SXSW 2024

By Gustavo Raskosky

South by Southwest has always been an event that I wanted to experience; however, there was always some roadblock – until this year! I joined fellow KTRU DJs, Keegan Pierce and Steven Burgess, in Austin as we got on our bikes, birds and traversed all throughout the land of Austin, Texas.

DE FACTO began my “official” SXSW experience. I could hear the echoes and reverberation of the show from the moment I stepped off a lime scooter in front of Willie Nelson’s statue at the venue’s entrance. Unfamiliar with their music, I entered the Moody Theater without any expectations and noticed the audience members were either abnormally calm or lost in a trance. A few minutes into their set, I realized it was the later. The Moody Theatre temporarily became DE FACTO’s dimly-lit, underground club serving heavy grooves and a slow, alt-reggae jam. DE FACTO exudes a cool, calm and calculated vibe with their set. Their drummer, Cedric Bixler-Zaval, constantly looked towards their bassist, Omar Rodríguez-López, throughout the set in a rather calculated way. After noticing their interactions, I realized exactly who they were – The Mars Volta! It was a great surprise to start the SXSW; however, I was looking forward to the higher energy some of the later sets in my schedule were offering. After enjoying a few more songs with a KTRU peer, Keegan Pierce, it was already time to begin concert-hopping as a few other shows I had on my list were just about to begin. I hopped onto another lime scooter and commuted ten minutes northeast to make it in time for my next set at the Palm Door on Sixth.

Minimal Schlager caught my attention early on. This edgy, synth-pop duo hails from Berlin and combines Italo disco with the intimate sounds you’d find in a European dive club. Their music sounds like it could’ve been involved in the soundtracks for Blade Runner 2049 or Stranger Things. They also sound like a slowed-down, more alt-indie version of CHVRCHES. They’re an 80s techno band lost in 2024. NOTE: In these comparisons, I hope not to deduce the amount of schlager this minimalist group produces. Their most-streamed song, “FMB,” came on and the duo confidently found their placing. Alicia Macanas, the group's lead singer, maintained so much energy and audience engagement throughout the set. They played roughly six different shows that week and although this was the first one literally right off of their flight from London, I was able to see that they kept their performance pace through video stories highlighting their other sets. This duo produces magic and holds so much enthusiasm towards their craft – I can’t wait to hear them as they continue their journey. Minimal Schlager exudes maximal energy.

The night was off to a great start. I had a few other artists favorited for the night, but I stumbled upon the “Tokyo Calling” showcase.

Chiaki Mayumura was finishing up her set on the Elysian stage, but it felt more like it was only beginning. When I walked in, I saw Chiaki suited up in an aluminum NASA space suit smiling ear to ear while getting the entire audience to follow her signal in making a wave. I thought the last duo had plenty of energy for their set, but Chiaki Mayumura had the audience following her orders in Japanese. Shortly after I found a good spot, she changed out of her space suit and a stage manager brought her a guitar. The multi-talented Chiaki charismatically had the audience in the palm of her hand. A stagehand threw an inflatable pool floatie into the crowd. The highlight of the show? Watching Chiaki Mayumura belt out a few of her songs, surf the crowd on a floatie and simultaneously entice the audience to join in on her song with off-beat claps.

I left Elysian and ran into two women promoting another show that was part of the showcase. They handed me an info-sheet and a Pokémon dime bag filled with Japanese candy. I took a selfie with them – then realized afterward that I had just taken a photo with the lead singer and guitarist for Tokyo Syoki Syodo (東京初期衝動) aka “Tokyo Initial Impulse.” I was definitely coming back.

Joachim Garraud held the next set I would attend at The Venue ATX. This would be a change of pace as this legend in electronic music had a crowd that dwarfed the audiences of all the shows of my Monday night lineup. He probably put up more songs with a higher BPM than all the other shows as well. It was exhilarating. Joachim began his set with a simple French flag graphic and their national anthem. The anthem quickly turned into a quick-paced banger, and the audience came alive. Roughly fifteen minutes into his set, Joachim put on an alien mask. The audience loved it. He disappeared for ten seconds and reappeared with two handfuls of alien masks to throw out. The audience roared. My favorite concert and audience experience was this set. He makes being paid to party a very enticing calling. Joachim Garraud may be fifty-five, but his set proved that age really is just a number.

Tokyo Syoki Syodo was the only reason I left Joachim Garraud’s set early. Their time to claim the Elysian stage had arrived. Tokyo Syoki Syodo is a rock and J-Pop four-member girl band. As they took the stage, the crowd cheered. The younger version of myself who loved Avril Lavigne, Green Day, My Chemical Romance and J-Pop duo, “PUFFY,” was LIVING! A “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” band had escaped the comics and materialized onto the Elysian stage. Each member of the band looked like they were having so much fun on stage. This could’ve been (and most likely was) the first time most of the audience experienced Tokyo Syoki Syodo, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell. A moshpit quickly formed. My second crowd surfing sighting of this SXSW experience was had as Sheena (Vocals/Guitar) trustingly jumped into the crowd backward. Overall, I’d say this was one of the most fun concerts of the whole SXSW 2024 experience.

Backdrop Cinderella was the final performance at Elysian that I stayed for – and I was not ready. Formed in 2006, this J-Pop/Punk band came onto the stage how I’d expect a metal band to – a dive into the crowd. The lead singer, Dendeke Ayumi, introduced the band then quickly counted down his leap into the dark-void that was becoming of the late-show’s audience. Dendeke kept up his energy during the entirety of their set with some high kicks, jumps, more crowd dives and attempts to start multiple mosh pits. It was an unexpectedly fun way to end the first real day of the festival’s music portion.

My second day of South by Southwest 2024 began with an unforgettable Keynote on the Daniels’ victory in filmmaking by describing their process and ideas conceived when they began conceptualizing “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Shortly afterward, I received a confirmation message from two artists I had been chatting with: HIEN and JW Francis. Both were available for an interview!

HIEN’s set was up first. I packed my equipment and headed out to Shangri-La in East Sixth. HIEN is a Budapest-born Vietnamese artist residing in New York City. Her electronic/pop-based music hints at her Vietnamese upbringing (her grandparents were Cai Luong musicians) fused with influences from her environment (Hungarian folk). Her performance was part of the Budapest Showcase. On a more overcast day, her set was one of the earlier ones at the outdoor Shangri-La venue. Once she gave the AV team an “ok,” she began setting up her beat machine and grabbed a mic. HIEN walked the stage once she got a loop set, danced and sang. It seemed to be a bit early for many audience members to join in; however, there were a few by the stage who were entranced by the beats. HIEN’s music invoked a variety of emotions – and when “Bloom” and “Family” came on, those emotions were felt and left the audience cheering. I picked up on quite a variation of moods in her work – so I decided to ask about the varying messages and production in each song. HIEN responded, “I have both sides. I’m very bubbly, like, rainbows and unicorns-type of person, but I also have my super emo and melancholic side. I’m a Pisces and both are living in me. I think I express that through my art.”

Shortly after speaking with HIEN, I went to High Noon further east to catch JW Francis for an interview before his set.

Subsonic Eye was playing when I arrived. The young, Singaporean, alt-rock band crushed their intimate High Noon appearance. They are aptly described as, “a coming of age band you’d hear in all the 2010s rom-com movies if they had existed then.” I didn’t hear too much from them, but I feel as though I’d be doing my experience a disservice without mentioning stumbling upon them – even briefly! They were that good!

Veeze was the next artist I’d encounter on my adventure as Keegan and I awaited Teezo Touchdown. Honestly, I wasn’t really impressed by Veeze’s performance. His energy was low, his crowd did most of the talking and on top of that – I wasn’t familiar with his work. Being fair to all the performers I saw during this festival, I hadn’t seen or heard a majority of them, yet they would still win me over with their energy and performance. I’m sorry to say, but Veeze’s was the most memorable in being my least memorable.

Fortunately, DJ Rosegold came on shortly after for about twenty to thirty minutes in between sets and engaged the crowd more fully. I was ready for Teezo.

Teezo Touchdown came onto the stage the same way you’d imagine a Hall-of-Famer quarterback to enter a home football game. With studded-out shoulder pads and a bouquet of flowers as his mic, he owned the Moody Theatre stage for the next hour. I’d say he tied both Backdrop Cinderella and Tokyo Syoki Syodo in terms of sheer energy. It was an extremely fun and photogenic set. I kept thinking that I’d love to see him do “RUNITUP” with Tyler or “MODERN JAM” with Travis – live! Unfortunately, I left his set after a handful of songs to make it in time for JW Francis’s set back at High Noon.

JW Francis was a rather important set for me as it was not only the last set I could attend during my first (and rather short) stint at SXSW 2024, but he was the first artist I reviewed for KTRU. I came across JW’s “We Share a Similar Joy” album a full year ago. It had been lost in the stacks – unreviewed - since the beginning of COVID. I had a good gut feeling about it. I remember listening to it on repeat and trying to get a good sense of each song – so much so that I’d be able to memorize the lyrics. I’d have friends listen to it with me and pick out tracks that stood out. It was my introduction to thoroughly reviewing music at KTRU - and I loved it. I’m a major Mac DeMarco fan, and this reminded me of a more energized version of his Lofi tracks. I told JW Francis that his music sounds similar to how a warm hug feels. While at South by for KTRU, I looked at a few random events that were popping up and noticed JW Francis’s name was mentioned. I IMMEDIATELY got on Instagram and reached out. He contacted me shortly after, and we scheduled a brief interview as he prepped for his show! Once he got on the High Noon stage, he grabbed his guitar, introduced himself and began strumming away. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone bounce as joyously and continuously for the entirety of a set like he did. A few standout songs in his set include “John, Take Me With You” which is currently his most popular streamed song and “I Love You” which is simply him saying the phrase over and over while pointing to different audience members. In that moment – he was joy incarnate.

I left for Houston the following day to take care of some work (and see Nickelback perform live at the Houston Rodeo), but I decided to return to Austin for one more day. On the final day of my first South by Southwest experience, I saw Tierra Whack, Fairlane, Illenium, Bootsy Collins, and Questlove’s DJ Set. All of which were fantastic. I reached my Air BnB that night around 2am and heard heavy bass from a small bar across the street. I decided to go check it out and found three nameless DJs around my age having the most fun by playing all their early 2000s favorites. Energy is contagious – and this experience was a reminder of that.