SXSW 2025: Why the World’s Most Unique Music Festival Keeps Us Coming Back

SXSW isn’t just another music festival; it’s a city-wide journey through sound, where every venue and every artist invites you to discover something new. 2025 year’s lineup promises to be as unforgettable as Austin itself.

Faye Webster performing at the Rolling Stone’s Future of Music Showcase at SXSW, Moody Theater in 2024. Photo by Pablo Herrera.

When I travel the world and talk to colleagues from the music, film, tech, and education sectors, it always surprises me how few really get SXSW. I think they imagine it as yet another massive festival—something with endless lines, towering stages, and a lineup of repetitive headliners with up-and-coming artists tucked away on side stages. Maybe they're picturing Coachella, Lollapalooza, or even Primavera Sound, where big names steal the show. But SXSW is none of that. It’s something you’d never expect, something you can’t quite grasp until you’re wandering through Austin’s maze of intimate, character-filled venues, discovering sets in cozy corners, with both celebrated names and new talent popping up at every turn. This isn’t a festival of single stages; it’s a city-wide tapestry of music, pulsing with the energy of nearly 100 nationalities represented—no other festival can claim that. And I won’t even get into the tech, film, and education tracks… those deserve their own piece!

The Black Keys performing with Los Hermanos Gutierrez in an intimate gig during SXSW 2024. Photo by Pablo Herrera.

With its unfiltered mix of genres, global influences, and pure spontaneity, SXSW is a rite of passage for anyone who considers themselves part of the music industry. Over ten days (counting what’s happened before and after the official festival days…), you can hop from one live set to another, with music pouring out of Austin’s streets from morning until early the next day. If discovery is your game, SXSW is your field.

South London post-punk band Dry Cleaning performing at Empire Control during SXSW 2024. Photo by Pablo Herrera.

That’s why I’m thrilled to dig into SXSW’s first lineup announcement for 2025, unveiling an initial round of showcasing artists set to perform at the 39th annual event from March 10–15. True to its spirit, this lineup is all about the thrill of the unexpected and the joy of discovery. This year’s artists span genres, continents, and sounds, from Cuernavaca’s rising regional Mexican star Justin Morales to Dublin’s rowdy punk band Gurriers. Get ready for Middle Eastern-infused psychedelic funk by Indonesia’s Ali, Montreal’s angular art-punk outfit La Sécurité, the soulful, multi-instrumental Virginia-based Yasmin Williams, and Australia’s punchy rockers Delivery. Fans of Japanese environmental music will find their legend in Shiho Yabuki, while SX alum and new-wave pop sensation Twin Shadow returns to launch his sixth album, Georgie. Excitingly, this year will also see the debut live performance of Immersion, the collaborative project by Colin Newman of Wire and Malka Spigel of Minimal Compact, alongside SUSS, as part of their Nanocluster series.

James Minor, SXSW’s VP of Music Festival, hinted at the breadth of talent to come, saying, “This announcement is an excellent teaser for what you can expect to see at SXSW 2025. This round includes a range of exceptional artists, from up-and-coming talent to established legends, and everywhere in between. If you’ve been to SXSW before, you’ll know that this list is more than an eclectic playlist; it’s a guide to discovery, and your first step toward what you’ll experience in March.”

Post-punk Toronto band Hot Garbage performing at the intimate venue Swan Dive in Austin, TX, during SXSW 2024. Photo by Pablo Herrera.

In true SXSW style, artists in this lineup hail from nearly every corner of the globe, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, England, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greenland, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Turkey, and Wales. And with showcase partners ranging from ATC Live, Billboard, C3 Management, Chicken Ranch, Deezer, Focus Wales, Jazz Re, and more, each set offers a chance to experience these artists up close, capturing SXSW’s unmistakable spirit of discovery.

SXSW 2025 promises a musical journey like no other. It’s a place where you don’t just listen; you discover, connect, and, in a way, become part of the music’s evolution. So mark your calendars and prepare to immerse yourself in Austin’s soundscape—because at SXSW, every performance could be the start of something unforgettable.

Noah and the Loners performing at The British Music Embassy during SXSW 2024. Photo by Pablo Herrera.