SXSW Music Festival is now rapidly announcing bands in the build-up to the 2018 edition. Joining the massive music festival and media conference is another swath of bands, the vast majority smaller-name acts looking to make an impact at the festival. SXSW 2018 will hold its music festival from March 12-18.

The biggest acts that have been announced in this round are Kelela, Todd Rundgren and Kyle Craft. Kelela is a singer from Washington D.C. who specializes in electronic-infused alternative pop – some may call it alternative R&B but it feels like she is operating on another wavelength from that semi-stale genre descriptor. Her latest album, Take Me Apart was one of the best of the year, coming four years after her breakout mixtape Cut 4 Me. The other instantly-recognizable name on the list is Todd Rundgren. Rundgren is one of those rare artists who has had significant commercial success but is still revered in indie circles. His new album White Knight is a perfect example of this unexpected juxtaposition – the diverse guestlist includes Robyn, Donald Fagen, Trent Reznor, Dam-Funk and Joe Satriani. Lesser-known but still established artists include Kyle Craft from Portland and Starcrawler from Los Angeles.

There are several DJs adding to the legions descending upon Austin in March. This round includes artists like DJ Ace (London UK-ENGLAND), DJ Baby Roo (Houston TX), DJ Hella Yella (Austin TX) and DJHerShe (Boston MA). Local artists from Austin that will be performing include Dominican Jay (Austin TX), Emily Wolfe (Austin TX), Eric Tessmer (Austin TX), Fire From The Gods (Austin TX), Breakout (Austin TX), Jackie Venson (Austin TX), Kayla Freeman (Austin TX), King Tucka (Austin TX), Ley Line (Austin TX), Lord Buffalo (Austin TX), Los Coast (Austin TX), Margaret Chavez (Austin TX), Sun June (Austin TX) and Tomar and the FCs (Austin TX). Also hailing from Texas are groups like Candy West (Dallas TX), Doeman (Houston TX), EDF (Houston TX). Ethan Kent (Dallas TX), Fat Tony (Houston TX). Francine Thirteen (Dallas TX), Genesis Blu (Houston TX), Jason James (Texas City TX), KP Tha Profit (San Antonio TX), Kara Nichole-Robinson (San Antonio TX), Many Rooms (Houston TX), Memories In Broken Glass (San Antonio TX), Mr. Frankie Wilson (Dallas TX), Shy Speaks (Dallas TX), The Fam (Dallas TX), Tyro The Epic (Dallas TX) and Worldwide (San Antonio TX). Also performing are MOTORCADE from Dallas, for whom we premiered a new song “Deliver” last week.

Compared to previous lists, it seems there’s not a lot of international representation on this round. Coming from abroad are The Academic (Mullingar IRELAND), Acid House Ragas (Montreal CANADA), Belako (Mungia SPAIN), Black Guayaba (San Juan PR), Florian Kupfer (Berlin GERMANY), Chastity (Whitby CANADA), Hoodlem (Melbourne AUSTRALIA), Ida Mae (Norwich UK-ENGLAND), Idk Ariel (Bergen NORWAY), Izzie Gibbs (London UK-ENGLAND), Masha (Belgrade SERBIA), Moxizishi & Jikehabu & 3He Project (Beijing CHINA), Mozes and the Firstborn (Eindhoven NETHERLANDS), Xiaoxia & Mr. Asbo & Soulspeak (Beijing CHINA), LIFE (Sheffield UK-ENGLAND), Linda Lee (Berlin GERMANY), Little Destroyer (Vancouver CANADA), Papooz (Paris FRANCE), Second Hand Rose (Beijing CHINA), Señor Loop (Panama City PANAMA), Valvai (Santiago CHILE), Yori Swart (Amsterdam NETHERLANDS), Skratch Bastid (Toronto CANADA) and Sons Of The East (Sydney AUSTRALIA).

Other artists joining in on the fun include bands from Los Angeles like CLARA-NOVA (Los Angeles CA), Haunted Summer (Highland Park CA), Kaela Sinclair (Los Angeles CA), Kotomi (Long Beach CA), Livingmore (Los Angeles CA), Monoplasma (Los Angeles CA), Neil Frances (Los Angeles CA), Shelita Burke (Los Angeles CA) and the Young & Sick (Los Angeles CA). Also hailing from Southern California are The Lulls (San Diego CA) and Jackie Mendoza (San Diego CA). From New York City, there is Blonde Maze (New York NY), Courtney Farren (Brooklyn NY), EZI (New York NY), Hayley Coupon (New York NY), Stuyedeyed (Brooklyn NY), Renata Zeiguer (Brooklyn NY), HNRY FLWR (Brooklyn NY) and Kitten (New York NY).

The rest of the artists in this round include Bishop Gunn (Natchez MS)Brother Dege (New Orleans LA), Ceramic Animal (Philadelphia PA), Creamer (Nashville TN), David Barbe and Inward Dream Ebb (Athens GA), Dayne Alexander (Chicago IL), Dentist (Asbury Park NJ), Dramatic Lovers (Milwaukee WI), DVWEZ (Orlando FL), Gold Casio (Portland OR), Grace Vonderkuhn (Wilmington DE), Grand Rapids Soul Club (Grand Rapids MI), Half Stack (Oakland CA), Janiva Magness (Detroit MI), Moonrise Nation (Chicago IL), Ness Nite (Minneapolis MN), Odetta Hartman (Washington DC), OHMME (Chicago IL), Oh, Rose (Olympia WA), Passeport (Cincinnati OH), Ryan Culwell (Nashville TN), SassyBlack (Seattle WA), Simon Grossmann (Miami FL), Stove (Newtown CT), Subhi (Chicago IL), Teddy and The Rough Riders (Nashville TN), Vanilla Summit (Richmond VA), Warren Wolfe (Sinking Spring PA) and The Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers (Soldiers Grove WI).

Photo Credit: Owen Ela