SXSW 2014: MTVu Woodie Awards

At 10 a.m., public lines were already forming around the venue, waiting for the doors to open at 3:30 p.m. After the doors opened, they reached capacity in under an hour. Badge-holders and music wristbands had to wait over two hours for entry after their initial round of allowing access. People were not happy about that!

By the time entry was permitted, American Authors were finishing up their set with their hit single “Best Day of My Life.” The energy was high, people were jumping around like crazy, and the band members were bouncing all over the stage. After their set, people could stay occupied during intermission by attending Pepsi’s Silent Disco, grabbing some free drinks or barbeque, or just hanging out and charging their phones in the Reeses lounge.

Next up on the set list was The 1975. They were playing the second stage and were all ready to play. The crowd was ready at the stage and had already started taking photos of them when the loudspeakers started to announce their set. However, this was all interrupted by by the well-known, raspy voice of Lil Wayne. Fans from stage two literally bolted over to stage one in excitement. He came out and performed his song “A Milli.” The crowd was in an uproar and strobe lights were going at full speed. The members of The 1975 did not look happy. He stole their show! Once he was all rapped up, he introduced The 1975 and their set began. Their indie pop beats had the crowd moving, but it was a drastic change going from Lil Wayne to the 1975. They introduced their hit single “Chocolate” by describing it as something that’s called one thing, but does a complete 180 in the meaning of the lyrics. The crowd sang along to every word and threw beach balls back and forth.

Steve Aoki and Danny Brown welcomed Iggy Azalea to stage for the next artist to perform. Her backup dancers came out first as the light show began, and Iggy entered when the beats started to drop. She performed her songs “Work,” “Change Your Life,” and “Bounce” before getting “Fancy.” When she announced it was time to “get fancy,” she informed the crowd she was going to get Charli XCX. While fans cheered and waited patiently, a DJ kept the crowd hyped for Iggy’s single “Fancy” featuring Charli XCX. When the two took the stage, giant inflatable beach balls were thrown into the crowd. Soon to follow was an endless amount of confetti being spewed from the stage. The whole place turned into one giant party. Fans were jumping to the point you couldn’t even stay standing if you wanted to.

Lastly was Childish Gambino. His single “3005” started playing, but he hadn’t entered the stage yet. On the big screen, a person walking with colored light bulbs covering their jacket appeared. It was just a silhouette. As the figure kept walking, it emerged into a crowd of people on the streets and starting rapping. Childish was then revealed when they turned lights on his face, and a marching band with lit-up instruments followed him down the parted sea of fans. He walked through the crowd and right onto the stage, where he started performing. Throughout his set, people seemed to be interested, but without the hype. His hit single “Heartbeat” didn’t have as many people moving as you’d think. The lights were shining over the crowd, and only a few seemed to be really going crazy for it. When his set was over, he wished Austin a good night and left the stage while band members carried out the instrumentals of his finale. Once all was over, the fans tried to cheer him on for an anchor, but the night was over.