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South By Southwest (SXSW) has discontinued its partnership with the US Army and the defense contractor RTX Corporation, the festival announced on Wednesday (26 June).
The announcement comes after more than 80 artists pulled out of this year’s event in Austin, Texas, in protest of the military’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza.
Squirrel Flower, Kneecap, Lambrini Girls, Sprints, Proper, Eliza McLamb, Mamalarky, Scowl, Gel and Okay Shalom cancelled sets at the 8–16 March festival.
SXSW responded to the cancellations in a statement: “We are an organisation that welcomes diverse viewpoints. Music is the soul of SXSW, and it has long been our legacy. We fully respect the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech.”
Explaining its sponsorship with the US Army, SXSW wrote: “The defence industry has historically been a proving ground for many of the systems we rely on today. These institutions are often leaders in emerging technologies, and we believe it’s better to understand how their approach will impact our lives.”
“After careful consideration of our offerings, we are revising our sponsorship model”
Now, the festival has shared a statement announcing that they have cut ties with the US Army and defense contractor RTX Corporation. “After careful consideration of our offerings, we are revising our sponsorship model. As a result, the US Army, and companies who engage in weapons manufacturing, will not be sponsors of SXSW 2025.”
The festival has also ceased its partnership with Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of weapons manufacturer RTX Corporation (formerly known as Raytheon). Next year’s edition of SXSW is set to take place on March 7-15 2025 in downtown Austin.
Barclays also recently suspended its sponsorship of Live Nation UK’s remaining 2024 festivals following a raft of artist withdrawals over the bank’s ties to Israel.
In other news, SXSW recently confirmed that a London festival edition will take place in 2025 and announced a raft of hires.
Katy Arnander has been appointed director of programming for SXSW London, having previously worked for organisations including Ambassadors Theatre Group (ATG), Sadler’s Wells, Southbank Centre and the Barbican.
Adem Holness has joins as head of music following a spell at the Southbank Centre, Elliot Willis joins as the European commercial director and Alex Poots will serve as creative advisor while continuing his work full-time at The Shed in New York.
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The British Music Embassy hosted more than 70 performances at this year’s South By Southwest (SXSW), highlighting the breadth and depth of emerging and established UK music talent.
British Music Embassy @ SXSW serves as the official UK residency at the Texas festival and concluded its eight-day run at its new, bigger home, The Backyard @ Downright Austin.
The 600-capacity space featured two stages on different levels, with this year’s events including showcases hosted by ATC Live, BBC Introducing, CLASH Magazine, Fierce Panda Records, Licks Magazine, Output Belfast, Propaganda and Xtra Mile Recordings.
SXSW 2024, which ran from 8-16 March, was marred by the withdrawal of dozens of acts in protest of the festival’s ties to the US Army and defence industry. Acts such as Squirrel Flower, Gruff Rhys, Rachel Chinouriri, Enola Gay, Kneecap, Lambrini Girls, Sprints, Proper, Eliza McLamb, Mamalarky, Scowl, Gel and Okay Shalom cancelled scheduled sets in response to the military’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza.
Following the cancellations, SXSW said it “welcomes diverse viewpoints”, adding: “We fully respect the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech.”
“This year’s line up was probably the most diverse yet representing so many cultures and genres”
“SXSW 2024 was not without its challenges, but for us moving from a single stage nightclub venue to a two stage festival-within-a-festival set up, 2024 has been a resounding success,” says Phil Patterson from the Department of International Trade. “Firstly, fortune favoured the brave and we dodged some epic weather, but more importantly I think it is widely accepted opinion that our hard working production team, over the 70-plus performances of the last ten days, have put together one of the slickest shows at SXSW.”
The BME lineup included The Lottery Winners, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, The Manatees, Ash, Skinny Lister, Neon Waltz, Angélica Garcia, Holly Macve, Fabiano Palladino, Divorce, Fat Dog, Porij, Viji, Coach Party, Cosmo Pyke, Bleach Lab, Dry Cleaning, The Manatees, Hotwax, Victoria Canal and Ellie Bleach.
The showcases were presented by lead media partner BBC Music Introducing, UK record labels association the BPI, the Department for Business & Trade (DBT), The Ivors Academy, The British Council and collective management organisations PPL and PRS for Music.
“This year’s lineup was probably the most diverse yet representing so many cultures and genres and it was exciting to witness so many artists absolutely smash their performances, especially when given such a short time to prepare due to unforeseen circumstances,” says host Jasmine Takhar of BBC Introducing. “I’ve been on a journey with some of the acts prior to this event so it was an absolute pleasure to watch their growth and finally bring some of the flavours from the UK over to the US and for it to be embraced by the crowd was just a bucket list moment for me.”
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The arrests of two men has uncovered an alleged plot to murder a rapper at a gig in Austin, Texas, during South By Southwest (SXSW).
Don Lee Bennett, 39, and Pierre Laday Jones, 38, were both arrested for possession of a firearm by a felon, with Jones also facing an additional charge of harassment. A third man was also named in court documents obtained by Fox 7, but is yet to be arrested.
CBS Austin reports Jones was found with a handgun during a traffic stop on 9 March. Following his arrest, Jones claimed to police that two of his associates – including Bennett – were planning to kill a performer that night at a show in East Sixth Street to prevent him from testifying in a court case.
“This was not a SXSW concert and there is no such thing as a VIP festival pass”
Jones alleged he was going to provide Bennett and the other man with his SXSW VIP pass to help sneak weapons into the venue, claiming he could obtain credentials due to his podcasting work. However, SXSW, which ran from 8-16 March, says there is no such thing as SXSW VIP credentials and stressed the concert was unaffiliated with the US festival.
“This was not a SXSW concert and there is no such thing as a VIP festival pass,” says an email sent to CBS.
According to the affidavit, police set up surveillance, leading Bennett to be intercepted by a SWAT team near the club on 10 March, when he was found to be in possession of a handgun and taken into custody.
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A number of artists are boycotting this year’s South By Southwest (SXSW) in protest of the event’s sponsorship deal with the US Army.
The BBC reports that acts including Kneecap, Lambrini Girls, Sprints, Proper, Eliza McLamb, Mamalarky, Scowl, Gel, Okay Shalom and Squirrel Flower have pulled out of the conference and showcase festival in response to the military’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza.
The army is listed as a “super sponsor” of SXSW, which is currently being held in Austin, Texas, from 8-16 March.
Belfast rap trio Kneecap, who were due to play three shows, say they will no longer perform “in solidarity with the Palestinian people”.
“We cannot in good conscience attend an arts festival that has ‘the US Army’ as a ‘super sponsor’ and is platforming RTX (formerly Raytheon), Collins Aerospace and BAE Systems,” says in a series of statements shared by the group on social media.
“We did consider only playing ‘unofficial events’ but this would still contribute to the festival indirectly.”
“We can’t affiliate ourselves whatsoever with SXSW without our solidarity becoming totally inauthentic”
The band say the decision will have “a significant financial impact on Kneecap, both on lost income and on logistical costs already incurred”, but add: “it isn’t an iota of hardship when compared with unimaginable suffering” of the people of Gaza.
Earlier, Brighton duo Lambrini Girls announced their withdrawal, tweeting on X: “We won’t be going to Austin whatsoever. For transparency, the reason it’s taken us a few days to pull out the festival is because we received funding from PRS Foundation to play. We were trying to find a way out of the situation whilst keeping our moral integrity intact and not having to pay thousands of pounds at the same time.
“That really just isn’t possible. Money has to be repaid and we can’t affiliate ourselves whatsoever with SXSW without our solidarity becoming totally inauthentic.”
In addition, Squirrel Flower tweeted that she was pulling out of her official SXSW showcases “in protest of SXSW’s ties to the defence industry and in support of the Palestinian people”, while Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Okay Shalom posted on Instagram: “There’s always a right thing to do and it’s almost never as complicated as the establishment wants you to believe. and sometimes it costs you a dream, but a dream is a dream and not a life.”
The US Army tells the BBC it was “proud to be a sponsor of SXSW, and to have the opportunity to showcase America’s Army… explore new ideas and insights, and create dynamic industry partnerships,” while SXSW did not respond to a request for comment.
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Latin music festival Besame Mucho is expanding to a second US city after a successful debut in Los Angeles.
The first edition, organised by Tropicália and La Tocada, took place in December 2022 at Dodger Stadium, LA, with a diverse lineup of Latin acts.
The LA debut and its second edition, due this December, are said to have sold out in minutes.
Capitalising on that success, Besame Mucho (Kiss Me A Lot) will launch on 2 March 2024 at the Circuit of the Americas racetrack in Austin, Texas.
The debut will see 60+ acts perform across four stages, including Los Tigres del Norte, Banda MS, Grupo Frontera, La Ley, Caifanes, El Tri, Alejandra Guzmán, Gloria Trevi, Café Tacvba and Molotov.
The debut will see 60+ acts perform across four stages, including Los Tigres del Norte, Banda MS and Grupo Frontera
Las Clasicas Stage, which will close with Los Tigres, is dedicated to the classics and will feature 30 groups, including Grupo Frontera, Bronco, Los Tucanes De Tijuana, Ramón Ayala and Alicia Villareal.
The Banda Stage will have performances from Banda El Recodo, La Adictiva, Banda Los Recoditos, Banda Machos, Cuisillos and more, and the Rockero Stage will feature a number of notable rock bands, including Cafe Tacvba, Juanes, El Tri, Maldita Vecindad, Panteón Rococo and Hombres G.
Along with Trevi, Alejandra Guzmán, Belanova, Reik, Sin Bandera and Ha*Ash are among the 18 acts to perform on the Te Gusta El Pop? Stage.
Presale for Besame Mucho Austin starts on 3 November, with ticket prices ranging between $275 for general admission and $950 for platinum.
The second edition of Besame Mucho LA will return to Dodger Stadium on 2 December and includes some of the same artists scheduled for Austin.
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WME has acquired True Grit Talent Agency, a Texas-based company founded in 2016.
As part of the deal, WME signs True Grit’s entire roster which includes Cody Jinks, Charles Wesley Godwin, Whitey Morgan, Ward Davis, and Dexter and The Moonrocks.
The agency’s team, including agents Mike Krug, Carrie Creasey and Shelby Vanek, have also joined WME and will continue to work out of Austin.
“We are very excited that what we do caught the eye of a company like WME,” says Krug. “We are proud of all we have built here in Austin and know that joining WME will create exponentially more opportunities for our clients.”
“We’ve long admired the business and roster that True Grit has developed”
Jay Williams, WME partner and Nashville office co-head, adds: “We’ve long admired the business and roster that True Grit has developed, and we are excited to bring their artists and the team into the WME family and expand WME’s footprint in Austin.”
Arthur Penhallow, founder of the True Grit companies, is continuing on as True Grit Management with clients including Charles Wesley Godwin, Whitey Morgan, Erin Viancourt and Coleman Jennings. Additionally, Reed Turner is now a partner at True Grit Management.
WME notes that this year’s acquisitions of True Grit Talent Agency and Red 11 Music have expanded the agency’s presence in Texas, as well as in the American Roots music genre.
Elsewhere within the genre, WME represented all three headliners (Luke Bryan, Kane Brown and Chris Stapleton) at Stagecoach festival in 2023 and its clients won the most categories at the Academy of Country Music (ACM) and Country Music Association (CMA) Awards multiple years in a row.
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New multi-purpose 15,000-seat arena the Moody Center has opened in downtown Austin, Texas.
Developers of the US$375 million project, which replaces the city’s 42-year-old Frank C. Erwin Jr Center, include Oak View Group, Live Nation/C3 Presents, The University of Texas at Austin, and Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey.
It has been named in honour of a $130m grant from Texas-based charitable organisation the Moody Foundation, and promises to provide a “world-class venue for top touring concerts and shows” in the self-styled live music capital of the world, which hosts the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and festival.
The arena, which will also host basketball and other sporting events, debuted to the public last night (20 April), with the first of two concerts by John Mayer and officially launched with two sold-out gigs by George Strait with special guests Willie Nelson & Family and Randy Rogers Band from April 29-30.
“The Moody Center will be a must-play arena and we look forward to bringing our concerts and tours there”
Speaking in 2019, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said: “The Moody Center will be a must-play arena and we look forward to bringing our concerts and tours there as soon as the doors open in 2022.”
Other artists scheduled for Moody Center in 2022 include Bon Jovi, Justin Bieber, The Who, Dave Matthews Band, Eagles, Machine Gun Kelly, Andrea Bocelli, Florence + The Machine, James Taylor, Leon Bridges, Shawn Mendes and Daddy Yankee.
Jeff Nickler, who was previously SVP of Arena Alliance, a collection of 29 NBA and NHL venues in North America, will serve as the arena’s general manager. Facilities include 44 Suites, nearly 2,000 club seats, three premium clubs, 57 loge boxes and one super VIP club, the Moët & Chandon Impérial Lounge.
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Oak View Group has broken ground on the Moody Center, a new multi-purpose 15,000-seat arena at the University of Texas in Austin.
The US$338 million venue will replace the university’s existing arena, the 42-year-old Frank C. Erwin Jr Center. In addition to hosting local sporting fixtures and university events, Moody Center will provide a “world-class venue for top touring concerts and shows” in the self-proclaimed live music capital of the world.
The start of construction on Moody Center comes amid a building boom for Oak View Group (OVG), the venue development, advisory and investment company founded in 2015 by former AEG CEO Tim Leiweke and ex-Live Nation chairman Irving Azoff. Other in-development projects include arenas in Seattle, Washington; Belmont, New York; Palm Springs, California; Milan, Italy; and Manchester, UK.
Live Nation Entertainment will work with its local subsidiary, C3 Presents, to bring top tours and live events to Moody Center. Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino says: “The Moody Center will be a must-play arena and we look forward to bringing our concerts and tours there as soon as the doors open in 2022.”
“The Moody Center will be a must-play arena”
“Being a fourth-generation Austinite, I grew up in the Frank Erwin Center and have hundreds of memories with my family and friends, adds Charles Attal, Partner, C3 Presents. “It is an honour to work on this new world-class event centre for the next generation to enjoy.”
Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, a University of Texas (UT) professor, becomes ‘minister of culture’ of the Moody Center, and will provide input on suite designs, bar placement, colour schemes and more.
“As a proud alumnus and professor at UT, I’m honoured, now as minister of culture, to convey what a special place the university and the city of Austin are through the design and hospitality of the new Moody Center. It should be the first place the biggest bands in the world want to play, but the last place a visiting basketball team wants to play.”
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Canadian-born electronic music festival Piknic Électronik will make its stateside debut next month in partnership with C3 Presents.
Described as a “unique two-day picnic in the park with electronic live music, local food and drink, family-friendly activities and immersive, social experiences”, the inaugural Piknic Électronik Austin will be held in Austin, Texas, park Auditorium Shores on 27–28 October.
Music will be an “eclectic mix of techno, house and disco, showcasing 12 national and local artists on two stages”, with a full line-up to be announced in the coming weeks. Day tickets are priced at US$15 from Front Gate Tickets.
“Austin is the perfect city for our first ever Piknic Électronik on American soil”
Originating in Montreal in 2003, Piknic Électronik events have also been held in Barcelona, Lisbon, Melbourne, Santiago (Chile) and Dubai. The flagship event is a summer-long series which last year ran from 21 May to 24 September, with Seth Troxler, the Black Madonna, Nicole Moudaber and Vincent Lemieux among the DJs performing.
“Austin is the perfect city for our first ever Piknic Électronik on American soil,” says CEO and founder Pascal Lefebvre. “With its world-renowned vibrant cultural scene and its reputation as a particularly festive and inviting city, it is a perfect fit for our brand and C3, a particularly great partner to build it with.”
Live Nation also organises the Austin City Limits festival in Austin, and recently acquired a majority stake Austin-based promoter ScoreMore shows, which owns and operates three festivals of its own.
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The Parish, the Austin, Texas, venue listed for sale on eBay, has sold to an undisclosed bidder for US$376,000.
The auction – which included the business, a 12-year lease on the venue, the chance to renew its alcohol licence and its current bookings, bar and sound equipment – ended on Sunday 10 December after 239 bids by 37 bidders. Doug Guller, founder of former Parish operator ATX Brands, decided earlier this year to sell his live music venues to concentrate on growing ‘breastaurant’ brands Bikini’s and Happy Chicks.
In July ATX sold outdoor music venue Scoot Inn to Austin-based promoter C3 Presents.
According to the Austin Chronicle, the 430-cap. Parish (pictured) garnered $250,000 in bids over the first three days, then stagnated for five days before taking before reaching the $375,000 mark on Friday. The reserve price for the listing appears to have been between $240,000 and $250,000.
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