After some confusion in news media and social apps about what will happen to the music part of South by southwest 2026 clarifies the festival status of SXSW Music. According to spokesmen, the show will Goes a lot next year, albeit with some differences that can take a moment for long -term festivals to hit your head.
The first difference from this and second recent years is that the second weekend in SXSW, which has been devoted exclusively to its musician offers, has been dropped. But reports that this means that an end to SXSW music is not correct. Festival spokesman says they move up all the music exhibitions to be completely simultaneous with the film/TV part of the festival that has become more dominant over the years.
And in fact, they claim, there is a way to look at it as being as much of an expansion as a contraction, as there will now be music exhibitions spread over seven nights instead of sex.
How it will play next year, with the music part of the multidiscipline festival that happens at the same time with the larger moves that the film festival has become, remains to be seen. But the word for now is that the clock does not toll for SXSW music.
A statement that was left on Monday to Amount From Lillian Park, VP for communication for SXSW, put out the idea for the entire festival that entered in 2026, a few days after the ’25 edition was wrapped.
“We are really pleased with the plans for SXSW 2026. With the Austin Convention Center that closes for three years, we believe it is a fantastic opportunity to put new ideas into action,” the statement said.
“A shorter SX gives the participants more chance to be here for the whole run. With the conference, Film & TV Festival and Music Festival, all of which take place at the same time for seven days, everyone will have the chance to experience the entire SXSW, ”it continued.
“This gives music fans an opportunity to enjoy seven nights with showcases instead of the six we have had for several years. It also allows us to continue the work that the Music Festival programs have done over the past decade to pair the number of showcasing artists while spreading the exhibitions across a greater part of the event. This creates a more curated experience for participants and artists while retaining the discovery for which the music festival is known. ”
In summary, the SXSW statement said: “We also know that post-pandemic participants want more personal experiences, and we are pleased to explore new ways to unite people.”
Just to make things completely clear included spokesman an updated graphics for 2026 that illustrates how the three traditionally distinct parts of SXSW will now happen over the same board at the same time, from March 12 to March 18 next year:
Confusion began to spread on Sunday after SXSW released its dates for 2026 and the traditional all-music second weekend of the festival was especially missing. Nevertheless, the festival website also showed that only music passes for next year had already been sold … at a much lower cost than the requested price for film/TV pass.
Presence for SXSW’s musician offers has decreased over the years from its peak in the 21st century, although many bands and indie labels still believe it is an important stop. The festival used to host more than 2000 documents for a period of a few days, but has leveled close to 1000. Only 2026 will show if the experience will even be “more curated”, as the statement puts it, even with performances that are spread over seven nights instead of sex.
Penske Media, the parent company to AmountHas had a 50% interest in the festival since 2021.
