SXSW Update

Garth Brooks surprises Austin with appearance at SXSW 2017

The one-and-only Garth Brooks is coming to town.

Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com

Calling all country fans: Garth Brooks has just been added to the stacked lineup of speakers for SXSW Music 2017.

The legendary country music star will join Steve Boom, vice president of Amazon Music, in a discussion of music in the digital world. According to SXSW, Boom "spearheaded Amazon's exclusive deal with Garth Brooks to bring the country superstar's music catalog to streaming for the first time ever."

Brooks comes to Austin at the tail-end of a massive tour supporting his 2014 album, Man Against Machine, his first new material in 13 years. What's unconfirmed is whether his keynote will be accompanied by a performance. Brooks has time between March stops in Albany, New York, and Lubbock.

Brooks' keynote conversation is scheduled for Friday, March 17, at the Austin Convention Center, and a new badge structure allows for more SXSW festivalgoers to attend. Primary access will be given to Platinum and Music badgeholders; if there is space left, Interactive and Film guests will be able to attend.

"I'm so excited that the new badge system will empower more of our attendees to discover even more of this great content," says Hugh Forrest, chief programming officer, in a release.

Brooks joins Nile Rodgers and Zane Lowe on the list of SXSW Music keynotes. Recently announced featured speakers include Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, A$AP Ferg, T.I., Mike Bruno, Angela Yee, Charles Attal, Residente, Mike Posner, Warren G, Andre Cymonee, Dez Dickerson, Lou Adler, Paul Tollett, and Scott Goldman.

SXSW 2017 takes place March 10-19 around Austin.

Reexamining Don Draper

Jon Hamm, Henry Winkler, and more headed to Austin for TV festival

Getty Images

Jon Hamm is coming to Austin to talk about Don Draper.

From May 29 to June 1, 2025, the ATX TV Festival will take over downtown Austin, and this year Jon Hamm will be joining the festival for the first time.

Hamm will be here for an event called A Mad Men Retrospective, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the show's finale. In this panel (the moderator of which is not yet announced), Hamm will reflect on his Emmy-winning performance as Mad Men's Don Draper, the uniqueness of the character in the TV canon, and the show's influence 10 years after it ended.

Jon Hamm may be best known as Draper, but he's also given celebrated performances in several movies and other shows like Fargo, Black Mirror, and — fun fact! — Gilmore Girls.

Celebrating TV is what the ATX TV Festival is all about. This annual summer event is put on by ATX TV and consists of screenings, Q&As, and panel conversations; plus all sorts of parties, live music, happy hours, and other events. It's known for reunions of classic series and cult hits, and according to the website, it's like "TV camp for grownups."

Jon Hamm isn't the only heavy-hitter in this year's lineup.

Programming also includes an acting class and Q&A with Henry Winkler himself, a live script reading of classic episodes from The Golden Girls and Designing Women (guest actors to be announced), a reunion of the creatives and cast of the HBO hit series The Leftovers, a live recording of the podcast Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast with Suits stars and co-hosts Sarah Rafferty and Patrick J. Adams, and much more.

Additionally, the festival's annual Pitch Competition is still accepting open pitch submissions through January 17. This gives creatives in Austin a chance to pitch their show idea in front of some of the industry's biggest showrunners and executives. Those in the top 10 will receive a year of support to make the next steps in their TV careers.

Festival badges and passes ($150-535) are on sale now.

celebrities tv festivals