Another SXSW in the books. The 2019 edition was nothing short of amazing for us this year as we got to expand our coverage outside the music portion for the first time. This year enabled us to take in some sessions during the interactive and film portions as well as see some of the amazing activations brought to life. 2019 also marked a huge year for political keynote speakers to take the stage and participate in panels. Political speakers such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren, Julian Castro, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bill Weld, John Hickenlooper, John Kasich, and Stacey Abrams to name a few.
A documentary based on Beto O’Rourke’s recent Texas Senate battle with Ted Cruz was received to an amazing response. The documentary followed O’Rourke throughout his campaign giving us a glimpse at what we didn’t see from the congressman who would often post his daily musings on Facebook.
The festival also played host to the opening night of the new Jordan Peele’s film Us. Peele answered a few questions during the Q&A portion of the screening.
“I have a very clear meaning and commentary I’m trying to strike with this film. I also wanted to design a film that is very personal for every individual. On the broader strokes of things, this movie is about this country. When I decided to write this movie, I was stricken with the fact that we are in a time where we fear the other. Whether it’s the mysterious invader that we think is gonna come and kill us or take our jobs, or the faction that we don’t live near that voted a different way than us…”
Other notable buzz worthy films included the directorial debut from Olivia Wilde titled Booksmart. A coming of age story about two high school seniors who make a pact to cram four years of fun into one night. Highly recommend seeing this film.
One of of our favorite panels included a panel with Tinker Hatfield and Scott Dadich. One of the most famous shoe designers in the world, Nike’s Tinker Hatfield is a legend among sneaker-heads. He’s also the subject of one of the most popular episodes of Netflix’s Abstract: The Art of Design. In this session, Abstract co-creator Scott Dadich—a renowned designer in his own right—breaks down the creative process with Hatfield, exploring how different disciplines of design influence, inform, and inspire each other. (SXSW)
The panel explored the humble beginnings of Hatfield to the pinnacle of working hand in hand with Nike to produce and design some of the most memorable sneaker designs in history.
The music portion this year left us in awe with performances from some noteworthy veterans and of course up-and-coming buzz bands. Established artist such as Miquel, Big Boi, JUNGLE, CHVRCHES, The Joy Formidable, and Broken Social Scene all made for amazing performances in intimate settings. Newcomers such as Pink Sweats, YOLA, Combo Chimbita, Omar Apollo, Casius Clay, Megan Thee Stallion, Rico Nasty and more cemented their place at SXSW as a launching pad for what hopefully becomes long and amazing futures in the industry.
Another amazing year and as you can see we covered a lot of ground trying to catch as many bands as we could, this was our first year with a Platinum Badge and it was an experience to take it in all. We will see you next year Austin, thanks for the memories.
