SXSW 2023 – Wrap Up
Yet another SXSW Festival is behind us and the ATH team covered a whole lot of ground during our week of music and fun. You may have seen some of our collected thoughts via daily recaps or maybe you even read some of our interviews leading up to the festival. Either way, we’ve gathered everything we have and dropped it all into one huge post for you to peruse at your convenience. Top bands, tons of interviews, daily recaps, photos; you’ll find it all after the jump.
Band’s Worth the Buzz
I think collectively we saw somewhere in the range of 100-150 bands during the week and some left a lasting impression. Here is a quick list with links to bands we loved during the week.
Avalanche Party 
– Probably the loudest band of the weekend, and for good reason. Nice to see a leading man really put everything into a performance with rafter climbing and screaming.
Youth Sector – Sort of a mix between Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Chiefs. Maybe the most “fun” band of the weekend.
Far Caspian – Irish dream pop full of layers, brightness and lovely vibes.
Golden Dregs – Cedar Street proved to not be the best place for this band, but I still appreciated the dark tones and subdued undertones.
Humour 
– Saw this band twice and tried my best to see them for a third time, but couldn’t make it. Definitely my number 1 from the weekend.
RVG– I will forever be a stan for this band. They’ve got bits of Cure, bits of arena rock, and a whole lot of passion on the stage. One of my favorites, thus why I caught them 3 times.
Snooper – Got into this band via a suggestion from a friend, and it was like a hyper groove of punk and showmanship. My favorite full band performance of the fest.
Dippers – The artists formerly known as Thigh Master continue to grow into this great brand of pop rock that has hints of everything you love about the Australian music scene, while still sounding refreshing and new.
Slow Fiction
– Another band I saw more than once and would be happy to see them again tomorrow. Do yourself a favor and add this NY based band to all your playlists.
Bedlocked – Houston’s finest offered some killer post-emo, slowcore akin to Mineral or Pedro the Lion.
True Body – Dark synths with distorted guitars and loads of passion.
Been Stellar – If Oasis and Interpol had a baby, but better than that. Lead vocals with a focus, lots of guitars on stage layering back and forth to add up to more than the sum of all parts.
Kindsight – Imagine you were at an Alvvays show. But, imagine that the whole band was strong, not just the lead singer. Basically, a rock n’ roll version of Alvvays.
Thus Love– I told Brian this reminded me of what Ought would have sounded like had they tried to be a touch more pop-centric.
Blondshell– One of the more hyped bands of the week and they delivered for me. You’ll soon be seeing this name EVERYWHERE.
Natural Lines – Matt Pond’s new project really delivered for me with emotional songwriting and purpose with each and every song.
Teenage Joans – A surprise of the weekend. One loud guitar, one loud drummer, hell yeah.
Alien Tango – If you are looking for a band that takes Zggy-era Bowie and turns it into a psychedelic freak fest, well, then you’ve got this lot nailed down.
Constant Smiles 
– This band was the calm in the storm. Lots of their new stuff was really opened up and spacious, with perfect atmospheric touches.
Abracadabra – This band has every instrument known to man. Chimes, synths, gutairs, keytars…everything! And the songs are playful and light. We dug it.
Foyer Red – You have to respect having a clarinet and omnichord on stage to make quirky pop that is grounded in a strong rhythm section. Socks on stage for that effects pedal feel as a bonus point…
Why Bonnie – A local hitmaker at this point. If you don’t know them yet, you should.
Lifeguard 
– Was this the youngest band at the fest? If so, they executed several sets that made them feel like seasoned vets. Like early At the Drive-In meets Fugazi.
Dreamend – Often we forget that Ryan from Graveface can make some really solid tunes with Dreamend. Dark yet heavy, bright and atmospheric.
Joanna Sternberg – If you can poke fun at yourself and the world whilst coming off charming and captivating, you’ve got my vote.
Spllit – A lot of folks toss out the Devo and B-52s era of punk/pop with this group. It reminded me that it’s great to be weird, but you’re not this great unless your band is this tight.
Moon Panda 
– Super smooth Scandinavian pop with a southern California remodel…
IST IST – Post punk, driving, What if the Editors had stayed in their lane? I’m sure they’d hate that comparison. The Manchester trio have a new record, and you should check it out.
Free Range – Finally saw this band on Saturday’s at Tweedy’s and they did not let me down. Love the new album and will create ALL the hype for this group.
Knifeplay – One of the last bands of the week was one of my favorites from the entire festival. The Appleseed cast could be an inspiration so naturally I dig it.
Daily Recaps
Our daily recaps offer a bit more in depth opinions of each day and detailed descriptions of bands we liked.
Monday was for movies and New Order
Saturday was for a few Chicago bands at Tweedy’s bar and tons of rest
SXSW Interviews
We posted a whole slew of interviews leading up to the fest featuring all kinds of bands from a variety of genres. For a full list of those interviews, we just created a fancy landing page for all of them. Check them out here!
Fancy Photos
Photo Gallery – Get your eye candy and soothe your soul. …or soles.