Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Powerful Women Who Ruled SXSW 2019
Japanese Breakfast and the Women Who Rock
Over 2,000 musical acts descended on Austin, Texas, for SXSW, with some performing up to a dozen gigs over a week-long span at various brand-sponsored musical showcases. There’s a rich history of acts breaking out at the fest—particularly female ones, from M.I.A. and Amy Winehouse to Katy Perry and Billie Eilish. And while I didn’t come close to taking in all that South-By had to offer musically, of the many showcases I did attend, the overarching theme was: 2019 is all about the ladies. Japanese Breakfast, a Philly-based indie rock outfit, produces dreamy, effervescent pop music, and wowed the crowd at the Dr. Martens stage with their cover of The Cranberries’ “Dreams”—and frontwoman Michelle Zauner’s infectious joy.
Likewise, Clementine Creevy and her noise rock trio Cherry Glazerr absolutely shredded things up; New Zealand’s The Beths, led by Elizabeth Stokes, charmed with their collection of sunny, harmonizing, hook-heavy tunes; and Detroit’s Stef Chura proved that the wave of positive buzz is no mistake with a set of rockin’, oft-distorted tunes that recalled The Breeders crossed with Liz Phair. On the hip-hop side of things, Brooklyn-born Rico Nasty blew the lid off the Fader Fort and Mohawk stages, sauntering about in a pink cowboy hat, cradling a huge joint, and whipping the crowds into a frenzy—replete with mosh pits, stage-diving, twerking girls, and a pair of jeans that somehow made their way onstage (the pants-less culprit was never found). —Marlow Stern