Lauren Lakis

The first weekend of South By Southwest 2024 showed some of Austin’s finest local talent, warmly welcoming out-of-town visitors, local music fans, and touring bands alike. Austin is still a global music hub in 2024, and SXSW amplifies that fact for a couple weeks each March to show that music is still a hot commodity in the city, no matter what time of year it is. With opening, all-day showcases such as Hotel Vegas’ Anniversary Party, SX Soundcheck, Do512 Smokeout, and others, there’s plenty to keep music attendees busy before official music week begins today (March 11). Here’s what stood out to us in the opening days of SXSW, most of which will perform again before the festival concludes.