South By Southwest is turning 30 later this week and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down as it’s become a creative hub for all things tech, film, gaming, sports, comedy, and music. The latter doesn’t officially start until next week so we decided to dust off our thinking caps and zero in on the festival’s most overlooked section: the conference. It usually gets a bad rap due to its influx of LinkedIn glamour shots but this year’s post-SXSWi programming actually features a wide selection of talks that are worth taking in. With that in mind, we present to you The Best Panels And Sessions at SXSW 2016.
“Gender In Media: Why It Matters”
– 9:30 a.m. – Monday, March 14th
Actress Geena Davis and PBS’s Paula Kerger discuss gender balance on screen and what the media can do to help reduce gender stereotyping and increase diversity among characters.
“HD Audio: FLAC Or Fluke?”
– 12:30 p.m. – Tuesday, March 15th
With FLAC at the forefront, members from the likes of Deezer, Sonos, Getty Images, and Warner Music Group analyze HD audio’s challenges, limitations, and target audience.
“Better Than Sync: Why Music Partnerships Work”
– 3:30 p.m. – Tuesday, March 15th
DJ Bunny Ears, Adult Swim’s Jason DeMarco, and Ghostly’s Jeremy Peters dissect brand partnerships and why music should be “fully integrated” into every new idea/project.
“Organized Noize: Tales From The ATL”
– 3:30 p.m. – Wednesday, March 16th
Atlanta producers Rico Wade, Ray Murray, and Sleepy Brown team up with Quincy Jones III to preview their upcoming Netflix doc The Art Of Organized Noize (out March 22nd).
“Representations Of Women In Music Media”
– 5:00 p.m. – Wednesday, March 16th
FYI: Female musicians kick ass. On this panel, Fabi Reyna (She Shreds), Kiran Gandhi (Stem), and Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz) underline the future of women in music media.
“Featured Session: Jessica Hopper”
– 2:00 p.m. – Thursday, March 17th
The music critic/author/role model will discuss the conditions women face when they pursue their love of music and what everyone can do to be a part of an ongoing solution.
“Preservation Tips For DIY Labels & Indie Bands”
– 2:00 p.m. – Thursday, March 17th
Burger Records’ Sean Bohrman teams up with orators from Coast Mastering and Rice University to highlight a few useful physical/digital preservation techniques that are 100% pro-DIY.
“Cartoon Network: Disrupting With Post Its And Pencils”
– 2:30 p.m. – Thursday, March 17th
The creators behind Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Uncle Grandpa disclose their take on the power of animation and use their talents to “visually reimagine the SXSW world”.
“Vans: 50 Years Of Authenticity And Growth”
– 3:30 p.m. – Thursday, March 17th
Celebrating 50 years of “Off The Wall”, Doug Palladini (Vans), Walter Schreifels (Gorilla Biscuits), Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters), and Mish Way (White Lung) will address topics of growth and authenticity.
“NOFX: 30 Years Of F-ckin’ Up”
– 3:30 p.m. – Thursday, March 17th
The iconic Cali punks are having a good ol’ talk with The A.V. Club’s Kyle Ryan to discuss NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub And Other Stories and that time Fat Mike was banned from SX.
“This Is Every Song I Heard, For An Entire Year”
– 3:30 p.m. – Thursday, March 17th
Eric Boam is a sociopath… okay, maybe not, but in this session the UX designer will go off the deep end of analytics and explore the data that’s tied to an endless catalog of songs.
“How To Chop And Screw A Record”
– 3:30 p.m. – Thursday, March 17th
Repping Houston to the fullest, DJ Michael 5000 Watts (Swishahouse) and Og Ron C (The Chopstars) will go in on the process of how to chop and slow down audio recordings.
“The Art Of The Indie Game Soundtrack”
– 3:30 p.m. – Thursday, March 17th
Ghost Ramp’s Patrick McDermott and Ryan Sciano, aka Ghostdad, are set to talk about the popularity of video game music and how it’s creating a super exciting physical market.
“Can’t Tell Me Nothing: Independent Hip Hop”
– 5:00 p.m. – Thursday, March 17th
Hayley Rosenblum (Kickstarter) and Naomi Zeichner (The FADER) are tag teaming the managers behind Run The Jewels and De La Soul for a panel that’s truly for the hip-hop heads.
“David & Goliath: Thriving As Independent Promoters”
– 5:00 p.m. – Thursday, March 17th
The owners and talent buyers behind Fusion Shows, Soda Jerk Presents, The Troubadour, and The Rebel Lounge go in-depth about the landscape of independent concert promoters.
“Under The Big Black Sun”
– 5:00 p.m. – Thursday, March 17th
Pairing punk with punk, Tom DeSavia (SONGS Music Publishing) moderates a conversation between John Doe (X) and Mike Watt (The Minutemen) about the roots of SoCal hardcore.
“Rooster Teeth: Socializing In A Post Social World”
– 1:30 p.m. – Friday, March 18th
Austin’s Rooster Teeth are constantly redefining the meaning of “original content”, and while they are usually hungover for interactive panels, this is one you won’t want to miss.
“Digital Strategies In Indie Music”
– 5:00 p.m. – Friday, March 18th
The Heads of Digital at Domino, Ninja Tune, and Warp Records collide to talk about the issues surrounding streaming, digital marketing, and rising digital music trends.
“Adventures Of An Independent Game Studio”
– 6:30 p.m. – Friday, March 18th
Kinda Funny’s own Greg Miller and Insomniac Games’ CEO/founder Ted Price will chit chat about Song Of The Deep, Edge Of Nowhere, Ratchet & Clank, and a whole lot more.
“Nardwuar’s Video Vault”
– 12:30 p.m. – Saturday, March 19th
Nardwuar is back!! The Human Serviette (and everyone’s favorite Canadian journalist) will be playing various clips from his extensive audio/video vault of interviews.