Getting around town was easy this year, no matter the time or location. Having the streets be essentially open at 3pm on a Friday afternoon felt disconcerting, though, suggesting that the slowing pace that had been evident on the outskirts of the downtown has crept into Sixth Street. There are several forces at play here, including a conscious effort by SXSW to focus on "convergence," a term that now seems antiquated as the promised tech utopia has curdled into AI slop. The boom times also devoured any downtown parking lot that could function as a possible pop-up for either a makeshift stage or a gargantuan Fader Fort, leaving the whole shebang seeming somewhat diminished.

Smaller isn't necessarily worse, though. Maybe SXSW music lacked marquee names but one of the chief appeals of the festival is being able to roam from venue to venue, experiencing shifts in style and vibe. That part of SX hasn't changed and it still can be a thrill, even if heading out five days in a row can be exhausting. That's what I did this year, contributing to Rolling Stone's Best of SXSW Music coverage; . Here are links to that coverage: full critiques can be read there, I've added some light annotations of personal highlights, including acts I didn't write up for RS.

Finally, thanks to everybody at Rolling Stone, with a special tip of the hat to Christian Hoard and Simon Vozick-Levinson.

Day One: Maybe my favorite overall night of music: I started my SXSW with a surprisingly guitar-heavy set from U.S. Girls, then headed over to see John Fogerty play the hits at Stubb's. Excellent sets both, although I never warmed to the sax in Fogerty's band. Closed out the night with Montreal's Yoo Doo Right.

Day Two: ​​Early day that kicked off Athens college-rock survivors Five Eight. Wandered around in the afternoon, enjoyed the shoegaze sway of Ribbon Skirt (another Montreal band!). Returned for Surely Shirley who is perhaps a bit sweet, then witnessed the muscular return of Jack's Mannequin at Stubb's before closing out the night with the monstrous rock of the Thing.

Day Three: Began the day reporting on the National Independent Venue Association panel "Small Stages, Big Impact: Saving Indie Stages for Artists." Caught a couple of afternoon sets at the Valhalla dive: the spikey Nashville singer/songwriter Brennan Wedl and the shoegaze of Honeyglaze. Headed back to Stubb's that night for a New Orleans showcase: The Rumble with Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr caused a ruckus, Big Freedia moved into gospel. Watched a few things at the multiple stages at Hotel Vegas, building to a righteous closing set from Sunflower Bean.

Day Four: Tried my luck at an overly packed Mohawk—one of the few times it felt as cramped as it did in years past—and heard some of Cardinals…enough to know I liked it but not enough to stick with the crowd. Hung out at Antone's 50th Anniversary party, whose daytime party closed with an excellent set by Jackie Venson. A good portion of the evening was spent at the Paramount watching the national debut of Mister Romantic, the endearing song-and-dance show from John C. Reilly. Caught a couple other sets before closing out the night with an explosive set from Maruja at the Mohawk.

Day Five: I had fond but fuzzy memories of Rialto from the 90s, so I was curious about the return of this Britpop adjacent outfit. Wound up being knocked sideways by Louis Eliot and his "invisible band," who sounded way better than I remembered. The garagey strut of the Courettes struck my fancy, and I liked how Jad Fair & the Placebos seemed like a cross-section of indie through the years. Had a good time listening to Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas—Antone's was giving away boiled crawfish, which is simultaneously the best and worst giveaway I've ever seen at SXSW—then closed out the festival at the Creek and the Cave with with Fantasy of a Broken Heart and YHWH Nailgun. Good night of music.