SXSW preview: Seven Day Parties to put on your must see list

What’s South By Southwest without daytime shenanigans? For every year’s SXSW installment, different activations pop up all over the city to bring Sx-goers daytime programming before things switch over to an all-official format in the evening. These Day Parties mostly feature cover-free programming, sometimes featuring official SXSW artists that give opportunities to non-credentialed music fans to join in on the festivities during the week. All listed events occur between 12 p.m. and 7 p.m., are free for attendees, and no badge is required. As always, events are subject to capacity. Make sure to RSVP (click posters)  to get access to the events. Check our SXSW day party page for more recommended shows. 

The Psychedelic Plants Clash  at 13th Floor & Webberville Block Party at Lost Well, Cavalier, and Fading Yellow House – March 12

Come party with The Cosmic Clash team twice, with two day parties with both national and local talent. First up is The Cosmic Psychedelic Plants Clash at The 13th Floor on Red River in downtown Austin. A venue right in the center of the SXSW action, The Cosmic Clash & local promoter Play To The Plants, a fuzzy-oriented body of music will boggle your mind in the early week of the music-centric part of the festival. The day party bill will feature acts from all over the nation, including Los Angeles-Austin shoegaze queen Lauren Lakis, local Soul-Psych act OnismE, Brooklyn dream-pop/post-punk outfit Colatura, Denver fuzz rockers Pink Fuzz, and The Cosmic Clash’s own Semihelix. The event will also be emceed by former Austin Chronicle music columnist Kevin Curtin, a staple figure in the Austin scene known for his astute music takes and charismatic hosting ability. The lineup will take place from 1 pm – 6 pm on 3/12.

The Webberville Block Party will be a multi-stage event on the last day of the SXSW music festival on March 16. The stages in Austin’s East Side will include Cavalier, The Lost Well, and the Fading Yellow House. The stacked lineup will consist of the local likes of A Giant Dog’s Andrew Cashen with his esteemed backing band, dubbed The Disciples of Creation, Exotic Fruitica, Fading Yellow, and Queen Serene. Also joining the lineup will be New Zealand shoegaze/post-punk band Swallow The Rat, who are fresh off the release of their latest record, South Locust. The day show will also include Futuremoon Vintage Market and a light show by Digital Awareness. 

You can RSVP to both Cosmic Clash and Play To The Plants events by clicking the posters above.

Third Man Records & Creem Two-Day Showcase at The 13th Floor – March 14-15

The 13th Floor will host two rock and roll day parties with Jack White-owned Third Man Records based in Nashville featuring some of SXSW’s biggest heavy hitters making their way to Austin for the festival on March 14 and 15. Legendary Michigan punk rockers The Spits will take the headlining reins on March 14, accompanied by Atlanta’s Sub Pop signees trio Omni, who just released their newest record on the legendary Seattle-based label. The first day installment will also feature Philadelphia heavy psych/shoegaze act They Are Gutting A Body of Water, making another SXSW appearance to bring their My Bloody Valentine-esque attack to the star-studded showcase. The second installment is even more stacked, featuring Nashville Egg Punk extraordinaires Snõõper, California experimental/industrial rap masqueraders Ho99o9, and the newly signed local fun-makers Being Dead, a songwriting duo known for taking their joyful antics with utmost seriousness. Both showcases will run from 11 am – 6:30 pm at The 13th Floor on Red River.

Spring Break Boogie at Hotel Vegas – March 11-13

Any show at East Side staple Hotel Vegas is a good time to be had, no matter what time of year. For SXSW 2024, the Hotel Vegas crew is bringing you three days of non-stop eclectic musical goodness, several of which are on The Cosmic Clash’s buzz bands to watch at this year’s festival. Local staples like A Giant Dog, Die Spitz, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, and Annabelle Chairlegs will be performing, showing a 3-day jam-packed bill filled with some of the best Austin offers. The 3-day offering will also feature Brooklyn noise act Lip Critic, a quickly rising act on our buzz bands to watch at this year’s SXSW edition. The Austin venue will feature three stages with all-day-all-night programming, a spot worthy of hours of your festival experience. Spring Break Boogie will take place on 3/11, 3/12, and 3/13. No RSVP is required for these events. 

Note: All of the Hotel Vegas events are free until 5 pm. After 5 pm, the cover will increase to $10 due to evening showcases at the venue.

Fiesta Destructo at Hotel Vegas – March 16

For the last Saturday of SXSW, the Denver-based Swamp Co. will bring the 22nd Anniversary of Fiesta Destructo, perhaps the heaviest rock music opportunity during the week of music programming. Performing artists in the past have included Pissed Jeans, High On Fire, Soul Glo, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Upchuck, and more. To follow each consecutive year’s “Devil Music And Drinking” theme, Swamp Co has curated yet another louder-than-loud lineup to play the last Saturday of the fest. The Hotel Vegas patio will host Dallas-Fort Worth metal act Fugitive, Ohio Black Metal/Speed Metal juggernauts Midnight, Columbian world Psychedelic act BALTHVS, and Toronto shoegaze band Hot Garbage, all followed by a headlining performance from former Kyuss frontman John Garcia. Again, this event is free from 1 pm to 7 p.m. on March 16. No RSVP is required for this event. 

Marshall Funhouse at Parish – March 13-15

For the Wednesday through Friday run of the music happenings, Marshall Amplification will take over Parish in East Austin for three days of star-studded lineups. The lineup will feature The Black Angels, Shannon & The Clams, Dry Cleaning, The Armed, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, and more. The event will run all around the clock and will be free all hours of the day on March 13 – 15 and will be free with RSVP. The hosting venue Parish is a double-level venue capped at 400 with one of the most intimate stages in Austin and has hosted the likes of Squid, Chk Chk Chk, Frankie & The Witch Fingers, and Black Lips. The showcase will also feature special guest Dinosaur Jr, headlining the evening portion on day two of the Marshall showcases. 

SPIN Magazine Presents: Sunny Day Real Estate’s ‘Diary’ 30th Anniversary at Stubb’s – March 16 

One of the most legendary emo bands in history, Seattle’s Sunny Day Real Estate will make their tour stop in Austin during SXSW for the 30th anniversary of their classic, influential record Diary. Initially released in 1994, the record significantly impacted the emo genre. Taking influence from the Washington D.C hardcore scene, Sunny Day’s sound is both jarring and welcoming, switching tempos with little notice and guitars that shift between twinkly arpeggios to loud, pummeling power chord mayhem. The band will be joined by Kansas City’s The Get Up Kids, also known for having a significant impact on the emo scene. Releasing their breakout effort Something To Write Home About in 1999, The Get Up Kids touch a certain level of nostalgia that’s allowed them to become influential on the second-wave emo scene, which spawned the likes of Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Armor For Sleep, and others. Quickly rising local punk heroes Die Spitz will also join the bill, their return to Stubb’s stage since opening for Australian punk giants Amyl & The Sniffers during 2023’s edition of Levitation Festival. The event will take place on March 16 and will run from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. This is a ticketed event. Click the poster above to purchase.

Featured photo by Aaron Rogosin courtesy of SXSW