SXSW Wrap-Up: These Things Happened. These Things Mattered.
by Jesse Richman
Now that it’s wrapped, I’m not sure what to say about SXSW 2015 that hasn’t already been written about ad nauseum by every major music publication. Smaller and less corporate? Check. Fewer celeb/superstar cameos? Check. Rain-drenched? Soggy-ass check. Something about Courtney Barnett and/or Halsey? Well, I’m still not entirely sure whether Courtney is a man or a woman or something else entirely, never mind what they sound like or if they’re the next big thing, because I didn’t see them and I’m going on name alone. And the only Halsey I know is Paul McCartney’s “Admiral.” But uhh, yeah, sure, check. Done. Next. This was my fourth time partaking in the music-industry-extravaganza-cum-masochistic-ritual that is SXSW, and over those four years it’s become evident to me that I experience the event differently than other music websites do. Note that I wrote “websites” and not “people.” The vast majority of music publications would have you believe that SXSW took place entirely at the Fader Fort, the Spotify House, the Hype Hotel and their ilk; that attendees are like a flock of birds, flitting this way and that in unison as they chase the latest buzz band from venue to venue; that there are maybe three shows each day and everybody in attendance is at one of them. But the truth is (and you already know this if you’ve been reading along this past week) that SXSW 2015 featured more than 100 venues hosting 2,300 acts — and that doesn’t count the scads of unofficial shows, and the bands who travel to town just to play those. Yes, that’s a number for SXSW’s PR folks to tout, a promotional argument for their own importance. But it’s also people. Each of those performers is a real live person or group of persons. And while, yes, attendance varies from venue to venue and set to set, all of these sets they played were attended by someone — many of them by hundreds, even thousands of someones. I didn’t set foot in any of the mega-venues mentioned above. But I saw bands in bars, and in conference rooms. I saw bands at a kebab shop on the east side of downtown, and by the swimming pool of an apartment complex on the west side. I saw 47 different sets over five days. You know who else didn’t spend all their time at the massive uber-stages? The majority of this year’s attendees, I’d guess. Who’s speaking to the experiences of all those people?
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Thanks Jesse for our props! We had a (wet) blast at our events. Thanks to all those who came out! We’re looking forward to doing more events in the future.
