Earlier this week SXSW announced its full list of performers for 2021. Clocking in at 280 artists, the lineup is significantly smaller than previous years’ (for comparison, the planned 2020 lineup contained over 1500 names.)
This is entirely understandable, as the event will be hosted wholly online this year. Organizing the massive festival is a logistical feat every year, but given this season’s necessary pivot to online, the SXSW team has a whole new kind of logistical challenge this year.
As the adage goes, quantity doesn’t always indicate quality. After carefully listening to each and every artist, we can confirm that SXSW Online 2021 is stacked with a great deal of quality. Given the smaller line up size and concentration of excellence, this year’s lineup is much more accessible to those looking to do some pre-festival music research.
Here is Part One of the 50 artists, in alphabetical order, who we think you should check out at SXSW Online 2021.
You can find all of these artists, and a few other showcase artists we love, on our SXSW Online 2021 LIL Mix.
Check out Part Two of our list!
Ailbhe Reddy
Folk | Dublin, Ireland | Listen To: Relentless
With a rich alto voice and soaring, yearning tunes, Ailbhe Reddy straddles the lines between folk, indie, and pop with magnetic force. We especially love the anthemic Distrust and Relent.
Awich
Hip-Hop / Rap | Okinawa Japan | Listen To: SENNO
Transitioning effortlessly between Japanese, Okinawan, and English rhymes, Awich (short for “Asia Wish Child”) caught the attention of the 88 Rising collective, who featured her in their “How the Next-Gen of Asian Hip Hop Is Taking Over The Music World” documentary.
Babeheaven
Pop | London, England | Listen To: Human Nature
Vocalist Nancy Andersen and keyboardist Jamie Travis channeled their shared love for trip-hop, electronic, and soul into the dreamy indie pop of Babeheaven. Their debut album, Home for Now, was released late last year.
Baby Queen
Pop | London, England | Listen To: These Drugs
If Taylor Swift were a South-African born, London-raised Gen Z-er creating glitchy alternative pop, she might sound something like this. Baby Queen a.k.a Bella Latham is creating infectious, fascinatingly clever music.
Baker Boy
Hip-Hop / Rap | Melbourne, Australia | Listen To: Cool As Hell
An Aboriginal Australian rapper, dancer, artist, and actor, Baker Boy crafts hip-hop tunes in both English and Yolngu Matha. The feel-good “Cool As Hell” was nominated for Best Hip Hop Release at the 2019 ARIA awards.
BELAKO
Rock | Bilbao, Spain | Listen To: Maskenfreiheit
Spanish rockers, Belako, were set to make their SXSW debut at the festival last year. We’re glad they’re back from the 2021 edition, so we can witness their intense, hypnotic melodies and instrumentation.
Black Country, New Road
Rock | Cambridge, England | Listen To: Sunglasses
Isaac Wood’s capricious vocals are surrounded by your typical guitar, bass, drums, keyboard post-punk ensemble, alongside saxophone and violin. The seven-piece released their debut album of aggressively inquisitive tunes earlier this year.
Bongeziwe Mabandla
Folk | Johannesburg, South Africa | Listen To: Ndokulandela
Fusing folk, mbaqanga, hip-hop, and soul, this South African singer-songwriter weaves musical stories in both Xhosa and English.
Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard
Rock | Cardiff, Wales | Listen To: Double Denim Hop
Self described “‘70’s sheep in badly made wolves clothing,” Welsch rockers Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard channel an earlier era of rock-and-roll, and you can tell they’re having an absolute blast doing it.
Choses Sauvage
Alternative / Indie | Montreal, Canada | Listen To: La valse des trottoirs
Combining new wave, punk, and funk with a French Canadian flair, Montreal’s Choses Sauvage craft effervescent indie pop tunes.
Death By Denim
Alternative / Indie | Perth, Australia | Listen To: Cigarettes and Honey
Combining R&B, rock, and funk into their sound, Death By Denim is reminiscent of a Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino era Arctic Monkeys with a sprinkle of Tame Impala. We’re looking forward to seeing how much denim they actually wear during their performance.
Didirri
Folk | Melbourne, Australia | Listen To: Blind You
We first discovered, and fell in love with, Australian singer-songwriter Didirri’s beautifully yearning sound at SXSW 2018. Since then, he’s continued to release a steady stream of beautiful tunes for fellow lovers and overthinkers.
Dingo Bells
Pop | Porto Alegre, Brazil | Listen To: Todo Mundo Vai Mudar
A combination of jazz fusion, indie pop, and psychedelic rock bring Brazil’s Dingo Bells to life. We especially love Todo Mundo Vai Mudar and En Vim Passear for their playful tone, but the band is equally strong in the morose and introspective Dinossauros.
Do Nothing
Rock | Nottingham, England | Listen To: LeBron James
English quartet Do Nothing are known for their exceptionally engaging live performances, with frontman Chris Bailey adopting a persona he likens to a drunken version of unlucky Simpsons salesman, Gil Gunderson. Their brand of post-punk is especially groove-worthy; we particularly love the funky LeBron James.
Drinking Boys and Girls Choir
Rock | Daegu, South Korea | Listen To: Linda Linda
Pop-punk trio Drinking Boys and Girls were named quite literally because they like to drink, their membership includes boys and girls, and they all take turns singing. Their Korean and English tunes were inspired by the likes of Sum 41 and NOFX.
Grrrl Gang
Alternative / Indie | Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Listen To: Thrills
Indonesian trio, Grrrl Gang, channel the jangly dream-pop of the likes of Alvvays. As one of our original picks for SXSW 2020, we’re glad that they’re back at the festival this year.
Holy Fuck
Dance / Electronic | Toronto, Canada | Listen To: Deleters
The sole Torontonians on the SXSW line-up this year, Holy Fuck is repping the city with their gauzy indie electronica. The quartet are performing in support of their 2020 release, Deleter.
I See Rivers
Pop | Bodø, Norway | Listen To: Give Up
Scandinavian “float pop” with beautiful harmonies and lush instrumentation. Their debut album, Deep & Rolling Green, was released in the Fall of last year.
Jaguar Jonze
Alternative / Indie | Brisbane, Australia | Listen To: ASTRONAUT
Despite a world seemingly in stasis, the past year has been incredibly busy for Jaguar Jonze a.k.a. Deena Lynch. In addition to recovering from COVID (which she caught while in the States for her scheduled, and eventually canceled, SXSW 2020 performances), she’s helped to call out some abusive photographers in the Melbourne music industry… All while creating indie pop gems and equally engaging visuals.
Jovem Dionisio
Alternative / Indie | Curitiba, Brazil | Listen To: Pontos de Exclamação
Named after the owner of the regular watering hole in their hometown of Curitiba, Jovem Dionisio’s bossa nova tinged tropical dream pop ruminates on the bitter realities of new adulthood.
Kalpee
Pop | Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago | Listen To: No One
Fusing soulful R&B vocals, reggae rhythms, singer-songwriter intimacy, and calypso vibes with electronic flourishes, Kalpee’s “Chilled Calypso” channels his Caribbean roots to create stellar pop music.
Katy J Pearson
Alternative / Indie | Bristol, England | Listen To: Beautiful Soul
WIth a sound channeling the pop-country sensibilities of Kacey Musgraves and the quirky folk of Caroline Rose, Katy J Pearson crafts fascinating country-laced tunes.
lau.ra
Dance / Electronic | London, England | Listen To: Get Creative
You may know lau.ra by her other moniker, FEMME. In her latest creative incarnation, the DJ and vocalist is creating infectious electro-pop you can’t help but groove to.
Mariana BO
Dance / Electronic | Culiacán, Mexico | Listen To: Drop It
The only djane to hail from the Mexican market, Mariana BO combines her skills as a producer with her electron violin playing for a unique live experience.
Matilda Mann
Folk | London, England | Listen To: Paper Mache World
21-year-old Matilda Mann penns quietly introspective folk pop. The singer-songwriter placed third in Glastonbury Festival’s 2020 Emerging Talent Competition.
