In March, the first South By Southwest took place in Austin, Texas, with 700 attendees; it now attracts over 340,000.
SXSW History Timeline
South by Southwest® launched in 1987 in Austin, Texas, and has grown in scope and size since its beginnings as a regional music conference and festival Now, this global creative movement is coming to Europe when SXSW London launches in 2025.
Check out our interactive timeline to view some of SXSW’s historic and iconic moments when British and global talent took centre stage.
South by Southwest® launched in 1987 in Austin, Texas, and has grown in scope and size since its beginnings as a regional music conference and festival Now, this global creative movement is coming to Europe when SXSW London launches in 2025.
Check out our interactive timeline to view some of SXSW’s historic and iconic moments when British and global talent took centre stage.
Timeline
( History )The Film and Interactive pillar was added to Austin’s Music Conference & Festival.
British acts such as East London’s Dizzee Rascal, Joss Stone, and Franz Ferdinand featured in the SXSW Music Festival line-up.
Other notable artists, such as N.E.R.D. with Pharrell Williams and Shay (Virginia Beach VA), Hives (Fagersta SWEDEN), Razorlight (London UK), and Snow Patrol (Glasgow UK), hit the stage, spotlighting the festival's global reach.
Amy Winehouse performed songs from her legendary Back to Black album, launching the British singer’s career in the States.
Twitter (now X) was propelled into the stratosphere when SXSW delegates were offered the platform to trial, it also won their category at the SXSW Web Awards.
British Music Embassy launched as the official UK residency for SXSW in Austin. In 2024, the residence hosted 60+ artists at a two-stage venue in the UK house.
Welsh artist, Duffy, performed following the release of her debut album Rockferry.
Airbnb took its first-ever booking at SXSW, revolutionising the way we travel through peer-to-peer home sharing.
TubeMogul, one of the first online video analytics and distribution companies, won the Video-Related Technologies category at SXSW Accelerator, the startup showcase event. TubeMogul was eventually bought by Adobe for $540 million.
Memorable moments at SXSW 2009 include Quincy Jones delivering the Music Keynote and Guy Kawasaki interviewing Chris Anderson for the Closing Keynote.
Stormzy brought his British grime sound to Austin, and Dua Lipa also performed a powerful set. Both artists, early in their careers, set the stage for global stardom.
Barack and Michelle Obama delivered two groundbreaking keynote speeches.
The SXSW Film Festival thrilled audiences with its lineup, featuring the World Premiere of Atomic Blonde, as well as premieres of Baby Driver and The Disaster Artist.
Billie Eilish made her SXSW debut, going on to perform in multiple showcases, across three different years.
Maisie Williams announced Ed Sheeran’s surprise appearance on Game of Thrones during the Featured Session: Game of Thrones Showrunners.
Icon, the startup which 3D-prints concrete sustainable homes in less than a day, won SXSW Pitch’s Social & Culture category.
Fontaines D.C. made their SXSW debut in Austin with a performance at the British Music Embassy, followed by two additional shows.
Sam Fender played four shows at the Fender Next House.
Wet Leg performed at SXSW before earning a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, and winning Best New Artist at the Brit Awards.
SXSW Sydney launched, showcasing creativity and innovation in the Asia-Pacific region.
SXSW London was officially announced, marking the festival’s first European event.
