South by Southwest (SXSW)
The South by Southwest is an annual film, interactive media, conference and musical festival conglomerate that has been held since 1987 in Austin, Texas. The growth of SXSW has been steady ever since, with the 2017 event lasting ten days, five days of interactive media and seven days of music.
The gaming parts of SXSW are growing the fastest out of all the categories; with comedy also enjoy a rise in popularity. So keep an eye on the latest updates from the 2018 SXSW, for the latest in tech, gaming and entertainment and while you wait try out a few online casino Singapore games on offer.
The History of SXSW
When a possible extension of the New York City music festival failed to happen in Houston, original planner Roland Swenson decided to set up a festival himself. The name South by Southwest is a play on the Alfred Hitchcock movie called North by Northwest. The organisers of the first event thought they would attract a crowd of 500 attendees, however over 700 people showed up.
On through the 1990’s the event grew, with the event being moved to the Austin Convention Centre in 1993, where it is still held. In 1994 still unheard of boyband Hanson made an appearance at SXSW.
By the early 2000’s SXFW was attracting performers who after appearing at this event would swiftly become mainstream. From John Mayer to The Polophonic Spree, the SXSW music festival was a great platform for up and coming artists. British singer James Blunt made it big after being s=discovered by producer Linda Perry at SXFW, in 2004.
Even Twitter made waves and became more of a name brand by creating buzz at the 2007 SXFW. By 2012 the music section of SXSW attracted huge names like Lil’ Wayne and Talib Kweli, with surprise appearances by Big Sean and Kanye West.
2017 SXSW
The pull and influence of SXFW is so great now that many movies have their premier at SXSF, in 2017 movies like Atomic Blonde and Baby Driver premiered. Online tv brands like Hulu promoted their latest offerings, like the Handmaids Tale.
The guest speakers in 2017 included, Senator Cory Booker, political activist Van Jones, and former VP Joe Biden.
Brands representing themselves at SXSW included IBM, Panasonic, Mazda, National Geographic etc.
There were quite a few performers in 2017, with a varied amount of genres and talents, from Willie Nelson to Lana Del Rey.
2017 Proved to be the biggest year yet for SXSW, and the challenge is on for 2018.
2018 SXFW
So what can we expect from the SXSW this year, loads more and definite interactive fun.
Here are some of the stars, movies and comedians to look forward to this year:
Movie Screenings:
Family – Director aura Steinel
First Match – Director Olivia Newman
Artists:
Tinashe
Action Bronson
Nancy Wang
Kurtis Blow
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
A Giant Dog
American Grime
Comedy Line up:
Dave Hill
Joe Pera
James Davis
Jo Firestone
James Adomian
And more