South by Southwest 2023: Day Four Music Recap
Written by Keylee Paz, Amarylis Rodriguez, Alina Velasquez on March 16, 2023
As the SXSW Music Festival entered into its fourth day, excitement remained high and the great showcases continued. Streets were crowded with people and music could be heard on every corner. On this day, we were able to cover four different showcases and a keynote. Here’s how they went:
New Order – Keynote Session
The legendary English synth-pop band New Order performed at ACL Live on the previous Monday night as part of the “Beyond the Music” showcase. Before heading out to Houston, Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, and Gillian Gilbert sat down with Will Hodgkinson, who is the rock and pop critic of The Times. The mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, introduced the trio, which led to an intriguing conversation about the music scene in Manchester, their start as New Order after the disbandment of Joy Division, as well the current new wave of electronic music.
Photos by Keylee Paz
Radio Day Stage at Austin Convention Center
Ieana Mercedes Cabra Joglar, or iLe, is a Puerto Rican singer, composer and vocalist, former a member of Calle 13. The singer sang with grace and her dance moves inspired the crowd to move to the beat. The singer has played in Puerto Rico, Europe and America before coming to SXSW. The singer performed several songs off her latest album Nacarile. Following iLe was Balthvs, an eclectic psychedelic funk trio from Bogotá, Colombia. The band’s music style is inspired by funk, disco, soul, and world music with an almost dreamlike quality to it. The next band was El Gran Poder de Diosa, a Latin pop band from the Dominican Republic. The band draws inspiration from many genres, including merengue, cumbia, reggae, afro beat, indie rock and many more.
Photos by Alina Velasquez
¡ESO ES! Showcase at Empire Control Room & Garage
The ¡Eso Es! event had the Empire Control Room packed in-house and on the patio. This was a showcase for Latinx artists such as Luna Luna, Divino Niño, and Estereomance. I got the chance to see Ariel & The Culture, Girl Ultra, and meet Cuco.
Ariel & The Culture delivered a fun set that had the crowd dancing the whole time. He performed songs from his newest album, Buena Vista!. Girl Ultra took the stage next with an amazing dj set. The set included a mix of Latin and English house music. Outside during her set, there was a market and a long line of people waiting to meet alternative artist, Cuco.
Photos by Amarylis Rodriguez
SoundOn x TikTok
SoundOn showcased artists who have gained traction through viral hits on TikTok. There were many performances throughout the day, but the four main artists of the night were Venbee, Nicky Youre, Justine Skye, and Bbno$. Venbee and Nicky Youre’s sets were short but had a lot of energy. Justine Skye showcased her smooth, strong voice during her performance. The crowd absolutely loved her.
Bbno$ concluded the event with a stage full of craziness. He ran onto the stage in a minion outfit as well as someone dressed in a full minion costume. He also rickrolled the crowd, kicked beach balls, and brought up a four different fans throughout the night. The show was incredibly energetic and had the whole room jumping.
Photos by Amarylis Rodriguez
Rolling Stone’s Future of Music – Day Two
The Rolling Stone’s Future of Music event was in full swing for its Spanish artist showcase. iLe took the stage once more after a radiating performance at the Radio Day Stage earlier, and performed a set of songs to “cleanse the environment.” Following iLe was the exuberant artist known as Villano Antillano, the transfemme non-binary rapper from the streets of Puerto Rico. They played a good collection of new and older songs, including “Hello Kitty” and “Bzrp Music Session Track.” Next up was Cuco, who did a meet-and-greet earlier at the Eso Es showcase – he played numerous unreleased tracks and ended with his hit song “Lo Que Siento.” Ending the night was latin trap artist Jay Wheeler, who played songs from their latest albums De Mi Para Ti, El Amor y Yo and Emociones. Overall, it was an exciting showcase featuring a large range of Latin artists, something SXSW has taken pride of.
Photos by Keylee Paz
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