After many years of putting it off, I finally made the trek out to Austin, Texas and brought A Grrrl’s Two Sound Cents to the 40th annual SXSW. And aside from taking a tumble on an electric scooter (Mom, if you just read that, no you didn’t) and occasionally getting trapped in road work mazes as I stumbled back to my Holiday Inn at the crack of dawn, the trip was a major success.
SXSW really is a marathon, not a sprint, even more so when you’re only there for the first half and attempting to jam in as many showcases as possible. As great as I’m sure many of the panels and film screenings were, I only had eyes for the live music showcases—both official and unofficial—wanting to soak up as much raw live energy in eighty-degree weather as I could.
I caught over 20 bands in the span of the first 3 days of SXSW. And while I didn’t have the wherewithal to capture all of them, that doesn’t mean the others didn’t make an impression—I didn’t get a chance to snap any photos during the impromptu conga line at Hotel Vegas while the psychedelic cumbia outfit Tropa Magica covered “Demolición” by Los Saicos at 5x speed, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t one of the most exhilarating highlights of the trip.
Keep reading for all the band’s I did manage to capture at SXSW, and a brief recap of each of their performances.
Angela Autumn
This gothic Americana sweetheart from the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania was a pure delight to watch. I caught her set at the High Road touring showcase at The 13th Floor, and her unique, warbling voice evokes a deep pang of maudlin longing that could rival the likes of Margo Price and Lucinda Williams. She’s also an incredibly fun hang, and a pleasure to interview.
Bloodsports
Bloodsports makes the kind of guitar music that I gravitate to the most—fuzzy, swaddling, and above all else, LOUD. It’s why I love shoegaze so much. The New York-based four-piece took to the stage at the Shangri-La and ripped through several cuts that went above and beyond that criteria, not a single pedalboard put to waste.
CDSM
This wasn’t my first rodeo at the Celebrity Death Slot Machine (CDSM for short). I’d caught this freakout post-punk act a number of times over the years back in New York, watching them play on several lineups alongside one of my favorite local bands, TVOD. Incorporating dirty saxophone lines with goth rock melodies underneath a synthesizer-laden sheen, the Atlanta-based six-piece is always enjoyable to watch, and seeing them in the sweltering heat at Tweedy’s Bar was no exception.
Forty Feet Tall
If I hadn’t caught the Osees at Hotel Vegas the night before, Forty Feet Tall at 29th Street Ballroom might’ve just been my personal SXSW peak. Nothing beats bone-shattering, epileptic noise rock and a lead singer who isn’t afraid to get up in the crowd’s space. Move over Kirk Watson, there’s a new mayor in town.
Horsepower
Fronted by playwright and self-proclaimed “former horse girl” Charlotte Weinman, Horsepower combines a thespian flair with emotionally-charged poetry and a killer vocal range. Horsepower was the second act I caught on day 1 after Susannah Joffe, and a major standout of the whole trip.
Okan
My favorite part of festivals like SXSW is stumbling upon acts you wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. Okan is a Juno-award winning Afro-Cuban jazz duo from Canada, and their set was a pure delight, packed with choreography, congas, violin, and playful call-and-response moments with the audience.
Osees
If you’re chronically online and a music nerd, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of the Osees (formerly Thee Oh Sees). The San Francisco six-piece has been a mainstay of garage rock, psych rock, folk, and krautrock since 1997. I had never seen them in a live setting before, so when I found out they were closing out the 15-year anniversary bash at Hotel Vegas, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, calluses and blisters be damned. Safe to say I still have several bruises (Austin pits do NOT play around). Worth it.
Panic Shack
I only caught the tail end of Panic Shack’s set on the Hotel Vegas patio stage during their final 3 songs, “The Ick,” “Tit School,” and “Pockets.” On the latter, the band thrashed and delighted the audience in a high-energy call-and-response chant of the refrain—”VAPE! PHONE! KEYS! LIP GLOSS!”—instigating one of the most fun and interactive stage-to-audience moments I witnessed during the trip.
PARKiNG
I love a noisy art rock band as much as the next person, but there’s something about a band having roots in the south that makes the politically-charged mania in their writing hit different. Louisville, Kentucky’s own PARKiNG were at the top of my list of bands to watch when I made the trek out to Austin, and their sprawling and explosive set under the beating sun was a pure out-of-body experience.
Runo Plum
Runo Plum is one of my current favorite artists in the indie singer-songwriter sphere. I’ve also interviewed her on Sounding Out with Izzy, so getting to see her perform heart-wrenching cuts like “Sickness” and “Be Gentle With Me” at the KCRW radio showcase was an awesome full circle moment. Her bassist Ellie also dawned a shirt that read, “Lucifer Loves Me,” which I was obsessed with.
Slash Need
Some of my favorite bands of all time are not afraid to really get weird, and that’s what makes Slash Need one of my most exhilarating new discoveries. The post-punk/goth-electronica act from Toronto exuded pure performance art and watching them was the closest I’ve come to experiencing an exorcism. Their leader Dusty Lee pushed her body to the extreme, thrashing all over the place and bending in half, while backup dancer/guitarist Stella Tago performed intricate choreography underneath a pair of panty-hose with a painted-on face. 10/10 live experience.
Susannah Joffe
Austin’s own Susannah Joffe was the perfect way to start my 20+ showcase expedition across the city. Her 2025 EP Cult Leader stole my heart with her effortless pop sensibilities and 20th century pinup aesthetic. The 22-year-old singer/songwriter took the ACL Stage in an extravagant tulle gown with a black lace bodice and charmed the entire room with her charisma and fun little audience participation moments, including a clap-along during the refrain of her song “Texas Baby.”
The Sophs
Another act that might not have come across my radar if I hadn’t flown to Austin, The Sophs are an explosive hybrid of Weezer-like pop hooks, psychedelic distortion, and delta blues-style lamentations on heartbreak. A particular highlight of the set was frontman Ethan Ramon’s use of a telephone-filter mic and frenetic impromptu choreography during the breakdowns, backed by a robust five-piece band.
Thelma and the Sleaze
Another former Sounding Out with Izzy interviewee, the Nashville queer southern rock band Thelma and the Sleaze is one of the rare exceptions to my personal fatigue with the blues rock genre, as they don’t take themselves too seriously. Their riffs are beefy and brash and they write hilariously crude lyrics about motorboating and ass-eating. What’s not to love? Plus, the plastic angel statues with K.I.S.S. makeup were a nice touch.
Victoryland
Victoryland is one of the several local New York acts I’d been hoping to catch for a while, but we somehow always kept missing each other like ships in the night. I was lucky enough to catch them in Austin not once, but twice—first at 29th Street Ballroom, then a second time at Cheer Up Charlie’s the same day. With incredible hooks, unique synth leads, and that classic grimey New York edge, Victoryland’s impending world domination is inevitable. I see them on a similar trajectory to Geese, steadily building with each record until their ascent becomes unavoidable.
FULL PLAYLIST