Most of the techies have left Austin by SXSW Thursday. Film screenings continue, and the Music options ramp up. Bill and I saw an excellent documentary about Roberto Clemente and also the first of four episodes about the rock band Bon Jovi. The Black Keys keynote was interesting to me, especially since we watched This is a Movie about The Black Keys on Monday. In the evening, I listened to a few musicians at the sanctuary and the chapel inside St. David’s church.

An interview with astronauts on the International Space Station, a keynote by The Daniels, and Cheech & Chong…a fun SXSW day!

Bill and I got off to a late start, so this was a light SXSW day for us. We’ve attended many Austin City Limits TV tapings since they moved from the University of Texas campus to the downtown Moody Theater in 2011, so we enjoyed the discussion about this year’s 50th anniversary. The documentary about The Black Keys was interesting, especially since both band members attended the screening.

Daylight savings time can be a big disruptor during SXSW. Not much was offered in the morning, so I started exploring the Creative Industries Expo. A film premiere, Faders Up: The John Aielli Experience, kept me busy this afternoon.

The morning started out a bit cold, but temperatures eventually warmed up to the mid-60s. So far, so good, weather-wise. Somehow I chose mostly heavy topics for today’s sessions: online safety and privacy, antiracism, and homelessness. Even Amy Webb’s usually upbeat Trend Report held some ominous predictions. So, Conan O’Brien and Nick Kroll’s antics were a welcome mid-afternoon break.

SXSW 2024 opened on a lovely spring day in Austin. A thunderstorm had rolled through around 7 AM, but within an hour, the sun was out. Bill and I hustled to get to the Austin Convention Center by 9 AM, since that’s when the Express passes (for the following day) become available online. We can tell that this will be an ongoing challenge over the next few days. Anyhow, opening day was fun, even though I spent most of it in Ballroom D.

Another year has flown by: SXSW 2024 begins on Friday, March 8.

As is my tradition, I’m ending my SXSW 2023 series with a hodgepodge of my photos from the conference. First up is Disney’s working lightsaber that I mentioned in my March 10 2023 entry. This was definitely one of the coolest moments at the conference. Search YouTube for “disney lightsaber sxsw” to see it in action.

Bill and I were glad to attend SXSW 2023 in person. Except for watching movies at home, last year’s virtual experience wasn’t great. I don’t know the final attendance numbers, but Interactive and Film seemed almost as crowded as back in 2019. In his 2023 Opening Remarks, SXSW Chief Programming Officer Hugh Forrest had said that 30% were international attendees, and that seemed to be true: I heard many different languages while waiting for sessions, movies, or music.

The last day of SXSW 2023 is always bittersweet. Even after a tiring ten days, it’s a little sad to return to real life. This year’s last day was odd though. Not much was happening until midday, when Bill and I watched an excellent comedy, Theater Camp, at the Paramount. Afterwards, we wandered over to the Austin Convention Center, but everything related to SXSW was being disassembled and packed up. We attended a comedy podcast, ate dinner at a favorite restaurant, Moonshine, and then looked for some music without much success. We finally ended up watching the UT men’s basketball playoff game on TV. That turned out to be a good decision: UT won the game to advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.