SXSW Reveals First 2020 Artist List: Music from all over the map … literally – Music – Austin Chronicle

Five months before South by Southwest kicks off Music week, Mar. 16-22, organizers have dropped a list of 288 performing acts, which accounts for about 14% of the total roster. As usual, the early announcement pulls from all over the glob, giving international artists plenty of time make travel plans to Austin.

The lineup’s most interesting players arrive as musically diverse as they are of far-flung provenance. Icelandic synth punk Kælan Mikla makes their way back to town after September’s performance at San La Muerte fest. Brazil sends in Portuguese pop sensation Anavitória. London’s vibrant jazz scene represents once again with iconoclastic tubist Theon Cross, known for his hard low-end work with the mighty Sons of Kemet.

Cassper Nyovest plays stadiums in his home country of South Africa and leads an international hip-hop roster that also includes indigenous Australian artist Baker Boy, who raps and sings in English and the Yolngu Matha language. The land down under also exports the impressively composed bedroom pop of Hachiku and intimate dream-pop duo Htrk. From the UK, there’s ambient/psych/folk/Krautrock indie mogul Jane Weaver and the polished acoustic pop of Declan J Donovan. Ireland’s Just Mustard crafts a poppy, sonically distressed strain of post-punk. Tokyo’s multi-talented rapper/DJ/dancer Yayoi Daimon closed her summer with this excellent twerk-heavy video for “Ketsufure.”




No artist on the list has a voice that’s been heard more than the “Queen of Clubland,” Martha Wash, who provided the vocal on C+C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now),” one of a dozen No. 1 singles she sang on. Other notable SXSWers hailing from the U.S. include Throwing Muses’ Kristin Hersh, Billie Eilish-approved Florida rapper $not, badass bar rockers Banditos, Chapel Hill alt-country songster Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, plus their Bloodshot Records labelmates the Yawpers, “Snapchat” rapper Young Deji, Michigan grindcore rippers Cloud Rat, and ultra-real Atlanta lyricist Grip.

All wielding unique takes on danceable music, Capyac, TC Superstar, and Mobley highlight a strong pull of Austin acts that also encompasses Barbara Nesbitt, Blxpltn, Bourgeois Mystics, Charlie Faye & the Fayettes, Colin Gilmore & Nicolette Good: Ladder to the Moon, Como Las Movies, Fanclub, Fuvk, High Heavens, Kae Astra, Nobody’s Girl, Riders Against the Storm, San Saba County, Tomar & the FCs, and Western Youth.

Check out today’s full list here:

Accü (Carmarthen, Wales)

Actors (Vancouver, Canada)

Adam French (Congleton, England)

Aiming for Enrike (Oslo, Norway)

Aka (Cape Town, South Africa)

Alex the Astronaut (Sydney, Australia)

Ali Barter (Melbourne, Australia)

Alien Tango (Murcia, Spain)

Altre di B (Bologna, Italy)

Amanda Black (Mthatha, South Africa)

Anavitória (São Paulo, Brazil)

Andrea Cruz (Puerto Rico)

Angelica Garcia (El Monte, CA.)

Antti Paalanen (Kokkola, Finland)

Approachable Members of Your Local Community (Melbourne, Australia)

Arre! Arre! (Malmö, Sweden)

Art d’Ecco (Victoria, Canada)

Automelodi (Montreal, Canada)

Bad Waitress (Toronto, Canada)

Baker Boy (Melbourne, Australia)

Bakers Eddy (Melbourne, Australia)

Banditos (Birmingham, AL.)

Bang Bang Romeo (Doncaster, England)

Barbara Nesbitt (Austin)

Barbi Recanati (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Baseball Gregg (Bologna, Italy)

Beabadoobee (London, England)

Beachtape (Brighton, England)

Ben&Ben (Manila, Philippines)

Bethlehem Steel (Brooklyn, NY.)

Better Person (Berlin, Germany)

Bill & the Belles (Johnson City, TN.)

Birthday Club (Houston)

Black Country, New Road (Cambridge, England)

Blushh (Los Angeles, CA.)

Blxpltn (Austin)

Bootblacks (New York, NY.)

Borealis Rex (New Orleans, LA.)

Bourgeois Mystics (Austin)

Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard (Cardiff, Wales)

Cadence Weapon (Toronto, Canada)

Campfire Social (Wrexham, Wales)

Candeleros (Madrid, Spain)

Cape Weather (Los Angeles, CA.)

Capyac (Austin)

Caracoles (Canary Islands, Spain)

Carla Geneve (Perth, Australia)

Casey Neill & the Norway Rats (Portland, OR.)

Cassper Nyovest (Mafikeng, South Africa)

Ceci Juno (Guayaquil, Ecuador)

The Chairs (Taiwan)

Charlie Faye & the Fayettes (Austin)

Chestnut (Los Angeles, CA.)

ChihiroYamazaki+Route14band (Tokyo, Japan)

Clean Cut Kid (Liverpool, England)

Cloud Rat (Mount Pleasant, MI.)

Colin Gilmore & Nicolette Good: Ladder to the Moon (Austin)

Common Holly (Montreal, Canada)

Como Las Movies (Austin)

Con Brio (San Francisco, CA.)

Corridor (Montreal, Canada)

Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird (Melbourne, Australia)

Cromosapiens (Monterrey, Mexico)

Cruz Cafuné (Tacoronte, Spain)

Dan García (Mexico City)

Daniel Casimir & Tess Hirst (London, England)

Dawn Avenue (Tres Marias, Mexico)

Declan J Donovan (Essex, England)

Deeper (Chicago, IL.)

Devarrow (Halifax, Canada)

Devours (Vancouver, Canada)

Donna Blue (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Do Nothing (Nottingham, England)

Drinking Boys & Girls Choir (Daegu, South Korea)

Dry Cleaning (London, England)

Dtsq (Seoul, South Korea)

The Dunts (Glasgow, Scotland)

Early James (Birmingham, AL.)

Easy Wanderlings (Pune, India)

Eldanidonoso (Santiago, Chile)

El Dorado (Mexico City, Mexico)

Elephant Stone (Montreal, Canada)

Ellis (Hamilton, Canada)

Emma Jean Thackray (London, England)

Enno Cheng (Taiwan)

Eoin Smith (Dublin, Ireland)

Ex-Girl (Kichijoji, Japan)

Family Jools (Bristol, England)

Fanclub (Austin)

Far Caspian (Leeds, England)

Feet (Coventry, England)

Ferris & Sylvester (London, England)

The Fin (Kobe, Japan)

Fire Ex (Taiwan)

Flyying Colours (Melbourne, Australia)

The Foreign Resort (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Frankiee (Vancouver, Canada)

The Frights (San Diego, CA.)

Fuvk (Austin)

Gena Rose Bruce (Melbourne, Australia)

Gewalt (Berlin, Germany)

Ghetto Kumbé (Bogotá, Colombia)

Glue Trip (João Pessoa, Brazil)

Good Morning (Melbourne, Australia)

Goon (Los Angeles, CA.)

Grip (Atlanta, GA.)

Grrrl Gang (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

Hachiku (Melbourne, Australia)

Hala (Detroit, MI.)

Hardwicke Circus (Carlisle, England)

Hater (Malmö, Sweden)

Hedonutopia (Istanbul, Turkey)

Henry Brun & the Latin Playerz (San Antonio)

High Heavens (Austin)

Hiperson (Chengdu, China)

Hmltd (London, England)

Horse Jumper of Love (Boston, MA.)

Housecall (Dallas)

Htrk (Melbourne, Australia)

Ings (Seattle, WA.)

Islet (Cardiff, Wales)

Jadu Heart (London, England)

Jane Weaver (Manchester, England)

Jan Verstraeten (Sint-Niklaas, Belgium)

Jason Hawk Harris (Los Angeles, CA.)

Jeannel (Berlin, Germany)

Jekyll (Blackpool, England)

Jeremie Albino (Toronto, Canada)

Jones Family Singers (Houston)

Jordan Mackampa (London, England)

Just Mustard (Dundalk, Ireland)

Kae Astra (Austin)

Kælan Mikla (Reykjavik, Iceland)

Kaina (Chicago, IL.)

Kate Bollinger (Charlotesville, VA.)

Kate Clover (Los Angeles, CA.)

Kazka (Kyiv, Ukraine)

Kiki Valera (Seattle, WA.)

Kings of the Beach (Vigo, Spain)

Kiwi Jr. (Toronto, Canada)

Knife Wife (Washington, DC.)

Kokoroko (London, England)

Kristin Hersh (Providence, RI.)

Lady Donli (Abuja, Nigeria)

La Garfield (Guadalajara, Mexico)

Laveda (Albany, NY.)

Leif Vollebekk (Montreal, Canada)

Leon of Athens (Athens, Greece)

Let’s Mars (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Lido Pimienta (Toronto, Canada)

Lilla Vargen (Belfast, Ireland)

Lorine Chia (Los Angeles, CA.)

Los Moustros del Espacio Exterior (Culiacán, Mexico)

Los Wilds (Madrid, Spain)

Louis Prince (Orange County, CA.)

Lower Tar (Los Angeles, CA.)

Luna Luna (Dallas)

Magnolian (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia)

Malin Pettersen (Oslo, Norway)

Manifest Destiny’s Child (Denton)

Mapache (Los Angeles, CA.)

Margaret Glaspy (New York, NY.)

Maria y Jose (Tijuana, Mexico)

Martha Wash (New York, NY.)

The Mastersons (Los Angeles, CA.)

Mauskovic Dance Band (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Max Chinasky (Cancún, Mexico)

Me&You (Sacramento, CA.)

Merk (Auckland, New Zealand)

Michelle (New York, NY.)

Michigander (Kalamazoo, MI.)

Mikie Rivera (San Juan, Puerto Rico)

Mirella Cesa (Guayaquil, Ecuador)

Mir Fontane (Camden, NJ.)

Mobley (Austin)

Model/Actriz (Boston, MA.)

Mojo Juju (Melbourne, Australia)

Moonchild Sanelly (Port Elizabeth, South Africa)

Moon Kissed (New York, NY.)

Moon Panda (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Morena Leraba (Mafeteng, Lesotho)

The Murder Capital (Dublin, Ireland)

Myylo (Los Angeles, CA.)

Nadia Nakai (Johannesburg, South Africa)

Nanpa Básico (Medellín, Colombia)

Natalie McCool (Liverpool, England)

Native Sun (Brooklyn, NY.)

Necking (Vancouver, Canada)

Neck of the Woods (Vancouver, Canada)

Negative Gemini (Los Angeles, CA.)

Nekojam (Taipei City, Taiwan)

Neoma (Cuenca, Ecuador)

Neuza (Fogo, Bao Verde)

New Fame (Da Nang, Vietnam)

Nico La Onda (New York, NY.)

Nicolás Molina (Castillos, Uruguay)

Night Dreamer (Los Angeles, CA.)

Nobody’s Girl (Austin)

Nonso Amadi (Toronto, Canada)

Noya Rao (Leeds, England)

Olivier Cong (Hong Kong)

Orchards (Brighton, England)

The Orielles (Manchester, England)

Otha (Oslo, Norway)

Ötzi (Oakland, CA.)

Pachará (Mexico City)

Partner (Windsor, Canada)

Pearla (Brooklyn, NY.)

Pearl & the Oysters (Gainesville, FL.)

Perfect Son (Warsaw, Poland)

Petrol Girls (Graz, Austria)

P.H.F (Auckland, New Zealand)

Pictish Trail (Isle of Eigg, Scotland)

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (Newcastle Upon Tyne, England)

Pizzagirl (Liverpool, England)

Pom Poko (Oslo, Norway)

Porridge Radio (Brighton, England)

Purple Pilgrims (Coromandel, New Zeland)

Qlowski (London, England)

Quinn Christopherson (Anchorage, AK.)

Richard Spaven (London, England)

Riders Against the Storm (Austin)

Roan Yellowthorn (Camden, ME.)

Rosehip Teahouse (Cardiff, Wales)

Ruby Boots (Perth, Australia)

Ruth Koleva (Sofia, Bulgaria)

Rvg (Melbourne, Australia)

Samba De La Muerte (Caen, France)

Sammy Brue (Ogden, NY.)

Samthing Soweto (Johannesburg, South Africa)

San Cha (Los Angeles, CA.)

San Mei (Gold Coast, Australia)

San Saba County (Austin)

Sarah Klang (Gothenburg, Sweden)

Sarah Shook & the Disarmers (Chapel Hill, NC.)

Savannah Sgro (Nashville, TN.)

Sen Morimoto (Chicago, IL.)

Shady Nasty (Sydney, Australia)

Shah (Toronto, Canada)

Shana Falana (Kingston, NY.)

Shell of a Shell (Nashville, TN.)

Shijin [Schwarz-Bart/Galland/Braff/David] (Paris, France)

Simi (Lagos, Nigeria)

Sleeping Brain (Taipei, Taiwan)

$not (Lake Worth, FL.)

Sofia Macchi (Mexico City)

Sofia Portanet (Berlin, Germany)

Sonoda (Los Angeles, CA.)

Spirit Was (Queens, NY.)

Spooky Mansion (Los Angeles, CA.)

Stealing Sheep (Liverpool, England)

Stella Sommer (Berlin, Germany)

Strange Ranger (Philadelphia, PA.)

Sumin (Seoul, South Korea)

Taimane (Honolulu, HI.)

Tallies (Toronto, Canada)

Tamtam (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

TC Superstar (Austin)

Theon Cross (London, England)

There (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Thornetta Davis (Detroit, MI.)

TisaKorean (Houston)

Tolliver (Los Angeles, CA.)

Tomar & the FCs (Austin)

The Tomboys (Kobe, Japan)

Tony True & the Tijuana Tres (Monterrey, Mexico)

Topographies (San Francisco, CA.)

Totemo (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Tufan Derince (Diyarbakir, Turkey)

Uchikubigokumon-Doukoukai (Tokyo, Japan)

The Underground Youth (Berlin, Germany)

Vandoliers (Fort Worth)

Vanishing Twin (London, England)

Video Age (New Orleans, LA.)

Virginia Wing (Manchester, England)

Waco Brothers (Chicago, IL.)

The Wandering Hearts (London, England)

We Are the Grand (Santiago, Chile)

Weird Milk (London, England)

Western Youth (Austin)

When Chai Met Toast (Cochin, India)

Why Bonnie (Austin)

Wild (Los Angeles, CA.)

Xcelencia (Caguas, Puerto Rico)

The Yawpers (Denver, CO.)

Yayoi Daimon (Tokyo, Japan)

Young Deji (Houston)

Young Georgian Lolitaz (Tbilisi, Georgia)