It’s hard to believe it’s already that time of year again, time to reveal which artists will play at one of the music industry’s largest and most prominent gatherings, South By Southwest. This year, the festival is announcing it’s largest initial group of bands yet, with 240 artists included in the first wave. The festival will take place from Monday, March 11 to Sunday March 17, 2019 in the city of Austin, TX.
As usual, there are a handful of big names to pick out of a sea of relatively unknown bands looking to make a name for themselves performing in front of some of the most important figures in the music industry. Notable performers announced in this first round include Amanda Palmer, Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers, Oh Sees, Lost Under Heaven, HÆLOS, Wyclef Jean and Swervedriver.
Other notable performers announced in this first round of showcasing artists include Welsh band Art School Girlfriend, New Zealand’s The Beths, Austin’s own Cilantro Boombox, Louisiana rock band Seratones, Germany’s Laura Carbone, South Korean buzz band Say Sue Me, hilariously named Finnish band Steve’n’Seagulls and Philadelphia rapper Sneaks.
Electronic music, one of the most rapidly-growing genres in music, is well represented in this first round of artists. 47Soul, Acharné, Alexandra Cardenas and more. The ever-popular indie and alternative genre is well represented as well. Artists such as Amyl & The Sniffers, Annabel Allum, APRE, Bad Bad Hats, Bane’s World (another hilariously clever band name), Baywaves and others.
As usual, there are plenty of bands from out-of-the-way locations. That includes Hungarian fiddler band Bohemian Betyars, Buenos Aires originating garage rockers Capsula, Russian indie rock group Chkbns, Hong Kong based post-punk band David Boring (presumably named after the graphic novel), Korean bedroom pop act Big Phony and fellow countrymen Drinking Boys and Girls Choir and Jambinai, Taiwanese rapper Dwagie and indie rock band The Fur., Venezuelan folk group Gustavo Casas y Los Que Buscan, eerily-named Russian act I am waiting for you last summer, Croat artist Jonathan, Kenyan rappers KHALIGRAPH and King Kaka (separate artists), La Mojarra Electrica from Colombia. and perhaps the most remote (geographically and socially) — Afghanistan band Kabul Dreams — the first rock band in the country’s history.
Leave a Comment