We’re excited to reveal the winners of the AU review’s 5th Annual SXSW Awards, which celebrates the best performances and events we caught at the Austin, Texas festival – and some of the disappointments too. BEST AUSTRALIAN GROUP Bad Pony I knew Sydney indies Bad Pony were good live, I just didn’t know they were…
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With one of eight episodes from forthcoming Netflix docuseries Rapture dedicated to her story, we managed to grab a quick chat with North Carolina emcee Rapsody during a preview screening at SXSW Film Festival. The new series from Mass Appeal and Sacha Jenkins looks at the personal lives and individual contexts of various hip hop…
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Performers and now-fierce collaborators Sunny War and Micah Nelson (aka Particle Kid) have been bringing their own brands of rich music together in LA for a minute now, with SXSW being the latest platform for the artists to strut their stuff. And now they’re releasing a split LP under the name “Particle War“. With shows throughout the Austin festival…
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Ethan Hawke‘s film about iconic country blues singer/songwriter Blaze Foley has been praised by critics since its premiere at Sundance in January, and last week it was Austin’s turn, with Blaze screening at SXSW. At that event, held in the city where Blaze lived for much of his life, we caught up with the Hawke…
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Over nine nights in Austin this month, I caught dozens upon dozens of live performances from bands from all over the world. This year I found myself discovering more talent than I have in the past few years – both at the SXSW Festival, and at Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion event, which happens at his…
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Talented singer and songwriter Fatai has been calling Chicago home for some time now, but the Melbourne-born artist has maintained strong links with home, even from the other side of the globe. A newcomer to the SXSW fold, Fatai caught up with Larry recently to touch base and share her experiences in the States. What are the…
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Melbourne’s Pretty City recently packed their bags for another short sojourn to the USA where recording of new music, as well as a cheeky stop at SXSW awaited. The band’s new album Cancel the Future is out tomorrow and in coming months, Pretty City will be out on the road (in Australia and abroad) with this new bad…
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Mallrat is a name fast gaining traction and renown amongst Australian music fans but for Texans and those visiting SXSW this year, this was a perfect introduction to the Aussie currently preparing to take more international sectors by storm. We caught up with Mallrat to find out more about her time in the US, and what’s…
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SXSW has always been a massive melting pot of musical influences and a platform for musical discovery but in the last few years in particular, the festival has played host to an enormous hip hop, R&B and soul community that has come together from all over the world. Whether they be some of the biggest names…
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Last night, Isle of Dogs held its premiere as the Closing Film of SXSW. We briefly caught up with actor Jeff Goldblum on the red carpet to chat about talking with Director Wes Anderson, while Goldblum briefly muses about his time filming Thor in Australia and Menulog. Watch the chat here: Isle of Dogs hits…
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Though the big annual jam by The Roots and friends (with rumours of SWV, DMC, Dermot Kennedy, Nathaniel Rateliff, Jessie Reyez and Rapsody being the unannounced guests) was cancelled due to a credible bomb threat, the final night of SXSW left no music lover wanting for more. Those scoping out the remainder of SXSW Film…
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While at SXSW, we caught up with Albert Hammond Jr. – an artist who needs no introduction. What was being introduced during the festival however, was AHJ’s fourth studio album Francis Trouble, an album that has recently seen him on tour with The Killers and further expanding his live set up on huge stages. I think the last time…
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The SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards is one of the biggest and most comprehensive awards nights of the entire festival. A moment in the spotlight for just about every facet of the tech and interactive side of the industry, this year’s awards were big on AI, smart tech and wearables. Hit the jump for the complete…
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Australia House and G’Day USA weren’t messing around when it came to this year’s The Aussie BBQ, kick starting the annual showcase event with nothing but top quality Australian music, sweeping through everything from one of the country’s most dynamic (and intense) indie-rock acts Bad Pony on the Backyard Stage to the delicate sounds and…
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Hip hop fans were very well taken care of on SXSW’s second last day. Fader Fort revealed their surprise guest as Rae Sremmurd, with the duo also playing their own “announced at the last minute” showcase event with the likes of it producer Mike WiLL Made It and buzz acts like Duckwrth. Though the Rae…
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The original Sandinistas (AKA the Sandinista National Liberation Front) were a group with the odds stacked against them. By their own admission, they were a bunch of “Poorly armed kids.” But they successfully overthrew the Nicaraguan president in 1979. A large number of the Sandinistas were women. Society had expected these women would marry and…
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There’s something very sincere and heart-warming about Tray, the character played by Tracy Morgan in new TBS show The Last O.G. The forthcoming series, backed by John Carcieri and Jordan Peele, is a welcome return for the endearingly 30 Rock star, who still very much embodies the on-screen personality often attributed to him but grounds…
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It was a jam packed Wednesday at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Here’s a look at just a few of the many highlights… Kicking off numerous showcases at SXSW this week, Tinashe hit up Vevo House for her second performance of the night and – to no one’s surprise – completely owned the smoky jungle-like stage…
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Larry Heath sat down with co-directors Paulinho Caruso and Teo Poppovic alongside star Daniel Furlan to talk the Brazillian comedy Neurotic Quest for Serenity, which premiered this week at SXSW. The trio talk about the making of the film, how Brazilian humour differs from the rest of the world, and why anyone, anywhere in the…
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After winning the Documentary Feature category at the South by Southwest Film Awards earlier this week, People’s Republic of Desire from filmmaker Hao Wu is poised to become one of the most important watches of 2018. For his third documentary on different layers of Chinese culture, Wu takes a very close and unnerving look at…
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Larry Heath caught up with actress Olivia Wilde while at SXSW to talk about about her role in the new film A Vigilante, where she stars as a vigilante who helps victims escape their domestic abusers. Directed by Australia’s Sarah Daggar-Nickson, A Vigilante held its world premiere earlier this week at SXSW. ———- This content…
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The anticipated comedy Blockers hits Australian screens later this month, and one of the stars in the film is Australia’s own Geraldine Viswanathan, who makes her US film debut in the role. While at the Red Carpet World Premiere at SXSW over the weekend, we caught up with Geraldine to talk about the role and…
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Ringo Starr told people to stop and smell the roses. Ferris Bueller also reminded us that life moves pretty fast and encouraged us to stop or we’d miss it. Matt Green is someone who is doing just that. This 37-year-old former engineer is walking every street in New York City’s five boroughs. It’s a journey…
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When light finally filled the theatre at Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema I could see that the older man sitting next to me was visibly shaken. In fact, I could see many people who looked like they were in desperate need of a good, long hug and maybe a bathtub full of bright yellow rubber ducks…
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Tuesday marked the fifth day of SXSW for 2018, and as is tradition, it served as the changeover point for the festival between “interactive” and “music”, whole “film” continues throughout the week. Red River Street between 8th and 10th seemed to be one of biggest hotbeds of activity for the Tuesday, with two venues in…
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We caught up with Jermaine Fowler and Armie Hammer at SXSW to talk about their new film Sorry To Bother You. Watch the full interview below, where we learn more about the characters, and the political messages found in the film, which is the directorial debut of musician Boots Riley (The Coup, Street Sweeper Social…
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Earlier this week, I sat down with rising young stars Camila Mendes (Riverdale) and Brett Dier (Jane The Virgin), to talk about their roles in the brilliant new film The New Romantic, which premiered at SXSW in Austin, Texas. The indie film is Camila’s first feature film role and looks at the realities of dating…
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Earlier today at SXSW, the new documentary The Director and the Jedi held its premiere, with a few very special guests in attendance. The documentary is available as part of the home release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which is in stores this month. Mark’s hesitance with the evolution of the character and poignant…
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The fourth day of SXSW Film Festival kicked off with a special screening of the new documentary The Director and The Jedi, which is being released with the Blu-Ray home release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Mark’s hesitance with the evolution of the character and poignant scenes with Carrie Fisher proved highlights of the…
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Boots Riley has over two decades of powerful, biting and important work behind him as emcee of The Coup, so Sorry for Bothering You, his directorial debut, isn’t as big of a leap as it appears to be for the artist. Well, it’s not big in the sense that smart political satire is anything new…
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