Austin's biggest music event is starting to take form for 2025. South by Southwest (SXSW), the decentralized conference and festival that will take over Austin from March 7-15, has released its first round of musical performers.

Announcements have already been trickling in from SXSW, mainly regarding the conference speakers, who so far include founder and CEO of the Future Today Institute Amy Webb, human rights advocate Nadia Murad, and The Drive podcast host Dr. Peter Attia. Since the schedule is so massive, organizers release lineups in multiple rounds of tens or even hundreds of names.

"Showcasing artists" is the festival's term for artists it has booked directly, as opposed to those who have been booked at unaffiliated venues around town throwing parties during the annual event. In addition to solo shows, there are showcases put together by third-party organizers like blogs and record labels; musicians joining talks, screenings, and other special events; and networking opportunities for music professionals.

The first round of showcasing artists contains more than 100 names from various continents — folks are visiting from Indonesia, Austria, Ghana, Australia, Mexico, Colombia, Greenland, Turkey, Lithuania, and more. As usual, a significant percentage of performers are based in Austin.

So far there are 17 local artists on the lineup:

• Bee Blackwell
• Bubba Lucky
• Bummer Camp
• Caleb De Casper
• Cotton Mather
• Exotic Fruitica
• Graham Reynolds
• Jad Fair and the Placebos
• Julie Nolen
• Lauren Lakis
• Letting Up Despite Great Faults
• Marry Cherry
• Midnight Navy
• Nemegata
• Parker Woodland
• Sly5thAve
• Water Damage

Picking out some notable performers from around the world, the announcement draws special attention to Justin Morales, Gurriers, Ali, La Sécurité, Yasmin Williams, Delivery, Shiho Yabuki, and Twin Shadow.

This year's lineup comes with lingering tension following last year's controversy. More than 80 bands and solo artists backed out of their scheduled performances in protest of SXSW's military and weapons sponsors, citing their complicity in war crimes on Palestinians in Gaza. It led to a social media spat between Governor Greg Abbott and SXSW organizers, and eventually to South by Southwest disallowing "the US Army, and companies who engage in weapons manufacturing" from sponsoring in 2025.

The change was quietly made on the website and does not go into detail about what capacity those entities may be involved in beyond sponsorship or the year 2025. This was a campaign victory, but some of the artists that dropped out pledged to never return, regardless of SXSW's response.

SXSW artists have also aired grievances about not being paid sufficiently. In 2024, organizers raised the pay from $350 for bands and $150 for solo artists and duos, to $400 for bands and $175 for solo artists and duos. An organization leading the call for higher pay, United Musicians and Allied Workers, sets a target of $750 for all performers.

More information about this year's lineup is available at sxsw.com. Music badges ($750 online, $995 in person) are on sale now, and Austin locals can keep an eye out for wristbands at a lower price with more limited access.