6 Standout Musical Performances From SXSW 2024
David Schultz returned to Austin to experience SXSW 2024 and came away with these 6 highlights.
By David Schultz Mar 25, 2024 • 1:15 pm PDT
Dating back to the late ‘80s, the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas has entrenched itself as a veritable March tradition. Comprised of film, interactive tech and music components, it annually attracts artists and fans from around the world. While customarily bringing nearly 2,000 musical acts, SXSW 2024 featured only half as many performers and its sprawl felt more manageable than in years past.
The scope of SXSW has been shrinking since the mid-2010s, when it was not uncommon for the likes of Prince, Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z to garner untold amounts of publicity playing venues a fraction of the size of their usual shows. Stricter zoning eliminated the impromptu parking lot concert stages, a downturn in the economy precipitated the shuttering of a significant number of indoor venues and the pandemic, which resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 live gatherings, dealt SXSW a blow from which it is still recovering. With Sixth Street venues hosting only a handful of showcases, SXSW 2024 predominantly centered on Red River Street and the “east of the highway” venues.
Contraction aside, between events like the Marshall Funhouse at The Parish, Paste Magazine’s Block Party at the Coral Snake and High Noon, Third Man Records’ two-day party at The 13th Floor, the Hipster Robots and THEMM!!’s Jump Start respective day parties at Side Bar and the aptly-named British Embassy at the Sheraton Backyard, there remained too much going on over the music portion’s five days and nights to truly see everything.
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Despite its forward-thinking ethos, SXSW is no stranger to controversy. On the contrary, it’s an anomaly when there isn’t some sort of protest being registered in some form or fashion. Where past years have seen protests over artist compensation and immigration policies, a notable number of acts withdrew from their official showcases in protest over the festival’s sponsorship by the United States Army and RTX, due to those entities’ connection to the current conflict in the Middle East. Of those protesting, many stayed away from Austin altogether while others limited their appearances to unofficial shows. Consequently, it was all too common to arrive at a venue for one of the official nighttime showcases, only to find that the schedule had been altered.
The protest and the underlying reasons were inescapable over the course of the week. At the official Music From Ireland official showcase at The Velveeta Room and the next afternoon’s Irish Breakfast at the Flamingo Cantina, the musicians appeared on stage at the beginning of the event to announce that they would not be playing in solidarity with the people of Palestine. At the SXSW Opening Festivities at The Palm Door, Nabihah Iqbal, the British-born Pakistani guitarist, wore a Free Palestine shirt, using the stage as the forum for her protest. During the official showcases, many artists affirmed that they were anti-war with others expressing their desire for a cease-fire, receiving predominantly positive feedback from the crowd. For the most part though, geopolitics did not supplant the music, which remained the focus of each performance.
From a fan perspective, the music portion of the festival has always had a unique flair: with official and unofficial showcases taking place from noon to 2 a.m., it is possible to see nearly two dozen sets a day, providing ample opportunity for discovery (and exploring the physical limits of your lower back, knees and feet). Regardless of your level of inquisitiveness, the itch of recognition can still be scratched.
The Black Keys (Mohawk)
Notwithstanding the allure of Dinosaur Jr. at The Parish, if SXSW had a big-ticket item in 2024, it was The Black Keys. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney were not only the music portion’s keynote speakers, This Is A Film About The Black Keys, Jeff DuPre’s documentary about the duo’s rise from Akron, Ohio, premiered during the film component. While the true Black Keys experience was delivered the next night at the spacious Stubb’s Amphitheater, their Mohawk set as part of Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound’s showcase offered something truly unique.
Closing a night that featured sets from delta blues stalwarts Robert Finley and Jimmy Duck Holmes and upcoming guitarists Gabe Carter and McKinley James, their Mohawk set eschewed “the hits” and focused on Delta Kream, their 2021 album featuring a slew of blues chestnuts. Aiming for authenticity, Auerbach and Carney’s band featured slide guitarist Kenny Brown and bassist Eric Deaton, who both played with R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, and Kimbrough’s son Kenny Kimbrough on drums, as well as a nice sit-in from Hermanos Gutierrez, who are signed to Easy Eye Sound. Rifling through a tight set that often served as a reimagining of the North Mississippi Allstars’ Hill Country Revue, The Black Keys reconnected with their roots, ending the night with a measured, tempered run through “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” that sounded every bit like a Black Keys version of the song.
Photo by David Schultz
TAUK (Empire Garage)
Of the many things that can be said about SXSW, it can rarely be said that it jams, if for no other reason than the 30 to 40-minute sets are too short for any jam band to truly get going. The very nice lady at the SXSW registration desk made the level of the jam world’s recognition crystal clear when she thought my name was James Base. In her world, I presume I am living large off my brother Rob’s “It Takes Two” royalties.
Nonetheless, for the Hazy Hump Day party at Empire Garage, sponsored by M for Montreal, Resound Presents and The Haze Connect, purveyors of hemp-based products, TAUK, the east coast jam band that emerged in the mid-aughts, had a rightfully featured spot. Providing an oasis of jambandiness, the Long Island foursome opened with “Eldridge Awakes” and ambled nicely through an instrumental set, mainly focused on songs from their 2023 release Equalizer, before closing with a fine rendition of “Chopped Cheese.”
Photo by David Schultz
Luther Dickinson (Antone’s)
After taping an episode for The Paste Sessions at the Coral Snake, North Mississippi Allstars frontman Luther Dickinson made his way to the storied Antone’s to open the New West Records showcase. Taking the stage alone, Dickinson framed a set of blues classics from his recently released Magic Music For Family Folk with stories of their recording, including fun anecdotes about Mavis Staples, Allison Russell and Yola.
With pride and humility, Dickinson spoke of his joy over recording music that had been passed down through his family for generations and being able to share that with his daughters, one of whom inquired whether you get paid for singing on a record. Even more so than when fronting the Allstars, Dickinson’s solo set truly highlighted the fact that he is an extremely gifted guitarist who deserves more acclaim. About two hours after his Antone’s set, Dickinson’s skills were on further display at Seven Grand as he accompanied rugged veteran Seasick Steve in performing songs off his upcoming release, A Trip A Stumble A Fall Down On Your Knees.
Photo by David Schultz
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Voxtrot (Mohawk)
If a much-hyped band from the mid-aughts reforms but there’s no blogosphere to overly tout its importance, does it still register as significant? Two decades ago, Voxtrot, a nifty little band from Austin, seemed like they would break big, their extremely well-crafted brand of indie-pop seemingly designed to reach a broader mainstream audience. However, just as quickly as the blogs of the aughts embraced them, Voxtrot disappeared, reuniting more than a decade later after frontman Ramesh Srivastava came to learn that the internet, which had once made his band, had also kept it alive.
The songs from their breakthrough EP Raised By Wolves remain delightful as do “Kid Gloves” and “Your Biggest Fan.” More exciting though, newer songs like “New World Romance” and “Another Fire” seem to indicate that a new album may be imminent.
Photo by David Schultz
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country (Empire Garage)
The former guitar Wunderkind had a truly noteworthy SXSW week, performing at Willie Nelson’s annual Luck Reunion and debuting as a Friend of Phil Lesh at the bassist’s birthday celebration at The Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York. Epitomizing truth in advertising, Donato delighted a receptive crowd at the Empire Garage with his otherworldly take on country music.
He may look like Shaun White but he plays like the electrified cousin of Billy Strings. Following in the footsteps of country-rock pioneers like the Flying Burrito Brothers, Donato’s finger-picking skills reach back to the mountains while simultaneously feeling modern. Over the course of a brisk 45-minute late afternoon set, Donato’s Cosmic Country included throwback traditionals and jamgrass improvisations that subtly weaved in some classic rock licks.
Photo by David Schultz
Pylon Reenactment Society (The 13th Floor)
In the storied history of Athens, Georgia, the roads that were traveled by R.E.M. and The B-52s were paved by Pylon, one of the city’s unfairly unrecognized bands. Pylon split up in 1983 and would periodically reunite until guitarist Randall Bewley passed away in 2009. In 2014, lead singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay formed the Pylon Reenactment Society intending to keep the music and spirit of the band alive.
At the Third Man Records showcase at The 13th Floor, the PRS ran through a tight set with the newer songs from their upcoming release Magnet Factory, which were thematically and musically indistinguishable from the urgent, angular output from the ‘80s. Unquestionably, Hay could have put a band under the Pylon name and rode the expected nostalgia wave without receiving any real backlash. The desire to honor her band’s history while moving forward with new music is not only admirable, it felt perfect for SXSW.
Photo by David Schultz
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It remains interesting to see acts that probably do not need to play SXSW play at SXSW. When it happens, it is usually to showcase an upcoming album and very few musicians come to South-By to take a victory lap. This tends to produce some interesting performances such as Pete Townshend at La Zona Rosa supporting the various performers at Rachel Fuller’s In The Attic podcast in 2007, The Strokes reunion in 2011 Fiona Apple’s return to the stage at Stubbs in 2012 and Loretta Lynn debuting her new album in 2016. While this year did not have that type of transcendent or surprising performance, there’s always SXSW 2025.
