Ryan Adams To Headline Music is Universal Showcase at SXSW

According to Mashable, Ryan Adams is heading to SXSW 2016. The singer-songwriter will headline the Music is Universal Showcase with support from The Avett Brothers. Though the two artists have quite a few similarities stylistically, this performance marks the first time The Avett Brothers and Ryan Adams will perform on the same bill.

The showcase will take place at the JW Marriott Austin on March 16. The show begins at 8 p.m. and includes other artists such as Vince Staples, BJ the Chicago Kid, Grace Mitchell, The Strumbellas, DNCE and Banners. The JW Marriott is being converted into a music venue for the entire length of the music festival.

While Music is Universal, the conversion of the JW Marriott and a portion of the showcase were announced a few days ago, the two biggest bands of the night had not yet been announced.

Adams is not currently touring, with less than a handful of concert dates on his schedule: his first appearance is at Forecastle Festival in Louisville, KY, then Sloss Music & Arts Festival in Birmingham, AL, followed by Xponential Music Festival in Camden, NJ, and finally an appearance at the Red Rock Amphitheater in Morrison, CO is scheduled. His most recent release is the surprise-released 1989, a song-by-song covers album of Taylor Swift’s Grammy-winning album of the same name. Adams approached the covers album with the intention of turning the Top 40 pop hits on that album into Smith-style ballads.

Meanwhile, The Avett Brothers have several dates throughout the spring; they announced Spring 2016 tour late last year. The band most recently released the live album, Live, Vol. Four in December of 2015. That album was a recording of a concert the band put almost exactly a year earlier at the PNC Arena in their home state of North Carolina. As the title would suggest, it is their fourth live album in their discography. The band’s last proper full-length studio album was The Magpie and the Dandelion, which is their eighth overall LP and third consecutive to be produced by Rick Rubin and released on his own American Recordings.