Here are the 13 Irish acts heading to showcase at SXSW in Texas this month
The annual South By Southwest Festival takes place this week in Austin, Texas in March and is the world’s biggest showcase of new music. This edition will be the first proper international SXSW festival since 2019 as the event was one of the first casualties of the pandemic when it was cancelled in March 2020.
Music From Ireland is presenting the Irish acts at their official showcase at The Velveeta Room on St Patrick’s Day (March 17th) featuring performances from:
- Sprints
- NewDad
- CMAT
- Just Mustard
- Pillow Queens
- MELTS
The other Irish and NI acts taking part across the week are:
- Fears
- Sinead O’ Brien
- Cherym
- Dani Larkin
- The Clockworks
- Beauty Sleep
- Wood Burning Savages
The artists will receive a send-off at the U.S. residence at the Phoenix Park tomorrow night.
Music From Ireland will have showcases at The Great Escape (focus-country), c/o Pop, Primavera Pro, Iceland Airwaves in 2022.
“The track record of successes from the Music From Ireland program at SXSW has been substantial in recent years and has been an important first step into the U.S. market for Irish acts for over 18 years. Both Culture Ireland and First Music Contact are committed to expanding on this with the current crop of emerging Irish talent”.
Angela Dorgan, Music from Ireland
Music from Ireland, the Irish Music Export Office funded by Culture Ireland, co-ordinate the Irish presence and promote the Irish acts to international and US delegates across the SXSW programme. They also host networking sessions with Irish delegates and their global counterparts as part of Country Connections at SXSW.
Founded in 2005, Culture Ireland – part of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht – works to generate international opportunities for Irish artists and supports Irish artists as they gain global contracts and develop their careers. In 2017, Culture Ireland reached 3.5 million live audience members and 7 million online viewers through the 450 Culture Ireland supported events presented in over 50 countries by Irish artists.
