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Good! Lovin’! Feel so! Numb!”
It had been seven years since PartyNextDoor had performed in The 6. But one Thursday night last May, approximately 2,500 fans at History — the Toronto venue Drake, Party’s OVO label boss, opened in partnership with Live Nation in 2021 — welcomed him home to the city, feverishly chanting the lyrics to his beloved hits like “Wus Good/Curious.”
SiriusXM Canada had tapped the singer, songwriter and producer to headline the free, sold-out PartyNextDoor & Friends concert to celebrate its new 24/7 hip-hop and R&B channel, Mixtape: North, which highlights homegrown Canadian talent. And what better way to fete the country’s brightest stars than by transforming History into a full-fledged OVO Fest? Nearly all of the influential label’s roster took the stage, and even Drake himself made a surprise appearance to perform his and Party’s mid-2010s collaborations “Recognize” and “Come and See Me.”
“I don’t mean to put you on the spot or anything. I know you hate this the most,” Drake said, chuckling, his arm wrapped around his introverted labelmate. “I’m so grateful for you. I would not be the artist I am if it wasn’t for you.” Then, turning to the audience: “This is really my favorite artist in the world.”
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PartyNextDoor plays Billboard Presents THE STAGE at SXSW on March 14. Get your tickets here.
Over the last decade, Party, 30, established himself as an alternative R&B auteur who seduced listeners — and shaped his genre — with hazy, hypnotic Auto-Tuned vocal melodies, nocturnal trap production and carnal yet cognitive lyricism about what pleasures (and problems) the wee hours sometimes bring. And while that often added up to a late-night, hedonistic vibe, his authentic, limber patois and dancehall-infused rhythms also gave his music an irresistible Caribbean flavor.
Meanwhile, he established himself as one of pop music’s most sought-out hit-makers, working in various roles behind the scenes with artists including Kanye West, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Post Malone and Rihanna, the lattermost of whom he has made two Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits with: the nine-week No. 1 “Work,” featuring Drake (which he co-wrote and sang backup on), and DJ Khaled’s seven-week No. 2 “Wild Thoughts” (which he co-wrote and produced), featuring Bryson Tiller. Some fans and critics have argued that his leaked reference tracks for those songs — where Party himself sings them — sound better than their final star-powered versions.
“He has written some of the biggest songs of our time,” says his longtime manager and Range Media managing partner, Tyler Henry. “He has contributed to [work by] some of the greatest artists. He’s an artist himself. He’s truly one of one.” Henry first met Party in 2013 when he was the assistant road and tour manager for Drake, who had picked his latest OVO signee to support his Would You Like a Tour? trek. Henry started managing him the following year, and Party remains a key part of the manager’s roster, along with WondaGurl, HARV, Loshendrix and more.
Gucci shirt and Jacque Marie Mage eyewear.
Erica Hernández
Yet even with his impressive résumé, Party hasn’t achieved the level of stardom many R&B fans expected him to when he helped record some of the defining pop hits of the 2010s, excelling behind the scenes but failing to fully step out from Drake’s shadow. When asked about the pressure of being signed by such a colossal artist and ensuring his body of work can stand on its own, Party trails off. Despite previously expressing superstar ambitions, it seems like he has had to recalibrate his career goals.
“I’m just keeping the main ting the main ting,” Party says. “The only thing that’s important, that has changed my life, is dropping music. I’m not worried about the fame.” Speaking today in Los Angeles, wearing a simple, textured black hoodie, matching sweats and white Nike Air Force 1s, he certainly doesn’t seem like an attention-seeker. But he does sport one flashy accessory: a silver pendant chain with a cartoon rendering of a girl sticking her tongue out — a gift from Drake celebrating their “Members Only” collaboration from his latest Billboard 200-topping album, For All the Dogs. “Drake has the same one,” Party says proudly.
The rap titan’s co-sign increased awareness (and with that, scrutiny) of Party. But his frequent absences from the public eye — he has only put out three solo albums, in 2014, 2016 and 2020 — have also made it hard for fans to stay engaged with his releases or know what he’s up to. If he’s put in front of a laptop, Party says, “I’ll make a full album.” If it’s that easy, then why does he disappear for years in between each one? “I get into relationships and then music becomes second,” he admits matter-of-factly. “I think I’m going to take a break from relationships, a long break, and just get back to making music.” Of course, those same relationships often ensure Party has plenty of songwriting material to work with when he makes his way back to the studio.
“After you and a girl break up, does she know she’ll eventually become the subject of a PartyNextDoor song?” I ask.
“I think everyone knows that,” he responds smugly.
Erica Hernández
Relationships, frivolous or serious, are the common thread throughout Party’s music. He says he approaches his songs from a “me and her” perspective, creating the intimacy that’s also required for the prime PartyNextDoor listening experience. His solitary music resonated especially during the pandemic, and in October 2020, Party and his team appealed to lonely fans finding comfort in catalog music by dropping PartyPack, a set of seven fan-favorite deep cuts that hadn’t previously been available on digital service providers. Sometimes fans have unearthed his old songs themselves: Thanks to a dance challenge, the sped-up version of “Her Way” from his 2014 debut album, PartyNextDoor Two, blew up on TikTok in 2023, becoming the year’s most popular TikTok song in Canada and third-most popular in the United States.
And while he has continued to find new fans with the success of his older music — Party’s song catalog increased from 645.8 million on-demand U.S. streams (including user-generated content) in 2022 to 1.1 billion streams in 2023, according to Luminate — most successful artists can’t sit back, relax and rely on their fans to run up their catalog. Outside of the PartyNextDoor & Friends Toronto show, Party has only performed at a handful of festivals (like Las Vegas’ Lovers & Friends) and college shows since the pandemic’s live-music pause ended. But, as Henry explains it, those were just the prelude to Party’s next act. “We like to do a few each year to make sure we’re fresh and in front of people’s minds,” he says. “It keeps us sharp for when a moment like this album comes.”
That album is his upcoming fourth full-length, PartyNextDoor 4 — P4 for short. And while there’s no release date set, Party promises it’s his most focused project yet. “This is the hardest I’ve ever worked on an album. This is the proudest I’ve felt,” he says. “I’m excited to grind even more for the next [one]. I’m in love with how hard you should work for it.”
Growing up in the “moody” Toronto suburb of Mississauga, the artist born Jahron Anthony Brathwaite imagined himself as Ahmal, the student who sings “Oh Happy Day” in 1993’s Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Following in the footsteps of his Jamaican mother, Party joined his church’s choir and eventually moved up to a more advanced singing group within the church. “I had a solo coming up, and I was so nervous. I was going to get my sh-t off just like that Sister Act movie. I was going to get my moment. But they just cut it,” he says with a shrug.
Instead of dwelling on the defeat, he dove deeper into his newfound passion. He soon became fascinated with boy bands like Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. But “once I understood who I am in the world as a Black man, I started really getting into Black music,” he says, citing Jodeci and 112 as inspirations. “I think Slim from 112 is part of the reason why I pitched up my music, because he sounded so young when he was getting older.”
Party questioned if being a “dread-headed” Jamaican guy from the Toronto suburbs meant he could be a “real” R&B singer. “Real R&B is pretty. It’s six-pack, it’s shaven head, low fade,” he says. But at 16 he tried his luck, dropping out of school and moving to Los Angeles, after posting his first songs to MySpace under the name “Jahron B.” They included cheeky, upbeat tracks like “Monica Follow Me Back” — which he made to persuade a girl named Monica to follow him back on Twitter (he succeeded) — as well as somber, piano-driven ballads like “Daughters,” describing how a drug-fueled hookup led to an accidental pregnancy.
Around that time, veteran A&R executive Shalik Berry showed “Daughters” to Warner Chappell Music’s Ryan Press, then-senior director of A&R (and now president of North America), who was immediately blown away by the intense storytelling. “After I heard that one song, I was like, ‘I have to sign this kid,’ ” says Press, who did so in 2012.
Louis Vuitton hat and shirt and Jason of Beverly Hills ring.
Erica Hernández
In 2016, Press helped Party establish his own joint venture with Warner Chappell called JA Publishing Group, which still operates and currently houses G. Ry, Prep Bijan, Phwesh and Alex Lustig (the lattermost also has a partnership with OVO president Mr. Morgan’s publishing company, M3 Ent). “ ‘Hey, man, if you’re stepping into this side of the business, you’re dealing with people’s livelihoods,’ ” Press recalls telling the young musician. “ ‘We got to handle business properly. You got to have the same passion for them that I have for you.’ ” Party took the advice to heart. “He wanted to create an ecosystem that other great talent could thrive and be successful under,” Henry adds, noting that Party even made sure one of his signees worked on a big record before assisting him in securing “a pretty large six-figure” publishing deal. But as much as Party loved helping other creatives get their shine, he was still waiting for his turn.
Getting his singing career off the ground had been a struggle. As a preteen, he tried out for the Canadian music competition series The Next Star but was cut. He remembers gushing during one of the taped interviews for the show about how he wanted “to sing like Aubrey Graham.” The person recording him “was an actor on Degrassi. And he laughed at me. He’s like, ‘Drake, the one who makes music in my dressing room?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I think he’s the best ever.’ ”
Years later, Party would take his stage name from the FL Studio software audio filter titled “partynextdoor” — which reminded him of OVO co-founder Noah “40” Shebib’s dark, brooding production. When he first heard the effect, Party recalls, “I was just like, ‘This is me. I’m going to make all my music sound like this.’ ”
Once Party started taking meetings with labels, fellow Jamaican Canadian producer and frequent Drake collaborator Boi-1da caught wind of it and ran the artist’s name up the OVO flagpole. When Drake and 40 eventually invited Party to the studio, “we just meshed,” he says. Party became the first recording artist signed to OVO in 2013, and the label opted for a low-key yet fitting announcement: His track “Make a Mil” was posted on the OVO blog, the digital hotbed for new talent that ultimately transformed into the boutique label it is today.
Erica Hernández
Throughout OVO’s history, some have questioned the way the label supports its artists not named Drake; Drake and the OVO team declined to even be interviewed for this story. In 2016, a Noisey headline asked, “Is OVO Sound A Hip-Hop Label Or Drake’s Personal Hit Factory?” And upon joining OVO, Party did support his label boss immediately: He provided background vocals for “Own It” and “Come Thru” on Drake’s 2013 album, Nothing Was the Same, and produced and co-wrote “Legend,” “Preach” and “Wednesday Night Interlude” on 2015’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, featuring on the latter two songs. Two months before Nothing Was the Same, Party dropped his self-titled debut EP, which earned rave reviews and yielded the Miguel-sampling classic “Break From Toronto.” The following year, PartyNextDoor Two cracked the top 20 of the Billboard 200. However, in the subsequent years, Party’s output grew less frequent and his allure dwindled.
In a 2015 PartyNextDoor Fader cover story — built around the musician’s first-ever interview — OVO co-founder and Drake manager Oliver El-Khatib said that part of OVO’s ethos was restricting access to its artists and letting the music speak for itself. But while that air of mystery maintains OVO’s cool reputation, banking on Drake’s star power to draw in new fans can keep the rest of his labelmates in his orbit at the expense of their own career growth.
While Party’s artist career hung in the balance, his songwriting vocation took off. Press says he was always in Party’s ear about possibly working with Rihanna because of their shared Caribbean heritage. When the star — who at the time was also signed to Warner Chappell — hosted a writing camp for what would become her 2016 album, ANTI, at her Malibu, Calif., home in 2015, Press called up Party to come through. Despite being in a house full of other competing songwriters and producers, Party insisted that he spend time alone with her so he could make songs that fit her vibe.
“I remember her telling us she was drinking vodka and water at that time. I had never seen Party drink vodka until that night. I think he even smoked a cigarette because she had smoked,” Henry says of the night the two made “Work.” The song became ANTI’s biggest hit, with 1.6 billion official on-demand U.S. streams. “Seeing the way he spoke to her and the questions he asked and the way he fully submersed himself into her identity was what made the song special. And he does it with all the artists he works with. He doesn’t write these generic songs that we try to find a home for. He writes them very purposefully for that artist.”
While “Work” reigned atop the Hot 100 in March 2016, Party finally got his own breakthrough as an artist with the Drake-assisted “Come and See Me.” The song earned Party his debut Hot 100 entry as a lead artist, peaking at No. 55, and yielded his first Grammy Award nod, for best R&B song. (He was also up for album of the year for contributing to Drake’s Views.) “Come and See Me” has become the biggest streaming song from his catalog, with 854.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams.
Finally, it seemed Party the artist was stepping firmly out of Drake’s shadow — even though the rapper was featured on the track, it was unquestionably a spotlight for his signee. “Come and See Me” earned Party the recognition he craved. But solo fame turned out to be less gratifying than he’d thought it would be.
In 2017, the year before Kanye West released his eighth studio album, Ye, he invited Party to his Yeezy Studio in Calabasas, Calif., and gave him the freedom and space to create whatever he pleased — offering no indication as to what he might eventually do with it.
So Party was surprised when, as he listened to Ye along with millions of others upon its June 2018 release, he heard one of his Calabasas freestyles. The song, “Ghost Town,” had additional vocals from Kid Cudi and 070 Shake, but only credited Party as a featured artist. “I didn’t know what he was going to do with it. It’s different when I have no creative control. It is raw. ‘Someday,’ ” he sings in a similar fashion to his recorded vocals. He initially felt caught off guard, but became appreciative of West’s trust in his talent. “It wasn’t about working with PartyNextDoor. It was just about liking what I did creatively,” he says. “Ghost Town” reached No. 16 on the Hot 100 — Party’s highest-charting hit on the all-genre list.
The way West used Party’s sketch to make “Ghost Town” startled him because, when it comes to his own music, Party pays attention to every painstaking detail. “He’s the most meticulous and thorough person I’ve ever met,” Henry says. “He’ll spend six months mixing a song or fly to Toronto four times just to work with 40 to get it right.”
Erica Hernández
Party, however, admits he didn’t have that laser focus when making his last two studio albums, PartyNextDoor 3 and PartyMobile. “I was still handling that sh-t like demos,” he says, adding that he wasn’t “using everything I learned as a producer, as a writer, as an engineer.” Even though rough freestyles like 2014’s “Persian Rugs” — one of the loosies later included on PartyPack — proved he didn’t need polished records to develop a robust fan base, he vows to never “cheat” on the quality of his art again.
On P4’s forthcoming single, “Real Woman,” Party resharpens those creative tools, layering his vocals with bright, twinkling synths, trap hi-hats and a backing choir. But considering his last single, “Resentment,” debuted in the top 10 of Hot R&B Songs last July and fell off the chart after three weeks, it’s unclear how much momentum “Real Woman” will build for this album cycle.
Fortunately, he has plenty of performances in the coming months where he can perform the new material, including Rolling Loud California and, at the end of March, Souled Out, Australia’s first modern R&B and soul festival, which will be held across five cities. “I have so much anxiety before a show, but I always tell my manager, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’ I always forget that until I step on the stage,” he says.
Reconnecting with his fans live — and making sure the music he performs is of the highest possible quality — is, in the end, what fuels him, even if playing the part of a traditional megastar isn’t a natural fit.
“I know Drake and people always tell me, ‘Bro, you have to come out more!’ I’m an introvert, I’m shy,” he says. He’s not active on social media either because he doesn’t “have the narcissism” to believe people are personally invested in what he’s posting. And anyway, he doesn’t want to distract from what’s important: “I’m focused on making classic music.”
This story originally appeared in the March 9, 2024, issue of Billboard.
It had been seven years since PartyNextDoor had performed in The 6. But one Thursday night last May, approximately 2,500 fans at History — the Toronto venue Drake, Party’s OVO label boss, opened in partnership with Live Nation in 2021 — welcomed him home to the city, feverishly chanting the lyrics to his beloved hits like […]
Mexican star Christian Nodal is heading to South by Southwest to perform at Billboard Presents THE STAGE at SXSW on Friday, March 15. The Latin Grammy-winning artist has collected a robust catalogue of hits since launching his career with the mariacheño song “Adiós Amor” in 2017. Now, Nodal is the soloist with the most No. […]
South by Southwest is back to take over Austin, Texas, this year, with programming beginning March 8 and running through March 16.
This year, SXSW Music (March 11-16) features performances from The Black Keys, Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala aka DE FACTO, Swamp Dogg, Audrey Nuna, Kneecap, Flyana Boss and J Noa.
If you’re heading to the event and looking to get even more access to the SXSW Music Festival, the event is offering two special badges for purchase. With a standard music badge, for $945, attendees will receive “primary entry to our legendary Music Festival showcases, music programming, mentor sessions, and workshops at the SXSW Conference, Comedy Festival showcases, and online programming, plus secondary access to most Interactive and Film & TV programming,” per SXSW’s website. See here for the full list of details and purchase options. For Billboard readers, enter code reg-music-specialoffer_c439f88fe8 for a limited time to save more than 20% off the current price.
With an upgraded platinum badge, for $1,990, fans get primary access to all official SXSW Conference & Festivals events, plus up to five SXXpress Passes per day to enjoy your favorite programming. See here for the full list of details and purchase options. Enter code reg-plat-specialoffer_311a0ab5e3 for a limited time to save more than 25% off the current price.
Elsewhere at SXSW, Billboard is returning to the event with THE STAGE at SXSW, which will kick off with a night dedicated to R&B headlined by singer-songwriter and producer PARTYNEXTDOOR on March 14; on March 15, a night celebrating Latin music will feature TJ the DJ and singer-songwriter Christian Nodal; and on March 16, a dance-centric night presented by Carnival Cruise Line will kick off with DJ Sober before electronic giant ILLENIUM takes the stage. Billboard Presents THE STAGE at SXSW takes place at Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park in Austin. Tickets are available here.
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Billboard’s parent company PMC is the largest shareholder of SXSW and its brands are official media partners of SXSW.
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The Justice comeback is gaining momentum, with the French duo confirmed as keynote speakers at SXSW 2024. Happening at the Austin Convention Center on March 13 at 2:30 p.m., this rare public conversation from Justice’s Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay will focus on their forthcoming album, Hyperdrama (due out April 26), and the legacy and future of the renowned […]
On Wednesday (Feb. 14), Billboard announced its return to South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, for three star-studded concerts running Thursday, March 14, through Saturday, March 16. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Billboard Presents THE STAGE at SXSW will kick off with a night dedicated to […]
The Black Keys aren’t just coming to Texas for a talk.
Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, founding members of the six-times Grammy Award winning blues-rock outfit, are already locked-in as keynote speakers for the 2024 edition of South by Southwest. When the annual live music bonanza rolls around this March, the dynamite duo will also join the lineup of performers.
Organizers today (Jan. 24) announce the third wave round of showcasing artists for the 38th annual edition of the SXSW Music Festival, set for March 11-16 in Austin, TX.
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As previously reported, Auerbach, the band’s singer and guitarist, and Carney, the Black Keys’ drummer, will lend their support to the new documentary, This is a Film About The Black Keys, which enjoys its world premiere at the SXSW Film & TV Festival.
The Black Keys lead a list that’s predictably stacked with heavyweights and hot newcomers from around the globe.
Among the highlights are U.S. funk legend Bootsy Collins; ARIA Award-winning, chart-topping indie Sydney act Lime Cordiale; and Finland’s Eurovision Song Contest 2021 reps Blind Channel.
Other performers in the latest wave include include Angélica Garcia (El Monte, CA), The Black Keys (Akron OH), Boza (Panama), Chase Shakur (Atlanta, GA), Fabiana Palladino (London, U.K.), Flyana Boss (Los Angeles CA), and GOKUMON (UchikubiGokumonDoukoukai) (Tokyo Japan).
They following a first round that included British indie band Dry Cleaning, New York punk rockers Bodega, and Swedish alternative act Waterbaby, and a second announcement with Glasser, SPRINTS, GRÓA, Gruff Rhys, Ho99o9, Holly Macve and many others.
Founded in 1987 in Austin, TX, SXSW has grown to encompass tech, film and TV, music, education and culture. The entirety of the 2024 conference and festival will run from March 8-16.
In April 2021, it was announced that SXSW signed a “lifeline” deal with P-MRC, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and MRC, making P-MRC a stakeholder and long-term partner with the Austin festival. P-MRC is the parent company of Billboard.
SXSW 2024 is sponsored by Porsche, C4 Energy, Delta, and The Austin Chronicle.
Visit SXSW.com for more.
The Black Keys are heading to South by Southwest 2024.
Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, founding members of the chart-topping blues-rock outfit, will take their positions on stage as keynote speakers, organizers announce today (Jan. 16).
Auerbach, the band’s singer and guitarist, and Carney, the Black Keys’ drummer, will lend their support to the new documentary, This is a Film About The Black Keys, which enjoys its world premiere at the SXSW Film & TV Festival. Directed by Jeff Dupre, the feature-length film is said to trace the band’s journey, which began nearly a quarter century ago as kids jamming in a basement in Akron, OH, and has seen the rockers complete the journey to the biggest stages on the planet.
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Along the way, they’ve soaked up commercial and critical success, including six top 10 titles landed on the Billboard 200 chart, with a No. 1 for 2014’s Turn Blue, and six Grammy Awards.
“The impact of artists has made music the foundation of SXSW,” comments Hugh Forrest, chief programming officer and co-president. “For this reason, we’re especially excited to welcome Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys, one of the most compelling rock bands around, to the Keynote Speaker lineup for a discussion on their prolific career.”
The rockers are among the big names in the fourth round of featured speakers, a list that includes legendary actress and activist Jane Fonda; three-time NBA champion and Basketball Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade; Twitch CEO Dan Clancy; and Lord of the Rings actor and co-founder of indie production company SpectreVision, Elijah Wood.
Conference sessions include the panel, “The Transformation of Music Sync: When the Songwriter Becomes the Screenwriter,” and “Death of the Follower & the Future of Creativity on the Web.”
Additional keynote speakers and featured sessions will be unveiled in the coming weeks, reps say.
Founded in 1987 in Austin, TX, SXSW has grown to encompass tech, film and TV, music, education and culture. The entirety of the 2024 conference and festival will run from March 8-16.
In April 2021, it was announced that SXSW signed a “lifeline” deal with P-MRC, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and MRC, making P-MRC a stakeholder and long-term partner with the Austin festival. P-MRC is the parent company of Billboard.
Visit SXSW.com for more.
South by Southwest Music Festival 2024 has revealed a second slate of artists set to perform in Austin next year. Among the highlights are Glasser, SPRINTS, GRÓA, Gruff Rhys, Ho99o9, Holly Macve, Kikuo, LAIR, Pink Pablo, PVA, Pylon Reenactment Society and Ralphie Choo, all of whom will showcase their talents during the six-day festival.
Next year’s SXSW Music Festival will take place from March 11-16 throughout the Austin area. Other emerging acts announced on Wednesday (Dec. 6) include RUBIO, Sinkane, Sofia Kourtesis, Sycco, Tamera, TENGGER, 250, Alexander Biggs, Enola Gay, DICE, HALLEY, HIEN, Skateland, Yo Diablo, Water Damage, TENGGER, Sui Zhen and RUBIO. The festival has created playlists on Spotify and YouTube featuring the music of the showcasing artists.
The list of showcase partners for the 38th annual SXSW has also grown, with labels like New West Records and Bayonet Records, as well as promoter High Road Touring and agency Mint Talent Group, being announced. Elsewhere, newly announced presenters include Adult Decisions, All The Vibes, ATC Live, Atomic Music Group, Breakout West, CareFreeBlackGirl, Chicken Ranch Records, City Slang, Dear Life Records, Dedstrange, Don Giovanni Records, Everything R&B, Father/Daughter Records, Fierce Panda, FOCUS Wales, Island Wave, Italians Do It Better, Gorilla vs. Bear, Jazz Re:Freshed, The Line of Best Fit, The Loyalty Firm, M for Montreal, Music from Ireland, Now Wave, Pop Montreal, Reeperbahn Festival, The Smoke Out, Space Agency, The Spanish Wave, Synásthesie Festival, Taiwan Beats, Tokyo Calling, Traffic Music and Wide Days Scotland.
Founded in 1987 in Austin, SXSW has grown to encompass tech, film and TV, music, education and culture. The entirety of the 2024 conference and festival will run from March 8-16.
In April 2021, it was announced that SXSW signed a “lifeline” deal with P-MRC, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and MRC, making P-MRC a stakeholder and long-term partner with the Austin festival. P-MRC is the parent company of Billboard.
See below for the full list of showcasing artists announced on Wednesday.
250 (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)Afternoon Bike Ride (Montreal CANADA)Akira Galaxy (Los Angeles CA)Ako（a子） (Himeji City JAPAN)Alexander Biggs (Melbourne AUSTRALIA)Alex Nicol (Montreal CANADA)Amis du Teche (Breaux Bridge LA)Angelo Moore and the Brand New Step (Austin TX)Anna Smyrk (Melbourne AUSTRALIA)Anna Vaverková (Prague CZECHIA)Another Sky (London UK-ENGLAND)Arches (Hong Kong HONG KONG)Askew (London UK-ENGLAND)Axel Flóvent (Reykjavik ICELAND)Äyanna (London UK-ENGLAND)The Ayoub Sisters (London UK-ENGLAND)Bad Bad Hats (Minneapolis MN)The Beatbox Collective (London UK-ENGLAND)beccs (Warehan MA)Bee Bee Sea (Castel Goffredo ITALY)Being Dead (Austin TX)Benjamin Walker (Chile MEXICO)Bess Atwell (Brighton UK-ENGLAND)Bleach Lab (London UK-ENGLAND)BLK JKS (Johannesburg SOUTH AFRICA)Bloomsday (Brooklyn NY)Blue Lake (Copenhagen DENMARK)Boy With Apple (Gothenburg SWEDEN)BROTHER DEGE (Lafayette LA)Buffalo Nichols (Milwaukee WI)Caleb Landry Jones (Garland TX)Camidoh (Accra GHANA)Carla Geneve (Perth AUSTRALIA)Certainly So (Nashville TN)Cha’keeta B (Austin TX)Chalk (Belfast UK-N. IRELAND)Chartreuse (The Black Country UK-ENGLAND)Chelsea Carmichael (London UK-ENGLAND)Chiaki Mayumura (Setagya JAPAN)Chief Cleopatra (Austin TX)China Bears (Bridgwater UK-ENGLAND)Chxrry22 (Toronto CANADA)CLT DRP (Brighton UK-ENGLAND)Conchur White (Portadown UK-N. IRELAND)CURRLS (Brighton UK-ENGLAND)Danny Bonilla (Dallas TX)Dasom Baek (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)Daydream Twins (Austin TX)Dead Tooth (Brooklyn NY)Delights (Manchester UK-ENGLAND)DICE (Perth AUSTRALIA)Dirt Buyer (Brooklyn NY)Discovery Zone (New York NY)Divorce (Nottingham UK-ENGLAND)Dobrawa Czocher (Warsaw POLAND)DOMICO (Tokyo JAPAN)Do Nothing (Nottingham UK-ENGLAND)Dream Nails (London UK-ENGLAND)Dumb Buoys Fishing Club (London UK-ENGLAND)dust (Newcastle AUSTRALIA)Earth Tongue (Wellington NEW ZEALAND)Eleni Drake (London UK-ENGLAND)Elisapie (Salluit CANADA)Elle Shimada (Melbourne AUSTRALIA)Ellie Bleach (London UK-ENGLAND)Emily Barker (Perth AUSTRALIA)Emily Frembgen (Brooklyn NY)Emma Aibara (Yokohama JAPAN)Enola Gay (Belfast UK-N. IRELAND)Etta Bond (London UK-ENGLAND)fantasy of a broken heart (Brooklyn NY)Fat Dog (London UK-ENGLAND)FAZI 法兹 (Xi’an CHINA)Field Guide (Winnipeg CANADA)Folk Bitch Trio (Melbourne AUSTRALIA)FONTINE (Winnipeg CANADA)Forest Claudette (Melbourne AUSTRALIA)Friedberg (Berlin GERMANY)Fust (Durham NC)Gavin James (Dublin IRELAND)Glasser (New York NY)Glixen (Phoenix AZ)Good Looks (Austin TX)Grandbrothers (Berlin GERMANY)GRÓA (Reykjavik ICELAND)Gruff Rhys (Cardiff UK-WALES)Gurriers (Dublin IRELAND)HALLEY (Waseda JAPAN)Harvest Thieves (Austin TX)Hause Plants (Lisbon PORTUGAL)The HawtThorns (Nashville TN)HIEN (Budapest HUNGARY)HighSchool (Melbourne AUSTRALIA)Hinako Omori (London UK-ENGLAND)HMS Morris (Cardiff UK-WALES)Ho99o9 (Newark NJ)Holly Macve (Brighton UK-ENGLAND)Hooks & The Huckleberries (Albuquerque NM)Hour (Philadelphia PA)The Howdies (Athens GA)Humour (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)HYPNOSIS THERAPY (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)IFE (New Orleans LA)Iona Zajac (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)Iris Jean (Alkmaar NETHERLANDS)Izo FitzRoy (London UK-ENGLAND)Jack Barksdale (Fort Worth TX)Jack Harris (Cleveland OH)JADA (London UK-ENGLAND)Jad Fair and the Placebos (Manor TX)Jaimee Harris (Nashville TN)JÁNA (Stockholm SWEDEN)Jazz re:freshed DJs (London UK-ENGLAND)Jeannel (Berlin GERMANY)Jeshi (London UK-ENGLAND)JFDR (Reykjavík ICELAND)JM Stevens (Austin TX)Jon Muq (Austin TX)Jon Vinyl (Toronto CANADA)Juani Mustard (Viña Del Mar CHILE)JUANPALITOSCHINOS (Mexico City MEXICO)Justin Webb (Nashville TN)Kali Claire (London UK-ENGLAND)Ken Yates (London CANADA)Kikuo (Tokyo JAPAN)Kroi (Tokyo JAPAN)LAIR (Jatiwangi INDONESIA)Laney Tripp (New Smyrna Beach CA)Larry Seaman (Austin TX)Laura-Mary Carter (Brighton UK-ENGLAND)Laura Misch (London UK-ENGLAND)Lauren Housley & The Northern Cowboys (Sheffield UK-ENGLAND)Lauren Lakis (Austin TX)L E M F R E C K (Newport UK-WALES)Library Card (Rotterdam NETHERLANDS)Lindsay Beaver & Brad Stivers (Austin TX)Lisa Morales (Austin TX)Logan Crosby (Milledgeville GA)Logan Halstead (Powell County KY)Los Cogelones (Mexico MEXICO)Lottery Winners (Leigh UK-ENGLAND)Madam Radar (Austin TX)Malugi (Berlin GERMANY)Mama Terra (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)The Manatees (Southampton UK-ENGLAND)maxime. (Montreal CANADA)May Rio (Brooklyn NY)Meagre Martin (Berlin GERMANY)Mia June (Perth AUSTRALIA)Mick Flannery (Cork IRELAND)Minas (Cardiff UK-WALES)Miranda and the Beat (Brooklyn NY)Miranda del Sol (New York NY)MØAA (Seattle WA)Moody Bank$ (Austin TX)Nagasaki Swim (Rotterdam NETHERLANDS)Natalie Jane Hill (Asheville NC)Native Harrow (Brighton UK-ENGLAND)néomí (Den Haag NETHERLANDS)NeOne Wonderer (Wolverhampton UK-ENGLAND)Neon Waltz (John O’groats UK-SCOTLAND)Night Lunch (Montreal CANADA)NOBRO (Montreal CANADA)O. 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(Brisbane AUSTRALIA)YHWH Nailgun (New York NY)Yo Diablo (Valencia SPAIN)Yogetsu Akasaka (Tokyo JAPAN)YU-KA (Tokyo JAPAN)Zheani (Brisbane AUSTRALIA)Zoon (Winnipeg CANADA)ZÓRA (Budapest HUNGARY)zouz (Montréal CANADA)