The Skinny @ SXSW 2022
Lucy Hunter, our photographer at this year's SXSW, reports back from her first few days of the festival featuring Moonchild Sanelly, Nuha Ruby Ra, CMAT and Gallus
From the moment we touched down in Austin, we've been feeling beyond excited to be here shooting at this year's South by Southwest festival (SXSW). It's a somewhat surreal feeling to be out of the UK, let alone in the USA for one of the world's most renowned festivals. The excitement is palpable and we're met with smiles and enthusiasm on every corner.
As is the norm with SXSW, this year's lineup is diverse and far-reaching with a host of acts from across the globe. UK acts take up a lot of space on the bill, with a strong Scottish contingent too as Scotland's very own music convention Wide Days get ready to host their own showcase of talent on Thursday 17 March at the city's Swan Dive Patio venue (RSVP here if you're at the festival).
On our first night at the festival (14 Mar) we were treated to a full-throttle kick-off show by Gallus; their energy delighted the crowd with frontman Barry Doylan jumping into the arms of the audience below, well and truly kicking things off for Scotland at this year's SXSW. The Scottish band were playing as part of the night's British Music Embassy at Ceder Street Courtyard lineup where we also caught sets from the likes of Moonchild Sanelly and Nuha Ruby Ra; we were also blown away by Irish country-pop icon CMAT.
Hip-hop was the order of the day for our second day at the festival (15 Mar) featuring the likes of Austin-based artist David Shabani and Brazilian rapper Bivolt, who is by far our favourite discovery thus far – her performance was pure fire! It was also great to catch Austinites Ringo Deathstarr!
The SXSW queues are notorious, and waiting times at some venues have been looong, but we’ve taken this as an opportunity to explore, go off the beaten track, and have discovered new music that fills our souls with complete joy!
For the rest of the week our wishlist features Ada Lea, Girlpool, Los Bitchos, Japanese Breakfast, Kiwi Junior, Pom Pom Squad, Fake Fruit, Wet Leg, Yard Act, Memes, Sunflower Bean and King Hannah. There are quite a few other “untested” names on our radar too, so we're saving those surprises for later.
Lucy Hunter is a photographer based in Liverpool; to join Lucy on her SXSW adventures, follow her takeover of The Skinny's Instagram at @theskinnymag