Live music review: The best music we saw at SXSW 2026

The 2026 edition of South By Southwest (SXSW) music festival launched last Thursday with its inaugural all-concurrent format. Conferences ran from kickoff Thursday to the following Wednesday. The festival allows attendees to discover new acts, revisit favorites, and expand their horizons. Miles of walking and a steady food truck diet defined a packed SXSW featuring both legacy acts and emerging stars. The Cosmic Clash team covered highlights throughout the event and wanted to share what stuck out to us over the long week of music. Despite a shortened music schedule and no second weekend, there was plenty to see as we navigated around Austin throughout the seven-day expedition. 

​Thursday – Hotel Vegas 15th Anniversary Party

East Austin indie rock hub Hotel Vegas celebrated its 15th anniversary with bands rooted in the local music institution. The venue has launched acts like Die Spitz, Being Dead, A Giant Dog, Annabelle Chairlegs, Daiistar, and more. For 2026, a stellar lineup marked yet another SXSW kickoff. Holy Wave, an Austin-by-way-of-El Paso psych rock band, brought droning guitars and tribal drumbeats to the Vegas patio, echoing Austin’s true psychedelic sound that’s been admired by The Black Angels, Nolan Potter, and others.

​Longtime heavy rock trio American Sharks, consisting of drummer Nick Conetti, guitarist Will Ellis, and vocalist/bassist Mike Hardin, made their first Austin appearance since reuniting after five years off. Their upcoming album, Not Dead Yet, boasts guest guitarists including Mike Derks (GWAR), Zach Blair (Rise Against), Kyle Shutt (The Sword), and David Sullivan (Red Fang), all icons in the heavy music community. Their high-energy set proved the band had not missed a beat.

Later, Brooklyn punk rock band Surfbort, fronted by dynamic vocalist Dani Miller and beloved for their raw, inclusive performances made a highly anticipated return to Austin. Touring in support of their new album, Reality Star, on Austin’s own Todo Records, Surfbort captivated the audience with Miller’s signature crowd engagement and infectious spirit.

​Headlining was unofficial Hotel Vegas house band Osees. Originating in San Francisco turned Los Angeles, frontman and guitarist John Dwyer’s psychedelic garage group remains creatively boundless. For the first time in a decade, they came with longtime backing vocalist and tambourinist Brigid Dawson, who appears on earlier studio records. Osees, now a six-piece, embody their purest form, maintaining double drummers and virtuosic guitar work. Their sound fuses bludgeoning guitars and fluttering keyboards, creating a genre-bending, retro-futuristic vibe. The band will return this fall for a two-night stand at Hotel Vegas on Halloween weekend. Get tickets now before they sell out.

​Friday – Hotel Vegas – Space Agency Presents Space Caamp

​The annual Space Caamp returned to Hotel Vegas Friday, delivering another year of psych and related genres to excite local and global weirdo music fans. Welsh post-punk act Panic Shack started the evening on the outdoor patio, bringing their loud-as-hell guitars and confrontational style that succeeded in energizing the crowd. German punk trio Bikini Beach packed the indoor grandstand for their first U.S. show. Notably, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard debuted in Austin for their first show out of Australia in 2014, signaling something special. Toronto’s Hot Garbage returned for the first time since SXSW 2024, serving their engaging noisegaze to a city that loves buzzing amps and guitar pedal theater. Bring them to Levitation next!

​Los Angeles psychedelic cumbia favorites Tropa Magica ignited the pre-Osees crowd with a lively dance party on the patio stage. After a celebrated performance at Austin Psych Fest in 2024, anticipation was high. Dancing filled the packed venue as capacity was reached for Osees’ second night, a brief two-day run compared to their usual four or five shows at Hotel Vegas during SXSW. Austin always wants more.

​Saturday – The Cosmic Clash x Play to the Plants Webberville Block Party

Each year, The Cosmic Clash and Play to the Plants hosts a block party on the Austin East Side that’s taken many forms as the annual SX music festival has evolved. This year, the block party took over Austin neighborhood bar and grill, The Cavalier and the patio of Fleet Coffee across the street. Singer and songwriter Caitlin King kicked things off for the day with her full-band SXSW debut, bringing an all-star cast with crossover membership from Ash & The Endings, Micajah, and Blacktooth. King and her trusted associates shared a ruminative performance that showcased personable lyricism and instrumental chops that punched through with conservatory-level expertise. Austin 90s revivalists So Many Cults took over next, showing a packed-out Cavalier stage and the first crowd-surfing spotting in Cavalier history by Play to the Plants owner and operator Zak Peters.

Portland genre-benders Nug made a strong SXSW debut, featuring Dorian Warneck, formerly of Secret Guest, blending post-punk, indie rock, shoegaze, nu-metal, and psych. Their debut record Kerfuffle has earned critical acclaim, reinforcing Warneck’s creative trajectory. Austin-by-way-of-Santa Barbara’s Killer Kaya closed the block party with their creative brand of world music psychedelia, capping off another successful year at Cavalier.

​Sunday – Radio East – Todo Records Showcase

The famed photographer and artist development aficionado Pooneh Ghana’s Todo Records Showcase brought a gauntlet of Austin’s best and beyond to Radio East for a late afternoon and early evening. Local post-hardcore hardliners, Porcelain, brought their best to the Radio East stage, fresh out of the studio after recording their soon-to-be released sophomore full-length effort. The brick-to-the-cranium sound of Porcelain is rounded out by singer and guitarist Steve Pike, vocalist and guitarist Ryan Fitzgibbon, bassist Jordan Emmert, and drummer Eli Deitz. With a touring resume as big as theirs, this is an ever-rising Austin band whose second record is about to shake the underground music sphere.

Todo Records signees Tear Dungeon brought their usual blood-soaked sludge hardcore punk spectacle to the fold, a must-see in Austin and around the country with their constant touring schedule. Tear Dungeon contains crossover membership with A Giant Dog, And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Billy Glitter, TV’s Daniel, and more. With a new album coming in 2026 via Todo Records, Tear Dungeon is a star-studded endeavor that will be here for years to come.

Austin art punk favorites Big Bill brought the thunder for yet another SXSW, with Austin appearances not slowing down even with frontman Eric Braden’s move to the East Coast. The tunes are political, whimsical, and activistically inclusive, making all the pranks and punchlines hit with an infinitely relentless force. Always a hoot, guys. Never change! The event was headlined by Surfbort for another helping of moshing antics and singalong mania to close out the Todo extravaganza.

​Monday – Marshall Day Party and Rocknite Official Showcase – Mohawk and Hotel Vegas

​Marshall Amplifiers returned to SXSW in 2026 to deliver both unofficial and official SXSW artists for a packed-out day party at Mohawk in the Red River Cultural District. Los Angeles alt-rockers Rocket delivered a lesson in loud guitars and punchy hooks in the sudden cold snap of Austin, the weather of which was a 50-degree drop between a 95-degree Sunday the previous day. Up-and-down weather, that’s how we roll in Texas.

Chicago-New York City songwriting machines and Water From Your Eyes’ Nate Amos-fronted This Is Lorelei sculpted a set of music that felt straight from the windy city and the streets of Bushwick alike. With chilling hooks and Wilco-esque laments, this felt right at home in Austin’s ever-growing music ecosystem. The line to get into Mohawk could be seen from the venue rooftop, stretching back multiple blocks at this point, as all music fans looked for a free opportunity to see some of the hottest acts in the current era of indie.

A jet-lagged Water From Your Eyes arrived to headline the Marshall event, having just flown back from a down under tour in Australia to play their only SXSW appearance for 2026. Singer and lyricist Rachel Brown commented on the matter by announcing to the packed Mohawk, along with other activist-charged stage banter, “When we were first here at South By Southwest, we played like nine shows; this will be the only one for us this year.” Since the release of their latest record, It’s A Beautiful Place, Water From Your Eyes has been on a world-crossing run, filling rooms all over the globe with fans who rejoice in their wonder of weirdness. If you enjoy the stoner oddities of the likes of Ween and Car Seat Headrest, this one’s for you.

​We hopped to Hotel Vegas for the Rocknite Official Showcase, which featured an excellent set from the long-tenured Austindie rockers Annabelle Chairlegs. Since adding new members and releasing the Ty Segall-produced, long-awaited new LP Waking Up, the Lindsey Mackin-helmed group has seen a resurgence as one of Austin’s most beloved creative forces. Anytime someone teams up with local powerhouse guitarist and producer Nolan Potter, you know it’s going to bring out the best.

Tuesday – A SXSW Venue Nighttime Jaunt

The penultimate night of SXSW featured a diverse array of artists across downtown, showcasing some of the festival’s most explosive contributors. Brisbane’s Radium Dolls turned the Mint Talent Group showcase at Brushy St. Commons into an Australian dive bar, complete with classic rock guitar work and passionate retro rock vocals that kicked off the evening with a dopamine boost for the last stretch of the packed fest.

Brooklyn noise rock duo Pons rattled The 13th Floor for the Green Witch x Pop Sickle showcase in the Red River Cultural District, complete with sputtering electronics and storm-bringing drums that brought high-decibel madness to the coveted downtown stage. With Pons being a SX frequent flyer, Austin has added them to the must-see list when they make their way down from the big city.

San Francisco’s Pink Breath of Heaven doused the Mohawk Indoor Stage for the Monster Children showcase in a sea of reverberation, feeling connected with genre figureheads such as The Dandy Warhols, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and The Warlocks. With a touring resume that includes some of these neo-psych elder statesmen, they fit right in the birthplace of Levitation and Austin Psych Fest.

Black Midi’s Geordie Greep brought his new sound to the British Music Embassy at Palm Door, a venue not usually frequented by Austin music goers when it’s not SXSW. After performing at the Resound All Are Welcome day party at Mohawk earlier in the evening, Greep returned for a late-night set that boggled the cranium. With his previous band, Black Midi, leaning into progressive metal, Greep’s recent output takes a free jazz route. Offering long improv sessions and provocative lyricism, Greep and his trusted backing band play together with maximum intensity. The crowd was rowdy for this set and brought one of the most energetic audiences we saw at the official SX programming over the week. “Holy Holy” off his debut solo effort, The New Sound is a good place to start if you haven’t dug into the Geordie Greep hivemind.

An experimental highlight to cap off the evening came from Minneapolis collective Marijuana Deathsquads. With an unusual setting for the Jason Burczyk showcase at Marlow on 6th St, the band set up their gear not just on the stage, but around the stage as well for utmost DIY insanity. Seriously, there were four drum sets set up along with a synth table that featured long bouts of improv that packed the venue with its continuous thrill. This was perfect for a scene that’s churned out the likes of Water Damage, Thor Harris, and Blank Hellscape. If they return to Austin anytime soon, there’s a place for them and a newly refreshed fandom waiting.

SXSW will return in 2027, with dates for next year’s conference yet to be announced. Discounted credentials are available here for a limited time.

Featured photo by Drew Doggett