South by Southwest Festival Announces First Wave of Showcasing Artists Including The Pink Stones, Giovannie and the Hired Guns, Horse Jumper of Love, and More

South by Southwest Music Festival is coming back to Austin, Texas next spring. The festival will feature hundreds of bands and artists from around the world. Earlier today, the festival announced the first round of showcasing artists.

SXSW kicks off on March 11 and wraps up on March 16. As in previous years, festival organizers are ensuring that attendees have plenty of shows to choose from throughout the event. The list shared today includes more than 100 acts. Additionally, more will be added to the lineup in the coming months.

The current list includes Giovannie & The Hired Guns, Horse Jumper of Love, Dry Cleaning, Dylan Gossett, Kelz, The Pink Stones, and many more. See the full list of showcasing artists on the festival’s website.

SXSW organizers are still accepting applications for showcasing artists. The final application deadline is October 27. All of the information including who is eligible as well as how to apply is available on the SXSW website.

“New, developing, and established showcasing artists enhance their careers by reaching new audiences and attendees at the SXSW Music Festival every year,” according to the official SXSW website. Showcase slots are open to both signed and unsigned bands from around the world. The festival guarantees one 40-minute set to every band or artist they invite to be a showcasing artist.

Artists from the United States will make a little money for their appearances at SXSW. Bands get $350 and solo artists get $150. That is up from $250 and $100 respectively in previous years, according to Pitchfork.

This increase in payment comes after the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers called on the festival to raise artist payments in February. The UMAW wanted the festival to commit to paying $750 to every artist who played the festival. The change came after the union held a rally in June at the New York offices of Penske Media, the festival’s largest stakeholder.

The UMAW hosted an unofficial showcase at SXSW earlier this year. Artists who participated in the union-run showcase received $750, the union’s proposed rate.

Currently, Pitchfork reports, SXSW only pays acts from the United States. The festival does not compensate international artists.

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