Our SXSW Journey…

This year's SXSW experience was something that I will cherish forever. Like many others creatives & artists alike, this was the first year we became officially part of the festival. I spent many years before waiting in lines after lines even to get close to the front of the venue so I could be welcome with a “we’re at max capacity” reply. I’ve been attending since I was 18 and had to sneak my way into shows and even have to pay to get in some showcases, all because I wanted to see my favorite artists perform in a live setting closet to me. Being deemed official meant a lot to our team, showing that our hard work had finally paid off. 

Our week was memorable where we made sure our days & nights were booked with unique showcases to attend. We arrived on Tuesday afternoon at our wonderful Air Bnb that worked as our editing sanctum for the week. It wasn’t long until we found ourselves on the fable streets of Austin; we saw many talented artists from Texas performing along with new faces but familiar names. Our first stop had us present at the Coconut Club, where Norman Base had provided a stunning lineup of artists performing for the afternoon that included artists Cush With A C & Banco Ray. After seeing their performances, we left the star-studded venue over to Iron Bear, where we had the chance to see Dallas heartthrob Jacks Haupt perform. The blue hue of the lights in the forum covered over her & the DJ while she spun an excellent set that was filled with wonderment and grandeur vibes that me explaining it doesn’t do it justice. Our night was not close to ending even after seeing a spectacular performance. We made our way over to Stubb’s to see the U*N*I*T*Y showcase presented by DAWA featuring Magna Carta, Mélat, Chakeeta B & more, where we witnessed the powerful speech by Chaka that had everyone’s fist in the air by the end of this monumental moment. It was such a delightful sight to see, and knowing how much greatness we saw that night, we ended it on the highest of notes. Our second day had us starting our networking plans to meet many local & outside talent that first landed us at Longhorn Daiquiri for Major Gains Music Agency’s “Gains & Growth” panel that shared a lot of knowledge on music management and promotion. The rest of the afternoon had us in and out of showcases, conventions, & other media opportunities, where we were introduced to many talented creatives. By nighttime, we were exhausted, but we were on the way to Empire to see the opening acts for T-Pain. Our first artist to see was one on our list since she was first announced, Ms. Lilly Aviana. The latter stunned the crowd with her energetic presence and her personable wit that helped her slayed a performance worth noting as being one of our favorites for the night. The second artist we were there to see who followed up her performances a little bit later in the night was Ben Reilly, who made his first time in Texas a memorable night. Not only did he wake & shake the crowd, but he brought along his team, Abstract Media Group, to perform their hit single “Brolic.” After seeing such an incredible performance, we found ourselves on 6th St at Pure Choices to see Tribe Mafia, Muriel & Geto Gala that had our night completed for another successful day in Austin. Our Thursday, it first saw us BeatsxBeer to visit San Antonio’s own 7098, who was accompanied by his day ones in attendance. From Big Homie P to Cub$cout, they all arrived together & left as a unit to conquer the festival week, which is a tale I want to hear about more. After witnessing another spectacular performance, we landed at a networking event: Earn Your Masters @ SXSW, which had most of our afternoon learning about NFTs, including the importance of marketing your brand more.

After spending hours in attendance at Mala Vida, we found our way onto Rainey St to see the return of SXSW Takeover. The show presented by Baby Grande & Audiomack had us seeing some major up & comers such as Redveil, Jae Skeet, Grip & more, with heavy hitters in the game like Young Roddy & Stove God Cooks leading the charge for the night that ended grandly. Our Friday & Saturday were taken over by the highly anticipated arrival of Rolling Loud SXSW, which will have its own article explaining our experience there. In the hours before we witnessed the festival’s presence, we got to see the soulful singing of Lilly Aviana again. Still, this time it was followed by Dende, Mélat & Bairi, who all did such a tremendous job in soothing the crowd over at Parker’s Jazz Club with their gifted talents. Saturday evening had us at J Soulja’s The SmokeoutATX showcase at Revival Coffee, where we got to see a few performances from the likes of J Soulja himself, KNDRX & Naji!, who all did a satisfactory job. Our week came to a close at Rolling Loud, where unforgettable memories were made. I can tell you that SXSW made me become a better me in media; it gave me so many chances to do great things, which I know we did all we could to leave with our heads high with so much knowledge to bring back to our town with the hopes in bringing back more media from San Antonio with us next year. 

photos shot by: @thatkidcarter & @frnkwvz

The week was an eye-opening experience; I realize that the sleepless efforts we put ourselves through the year paid off to network and be in places to get opportunities that would later help us in our future endeavors. SXSW gave two creatives from San Antonio a time to shine, and best believe we’ll be back again next year to continue our streak of success.