Festival season is just about over in Austin, which meant it's time for lots of announcements setting up their rebirth in the spring. Chief among them is South by Southwest (SXSW), which announced its first 250 speaker sessions for 2026 a week ago. Now it's moving on to the Music Festival, from March 12-18, with its first 100 showcasing artists and 50 showcase presenters — the organizations that curate those shows.
"Showcasing artists" is just what SXSW calls its participating musicians. There may be other musicians involved in things like panel discussions and brand activations, but showcasing artists are those whose shows are the main offering at the venue in that moment.
Of course, there will be lots to see in this starting lineup, but SXSW calls out a few fan favorites in a press release. In the releases words, attendees can look forward to:
- The All-American Rejects: pop-punk band who helped define the genre in the aughts (CultureMap's description)
- The Sophs: LA pop-punk buzz band
- La Texana: redefining foreign influence through a Mexican lens
- Grrrl Gang: Indonesian indie power trio
- Milo Korbenski: lo-fi art-pop artist
- Bayonne: Austin-based introspective and ethereal electro-pop project
Among the showcase presenters are:
- Billboard
- NPR Music Stations
- Del Los of LA Times
- Rolling Stone
- Luck Reunion
- Dream Con
- British Music Embassy
The full lists of artists and presenters can be seen on the same page at sxsw.com.
This year will be a little different for music. Festival organizers in 2025 said they were "streamlining" for 2026 by cutting the closing weekends for both music and film. This caused some panic among locals and die-hard annual attendees, but the festival clarified that even though specific days were cut, more were added, resulting in a net gain of one day.
It will be more difficult for people working standard 9-5 weekday schedules to catch shows, and even those who spend their whole day at SXSW events will probably have to actively prioritize music more.
Music Badges are currently on sale for $550 online. The walk-up rate during the festival will be $895. The Platinum Badge, for $1495 online, gives priority access to all SXSW events including those in the Music or TV and Film Festivals and the Conference.
