SXSW Music: First Band List of 2016

As October readies its exit alongside ghouls and goblins, that means it’s time to start thinking about South by Southwest. The music arm of the local mega-conference, scheduled for March 15-20, revealed 154 official showcasing acts this morning.

SXSW’s first culls generally arrive low frills, here Tuareg guitarist Bombino and UK songwriter Mica Levi (Micachu & the Shapes) claiming relative headliner status. Other nuggets include Fishbone saxophonist Angelo Moore’s Brand New Step and British fuzz lovers Yuck, now two years removed from the departure of Daniel Blumberg. Canadian electro experimental duo Crystal Castles also make an appearance, as do Chicago indie rock vets Joan of Arc.

Locally, representation begins with newly minted Merge signees A Giant Dog, Band of Heathens, Matt Gilmour’s Patient Wolf, recent Chronicle cover stars Moving Panoramas, bluesman Paul Oscher, Skyline, Nightowls, and Jon Dee Graham, with Graham’s son William Harries Graham & Painted Redstarts filling out the frame.

Spanning out a bit, it’s the names that strike little or no chord that are worth vetting. After all, who will emerge from amongst the sea of acts – locally, globally? Earlier this year, only music writers swarmed Leon Bridges and now he’s a festival headliner.

Pakistan (Overload, Wahid Allan Faqir, Imran Aziz Mian Qawwal), Trinidad & Tobago (Jointpop), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dubious Kolektiv), and Bangladesh (Chirkutt) all come represented. South Korea contributes eight artists to this first tease (say 5% of the total), ranging from bedroom indie folk (Big Phony) to synthy K-pop (Bye Bye Badman). Spain counts eight nationals en route to Texas, among them popular flamenco-tronic group Chambao and garage-surf girl group Hinds.

Rock & roll representation includes Scotland’s Womps, whose debut 7-inch of slow garage-punk was produced by Steve Albini. Post-punk gang Self Defense Family plants a boot both in L.A. and England. EDMers will enjoy Mexico’s 3Ball MTY (pronounced “Tribal Monterrey”) and NYC techno producer Black Asteroid.

Actually, that’s one entity noticeably stark on SXSW’s sneak peak. This year’s most prominent genre shows up rarely on the first list, with NYC oddball Mr Muthafuckin Exquire taking chief billing and Atlanta spitter Sy Ari Da Kid representing the up-and-comers. Malaysian hip-hop (Altimet & the Kawan Band) anyone?

The most compelling name here? No doubt, that honor goes to Japanese future-beat producer Emufucka. Only 146 days remain until that first band plugs in.

Barry Adamson (Brighton, England)

Adée (Kalmar, Sweden)

Alex G (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Alice on the Roof (Brussels, Belgium)

Aloa Input (Munich, Germany)

Altimet & the Kawan Band (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Anamanaguchi (New York, N.Y.)

And the Kids (Northampton, Mass.)

Angelo Moore & the Brand New Step (San Francisco, Calif.)

Astrid S (Berkak, Norway)

Autobahn (Leeds, England)

Avec Sans (London, England)

The Ballroom Thieves (Boston, Mass.)

The Band of Heathens (Austin)

Bee’s Knees (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Better Person (Berlin, Germany)

Beverly (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Big Phony (Seoul, South Korea)

Bird Dog (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Birdy Nam Nam (Paris, France)

Birthmark (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Black Asteroid (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Bombino (Agadez, Niger)

Boulevards (Raleigh, N.C.)

Brass Bed (Lafayette, La.)

Bye Bye Badman (Seoul, South Korea)

Laura Carbone (Mannheim, Germany)

Rosie Carney (Donegal, Ireland)

Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes (London, England)

Cash + David (London, England)

Caveman (New York, N.Y.)

Ceasetone (Reykjavik, Iceland)

Chambao (Málaga, Spain)

Chirkutt (Dhaka, Bangladesh)

Cirkus Funk (Cali, Colombia)

Cóndor Jet (Providencia, Chile)

Consulado Popular (Bogotá, Colombia)

The Crookes (Sheffield, England)

Crystal Castles (Toronto, Canada)

Dash Rip Rock (Slidell, La.)

David Wax Museum (Charlottesville, Va.)

Demob Happy (Brighton, England)

Élage Diouf (Montréal, Canada)

Dirty Fences (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Dolce (Umeå, Sweden)

Downtown Boys (Providence, R.I.)

Dreller (London, England)

Dubioza Kolektiv (Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina)

Eau Rouge (Stuttgart, Germany)

Emufucka (Tokyo, Japan)

Expert Alterations (Baltimore, Md.)

Sarah Farina (Berlin, Germany)

Lena Fayre (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Fear of Men (Brighton, England)

Few Bits (Antwerp, Belgium)

Ian Fisher (Berlin, Germany)

The Foreign Resort (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Andy Frasco & the U.N. (Los Angeles, Calif.)

A Giant Dog (Austin)

Matt Gilmour’s Patient Wolf (Austin)

Gold Class (Melbourne, Australia)

Jon Dee Graham (Austin)

William Harries Graham & the Painted Redstarts (Austin)

Guerilla Toss (New York, N.Y.)

Haelos (London, England)

Haihm (Seoul, South Korea)

Hanggai (Beijing, China)

Har Mar Superstar (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Hinds (Madrid, Spain)

Howardian (New York, N.Y.)

Hyperpotamus (Caranca, Spain)

Illionaire Records (Dok2 & the Quiett) (Seoul, South Korea)

Silvana Imam (Stockholm, Sweden)

Imran Aziz Mian Qawwal (Rawalpindi, Pakistan)

Into It. Over it. (Chicago, Ill.)

Is Tropical (London, England)

Jahkoy (Toronto, Canada)

Jambinai (Seoul, South Korea)

Joan of Arc (Chicago, Ill.)

John Grvy (Madrid, Spain)

Jointpop (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago)

Judah & the Lion (Nashville, Tenn.)

Kao=s (Tokyo, Japan)

Marina Kaye (Marseille, France)

Josh Kelley (Park City, Utah)

The Kickback (Chicago, Ill.)

La Banda Morisca (Jerez de la Frontera, Spain)

Lazyeyes (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

Lois (Madrid, Spain)

Demi Louise (Boronia, Australia)

Love X Stereo (Seoul, South Korea)

Lushes (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

LV (London, England)

Mai Nimani (Hyderabad, Pakistan)

Mamamoo (Seoul, South Korea)

MC Lars (Oakland, Calif.)

Methyl Ethel (Perth, Australia)

Micachu & the Shapes (London, England)

Mise en Scene (Winnepeg, Canada)

Missi & Mister Baker (Portland, Ore.)

Moving Panoramas (Austin)

Mr. Muthafuckin Exquire (Far Rockaway, N.Y.)

Mumiy Troll (Vladivostok, Russia)

The National Parks (Provo, Utah)

Now, Now (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Oil Boom (Dallas)

Okraa (Bogotá, Colombia)

Paul Oscher (Austin)

Overload (Lahore, Pakistan)

Owen (Chicago, Ill.)

The Parrots (Madrid, Spain)

Phases (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Platonick Dive (Livorno, Italy)

The Pocket Rockets (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Ron Pope (Nashville, Tenn.)

Prince Rama (New York, N.Y.)

Pup (Toronto, Canada)

Pure Bathing Culture (Portland, Ore.)

Quebe Sisters (Dallas)

Quiet Life (Portland, Ore.)

Reuben & the Dark (Toronto, Canada)

Emitt Rhodes (Hawthorne, Calif.)

Rivrs (London, England)

Self Defense Family (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Skyline (Austin)

Sleepers’ Reign (Herentals, Belgium)

Son Little (Trenton, N.J.)

Southern Hospitality (London, England)

The Spook School (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Suboi (Saigon, Vietnam)

Sunflower Bean (New York, N.Y.)

Summer Heart (Malmo, Sweden)

Sur du Monde (Rosario, Argentina)

Sy Ari Da Kid (Atlanta, Ga.)

Tarmac (Medellin, Colombia)

The Nightowls (Austin)

Throwing Shade (London, England)

Vaadat Charigim (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Victim Mentality (Seoul, South Korea)

Victoria + Jean (Brussels, Belgium)

Waco Brothers (Chicago, Ill.)

Wahid Allan Faqir (Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan)

The Wet Secrets (Edmonton, Canada)

Glenn White (New York, N.Y.)

Wildhoney (Baltimore, Md.)

Marlon Williams & the Yarra Benders (Christchurch, New Zealand)

Womps (Glasgow, Scotland)

Wordburglar (Toronto, Canada)

XYLØ (Westlake Village, Calif.)

Yarn (New York, N.Y.)

Yuck (London, England)