The SXSW experience
November 6, 2023 4:22 PM
I've never been to Austin, let alone attended SXSW, and I'm trying to write (fiction) about a band going there and performing. I've been reading a lot about it, but I still don't really have a feel for what the experience would be like, and wondered if any Mefites have attended, or even better, performed there.
Apparently, today is the day for questions about bands and writing fictional scenarios. I'm mostly curious about the general feel of the whole thing--I've been to lots of big conventions, but nothing where there are multiple showcases for bands in different venues that almost run 24/7, and it sometimes seems like it's more about making connections than the performances themselves, at least for the artists.
As I said, I have never been to Austin, so I know nothing about the lay of the land--if you've attended but not performed, just general impressions about the place are more than welcome too. Looking at google street view only gets me so far in terms of what Austin is like. (Feel free to memail me, if you'd rather have more details or you don't want to publicly comment.)
Your experience doesn't have to be recent--the story will be set around the early teens, and I know the whole thing has changed a lot along the way and a lot of people seem to say it's too commercial now and not worth going. But I'd still love to get a feel for the experience of attending or performing.
Apparently, today is the day for questions about bands and writing fictional scenarios. I'm mostly curious about the general feel of the whole thing--I've been to lots of big conventions, but nothing where there are multiple showcases for bands in different venues that almost run 24/7, and it sometimes seems like it's more about making connections than the performances themselves, at least for the artists.
As I said, I have never been to Austin, so I know nothing about the lay of the land--if you've attended but not performed, just general impressions about the place are more than welcome too. Looking at google street view only gets me so far in terms of what Austin is like. (Feel free to memail me, if you'd rather have more details or you don't want to publicly comment.)
Your experience doesn't have to be recent--the story will be set around the early teens, and I know the whole thing has changed a lot along the way and a lot of people seem to say it's too commercial now and not worth going. But I'd still love to get a feel for the experience of attending or performing.
I don't know how realistic it's going to come off if you've never been here, but one thing I might suggest throwing in is that there's some hostility toward the whole thing among locals, and I don't think that's new. At least in certain quarters, it's perceived as the time of year Californians fly in, fuck up traffic on I-35 worse than usual, get the wrong impression about the weather, move here, and drive up real estate prices. But I've never gone either so I'm not a great source.
posted by less-of-course at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2023
posted by less-of-course at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2023
My little indie band played SXSW in 2010 and 2011. We played mostly "unofficial" shows all around Austin and we also organized our own show both years in a friend's backyard with a bunch of other bands. It was an experience, to be sure. A crazy amount of work, especially if you're just a little DIY band like we were. Just the logistics of loading and unloading the fucking van 3-4 times a day literally almost made me cry by the end of it. Good times too, some great shows. Also some shows with 2 people in attendance, one of them our manager. I don't know that I have the ability to type out a whole thing about it, it's such a huge jumble of stuff, but I'd actually be happy to talk about it, I think I might be able to convey things a little better that way. Feel free to memail me if you want to talk sometime.
posted by otolith at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2023
posted by otolith at 6:43 PM on November 6, 2023
I have been in ATX since the 90's. Played SX, got a band indie record deal at SX (woo), did photoin' at SX back before everyone had cell phone cameras, went many times, in various incarnations via either wristband/badge/or just random walking around.
While it is true that it has gotten bonkers, a lot of the same stuff still holds true. Bands (1800+?? last time I checked) come from all over the planet to Austin, most of them receiving very little to no compensation, to usually play for little to no people. And those are just the bands who are *officially* participating! (meaning, they submitted music to SXSW and got 'accepted' and granted at least one official SX 'showcase' slot). I don't know how many bands also emerge from the planetary shadows just to perform around town for the event, who are *not* participating - but add those in the mix too. : )
Back in the day, participating bands only performed at their 'official' SX showcases. It was extremely rare, or null, for any super big name bands to play at the festival. You did not generally attend to see bands you heard of, that was the whole point (even though the owners of the fest strangely deny that the festival was originally for giving little known bands exposure, that is exactly what it did). But there were also more like 900 bands, which, based on my attempts to listen to all of them before a single festival once mp3's became a thing, was really plenty for this shindig. : )
Other local festival things sprouted up alongside SX as "anti"-SXSW's for reasons; cost of attending SX, not making the cut, or just being anti. Nothing wrong with those, either, still cool folks and stuff there, just usually without the bigger corporate $. Eventually, visiting participating bands started playing as many local shows as they could, to make coming here be worth more than playing a single show that few people attended, let alone record execs.
When that started growing (that is, bands playing as many shows as they could get in the area during SX Music week), at first SX banned any official 'showcasing' artists from playing those extra shows. But that policy soon failed, and SX started having their showcasing artists of note play multiple smaller shows during the week as well.
Overall I can say that I have seen tons of amazing music from all over the world at SX. For that I am extremely grateful, and lucky. As a musician in general, it is a good time, but a lot of work for again, usually little to no $. (Last time I participated was pre-pandemic, and at that time they still only granted 1 badge per participating band, I think and allowed some wristbands for band members and 1 crew member - OR - your band could get a $250 stipend, total. Yes, even unknown bands coming here from say, Australia - $250. No plane fare or lodging or anything else that I am aware, but perhaps I'm mistaken?). Mostly these days I feel bad for the bulk of musicians expecting anything beyond a cool adventure from doing it.
There are now more big gun artists who play at SX, sure. I feel like trying to get into most of those shows to watch is a mistake, because they are usually low capacity, so getting in is tough. Also, priority is given to people who paid for badges for the festival (which currently go for $700--$1500), followed by people with wristbands, then any ticket holders, if tickets are available. I still think that having a pile of big name artists defeats the purpose.
If you love live music, from everywhere, in a number of genres, likely performed by people you haven't heard of unless you scoured the internet beforehand, and, want to see these people who have busted their asses to bring it all the way here to Austin - and - see it performed in crowded or empty bars, bookstores, parking lots, grocery stores, ice cream and coffee joints, hotels, hostels, living rooms, on a street corner, sporting goods stores, random houses, swimming pools, rooftops, back alleys, parks, trailers, and by the river, and often for free (in that said bands have likely decided to play a bunch of shows in a variety of these places all week outside of the paid SXSW festival proper) - THIS IS THE FESTIVAL FOR YOU.
Sure, there's all kinds of other free stuff, swag, parties, etc., some of it corporate-sponsored that requires pre-registrations, swag, in addition to local shenanigans - but that's not why I go.
Although I admit it would have been amusing to see Lady Gaga perform - inside that giant Doritos machine.
posted by bitterkitten at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2023
While it is true that it has gotten bonkers, a lot of the same stuff still holds true. Bands (1800+?? last time I checked) come from all over the planet to Austin, most of them receiving very little to no compensation, to usually play for little to no people. And those are just the bands who are *officially* participating! (meaning, they submitted music to SXSW and got 'accepted' and granted at least one official SX 'showcase' slot). I don't know how many bands also emerge from the planetary shadows just to perform around town for the event, who are *not* participating - but add those in the mix too. : )
Back in the day, participating bands only performed at their 'official' SX showcases. It was extremely rare, or null, for any super big name bands to play at the festival. You did not generally attend to see bands you heard of, that was the whole point (even though the owners of the fest strangely deny that the festival was originally for giving little known bands exposure, that is exactly what it did). But there were also more like 900 bands, which, based on my attempts to listen to all of them before a single festival once mp3's became a thing, was really plenty for this shindig. : )
Other local festival things sprouted up alongside SX as "anti"-SXSW's for reasons; cost of attending SX, not making the cut, or just being anti. Nothing wrong with those, either, still cool folks and stuff there, just usually without the bigger corporate $. Eventually, visiting participating bands started playing as many local shows as they could, to make coming here be worth more than playing a single show that few people attended, let alone record execs.
When that started growing (that is, bands playing as many shows as they could get in the area during SX Music week), at first SX banned any official 'showcasing' artists from playing those extra shows. But that policy soon failed, and SX started having their showcasing artists of note play multiple smaller shows during the week as well.
Overall I can say that I have seen tons of amazing music from all over the world at SX. For that I am extremely grateful, and lucky. As a musician in general, it is a good time, but a lot of work for again, usually little to no $. (Last time I participated was pre-pandemic, and at that time they still only granted 1 badge per participating band, I think and allowed some wristbands for band members and 1 crew member - OR - your band could get a $250 stipend, total. Yes, even unknown bands coming here from say, Australia - $250. No plane fare or lodging or anything else that I am aware, but perhaps I'm mistaken?). Mostly these days I feel bad for the bulk of musicians expecting anything beyond a cool adventure from doing it.
There are now more big gun artists who play at SX, sure. I feel like trying to get into most of those shows to watch is a mistake, because they are usually low capacity, so getting in is tough. Also, priority is given to people who paid for badges for the festival (which currently go for $700--$1500), followed by people with wristbands, then any ticket holders, if tickets are available. I still think that having a pile of big name artists defeats the purpose.
If you love live music, from everywhere, in a number of genres, likely performed by people you haven't heard of unless you scoured the internet beforehand, and, want to see these people who have busted their asses to bring it all the way here to Austin - and - see it performed in crowded or empty bars, bookstores, parking lots, grocery stores, ice cream and coffee joints, hotels, hostels, living rooms, on a street corner, sporting goods stores, random houses, swimming pools, rooftops, back alleys, parks, trailers, and by the river, and often for free (in that said bands have likely decided to play a bunch of shows in a variety of these places all week outside of the paid SXSW festival proper) - THIS IS THE FESTIVAL FOR YOU.
Sure, there's all kinds of other free stuff, swag, parties, etc., some of it corporate-sponsored that requires pre-registrations, swag, in addition to local shenanigans - but that's not why I go.
Although I admit it would have been amusing to see Lady Gaga perform - inside that giant Doritos machine.
posted by bitterkitten at 8:08 PM on November 6, 2023
In the last five-ten years Austin has experienced a convulsively explosive change, and not for the better (I don't think anyone, outside of property developers/builders, believes it has been for the better) : So, I would say bear that in mind - Austin today is far more sanitized/corporate/test-marketed than it used to be (when it was a kinda dinky/average college town with a particularly good music scene). And, from what I understand from family there, SXSW has followed this change.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:37 AM on November 7, 2023
posted by From Bklyn at 3:37 AM on November 7, 2023
I live in Austin, and I'm one of those locals who avoids SXSW. I went to one show in, uh, '93 and decided it was too crowded.
I think it was around the early teens that we started seeing corporate "activations" at SXSW, like the Levi's Fader Fort. A brand will take over a parking lot and create some kind of experience to draw people in. This really contributed to the circus atmosphere.
Things have actually gotten a little more slack, but lodgings were difficult to obtain for visiting bands back then. I've got a friend who put her small, one bathroom house on AirBnB during SXSW, and had 8 bandmates from Italy staying there one year.
And of course SXSW isn't just music. It's also film and "interactive" (tech). Twitter debuted at SXSW in 2006. Interactive has gotten to be bigger than music, and is centered at the convention center, unlike music, which is distributed to clubs around town.
posted by adamrice at 6:25 AM on November 7, 2023
I think it was around the early teens that we started seeing corporate "activations" at SXSW, like the Levi's Fader Fort. A brand will take over a parking lot and create some kind of experience to draw people in. This really contributed to the circus atmosphere.
Things have actually gotten a little more slack, but lodgings were difficult to obtain for visiting bands back then. I've got a friend who put her small, one bathroom house on AirBnB during SXSW, and had 8 bandmates from Italy staying there one year.
And of course SXSW isn't just music. It's also film and "interactive" (tech). Twitter debuted at SXSW in 2006. Interactive has gotten to be bigger than music, and is centered at the convention center, unlike music, which is distributed to clubs around town.
posted by adamrice at 6:25 AM on November 7, 2023
(when it was a kinda dinky/average college town with a particularly good music scene)
People always say stuff like this, but Austin was a 'dinky college town' when my grandfather went there in the late 1940s. It passed half a million people in the 1990s, and has had THE giant flagship university of Texas [meaning where all the richest students went] dominating since the 1970s. Austin's growth rate has actually fallen since then, even as it has risen to be like the 10th largest city in the US.
And I did one stint at SXSW in 1995 as a visitor (not in a band), and it's pretty much what people are describing.
The thing about Austin that makes it different is that in the 1960s-2000s, places literally destroyed their downtowns, kicking out all the people and building nothing but corporate office buildings for suburbanites. Downtown was empty at night. Well the giant University of Texas with like 50,000 students in population is right in downtown Austin, so the city couldn't really do that. So 50,000 people adjacent to downtown - there are only about 10 cities in the US with populations that large adjacent to downtown. Austin is the only one in Texas. In the older days, Dallas and Houston (the largest cities in TX) has downtown populations measured in the hundreds of people. Even today, downtown LA (2nd largest city in the US) has only a slightly larger downtown population. That's what makes it unique.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:58 AM on November 7, 2023
People always say stuff like this, but Austin was a 'dinky college town' when my grandfather went there in the late 1940s. It passed half a million people in the 1990s, and has had THE giant flagship university of Texas [meaning where all the richest students went] dominating since the 1970s. Austin's growth rate has actually fallen since then, even as it has risen to be like the 10th largest city in the US.
And I did one stint at SXSW in 1995 as a visitor (not in a band), and it's pretty much what people are describing.
The thing about Austin that makes it different is that in the 1960s-2000s, places literally destroyed their downtowns, kicking out all the people and building nothing but corporate office buildings for suburbanites. Downtown was empty at night. Well the giant University of Texas with like 50,000 students in population is right in downtown Austin, so the city couldn't really do that. So 50,000 people adjacent to downtown - there are only about 10 cities in the US with populations that large adjacent to downtown. Austin is the only one in Texas. In the older days, Dallas and Houston (the largest cities in TX) has downtown populations measured in the hundreds of people. Even today, downtown LA (2nd largest city in the US) has only a slightly larger downtown population. That's what makes it unique.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:58 AM on November 7, 2023
Thanks for the perspectives! I will be in touch with a couple of you for sure. I figured there would have to be mefites who’d been there so I’m glad to know I was right. 😊
posted by kitten kaboodle at 4:31 PM on November 7, 2023
posted by kitten kaboodle at 4:31 PM on November 7, 2023
I am one of the curmudgeonly locals who hates the crowds and the bad treatment of musicians. My friends and I refer to it as FuckXFuckOff.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 7:26 PM on November 7, 2023
posted by a humble nudibranch at 7:26 PM on November 7, 2023
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If I were 100% healthy I would still go every year.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 5:07 PM on November 6, 2023