The legendary South by Southwest (SXSW) festival might have started life as a music event, but the annual gathering in the Texan city of Austin has grown into something much more. It is now an international cultural juggernaut where film studios premiere their latest movies, US presidents make keynote speeches on the future of technology, and tens of thousands flock to see their favourite bands, boosting the local economy by hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.
It pulls in line-ups like no other — headliners range from Hollywood royalty (and sometimes real royalty too, with Meghan Markle’s appearance this year) to world leaders, tech bros and the next big things in music — and now it is heading east to Shoreditch.
The Truman Brewery in the heart of the Brick Lane will host the first London version of the festival next June. Randel Bryan, the man charged with making it a success, explains how he wants to make the festival for the “curious mind” a mainstay of the capital’s cultural scene.
A typical trip to SXSW can involve a keynote speech from the US president — both Barack Obama and Joe Biden have addressed it — then listening as actors and directors are quizzed at screenings of their latest work before heading off to see an unsigned act tipped as the next big thing.
If that sounds confusing — think the Hay Festival meets Glastonbury on the Croisette in Cannes — Bryan insists it is the most obvious way of understanding the huge technological changes transforming our creative industries.
He says: “If you look at the trends of the creative industries they are starting to come together, artists are becoming actors, actors are becoming artists. You think about the convergence in technology. Are games just games now? Or are they stories, films or experiences?
“So I think the genres across the creative industries are starting to come together and we are seeing a lot more convergence so it makes sense.”
Bryan, who has worked on the Manchester International Festival and at the city’s Aviva Studios, said bringing the festival to London would help begin “some remarkable conversations that are absolutely prescient and need to be discussed and presented in Europe”.
He says: “SXSW always had those global superstars but it’s often a very American-based talent profile so you’ve had Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Melinda Gates, Steven Spielberg, Al Gore. All of the headline acts, they’re all American icons whereas what I think we can do with the European festival is really start to bring some of the biggest thinkers and innovators from the European market so that we’ve got an equally important global platform to talk about the creativity in this part of the world.”
Newly re-elected Mayor Sadiq Khan is “delighted” that SXSW is coming to London, as it shows that the city is “at the heart of Europe’s tech and creative sectors and as a global capital of culture”.
“When I was part of SXSW in 2018,” he says, “I saw first-hand the electric atmosphere of innovation SXSW creates and I can’t wait to be part of it again. This is a historic opportunity for London.”
It has not been without controversy, however. This year’s festival in Austin was hit by a walkout, with some 80 acts pulling out in protest at sponsorship by the US army and arms companies amid American support for Israel in its war in Gaza, but Bryan says he has no problem working with “a range of stakeholders”.
He said: “As long as you’re aligned in the same mission and vision and you have a shared purpose then partners can bring exceptional things to the project, they can bring new audiences, they obviously bring great investment so we can continue this festival but they also bring great entertainment, celebrity and moments to these festivals as well.”
For London, Bryan explains, global performers and talent will be invited. “We want some of the biggest influencers in the world to be sharing their stories or releasing their new products or projects but we also want to make sure SXSW in London has the opportunity to tell those more local stories and tell the stories of the next generation of talent emerging in this part of the world.
“Some of the most exciting talks you have are with people you’ve never heard of and telling you things you’ve never even imagined, so while the triple As are absolutely key to it, it’s also a platform for discovery, a platform for the curious mind to be enthralled and entertained so it’s a big mix.”
The US version has seen Billie Eilish, Dave Grohl and Mark Zuckerberg appear as well as providing a leg-up to US success for British acts from Skepta to Dua Lipa and Amy Winehouse. The festival’s roots in music will be reflected with gigs at venues around Shoreditch where Bryan says he wants to see the “next generation of talent”.
He says: “We need to make sure this is accessible for artists. Artists are the lifeblood of SXSW and if we can’t find a way to invite artists to be a part of it then we’re going to lose a lot of the uniqueness that SXSW brings.”
Details and line-ups are still being worked out but it is likely ticketing will be similar to the US version with an access all areas pass or separate badges that just offer access to music events or the keynote talks or the film festival. The plan is to make it an annual event, like its counterpart in Austin, and Bryan says success will depend on providing a line-up people care about.
He says: “People aren’t twiddling their thumbs for things to do in London in the summer, it’s an incredibly exciting city, and there is so much going on that when we are running our festival I hope we can leave an impact or a legacy that we actually deliver something that added value to people’s lives and provided introductions to great connections.
“We also have to think about the impact and legacy to London; if we are bringing some of the world’s biggest talent they are able to help shape the futures of the next generation of talent. So while there’ll be lots of KPIs, scores on the board with regard to audiences and ticket sales and all that good stuff, I think at the end of the day SXSW needs to leave an impact, it needs to feel like something people care about and desperately want to revisit.”
