Mên An Tol at British Music Embassy on March 14, 2026
SXSW was a year for change. A new regime in charge, a slightly shortened timeline, and the decentralization of the festival with the loss of the Convention Center all meant that things would be different this year. On the other hand, some things haven’t changed – BME is still our go-to spot for new and emerging British music, Hotel Vegas is still the coolest venue in Austin, and that one dude is still taking people’s burger orders at Casino El Camino.
And Panic Manual was still there, still trying to take in as much music as possible, even if the new Thursday-to-Wednesday format meant that we weren’t able to be there for the entire fest this year. Still, we made the most of it, and here’s what stood out for us this year.
Best Act
Gary: Grandmas House
Paul: Geordie Greep + Knats put on a pretty fantastic show, and Toronto bands Kali Horse and Hot Garbage gave me a little bit of that hometown pride, but I’ve got to give it to Adult DVD for heating up a chilly Sunday night with some killer dance-punk.
Best New Discovery
Paul: Zastava. While I try to do a little research and have some sort of game plan going in to SXSW each year, there’s always room for random discovery. And this year, Zastava was the standout band who I knew nothing about but who absolutely blew me away with their heavy, impassioned post-punk.
Gary: Knats
Biggest Disappointment
Gary: Chalk. I left early but mostly because I didn’t like the type of music. Screaming, yet mediocre… or medio-core?
Paul: I mean, not getting in to see Alanis Morissette was a bit of a letdown, though not surprising. Otherwise, no major disappointments, other than the fact that I would have liked to have caught more than a couple of songs from Australia’s Radium Dolls. Stiil, what I did see sounded pretty good.
Thoughts on This New Era of SXSW?
Gary: It’s been imbalanced by the loss of ACC as the beating heart, and felt literally dismembered. It’s also much more sanitized. You don’t get nearly the same boost from the street vibe to keep going until 1am. To be fair, sure, I did not attend the last few days, but it did liven up a little … there was a slight improvement in foot traffic by Sunday night.
Paul: As someone who does SXSW mostly for the music, but with an interest in the other strands of the festival, this year’s new “everything everywhere all at once” format was a bit of a letdown. Sure, they sold it to us as “you get an extra day of music!” but in past years, I kind of enjoyed showing up for those first couple of days and taking in all of the parties, installations, panels, and other events before music really ramps up, whereas this year, I felt like I’d be missing out on some bands if I spent too much time doing other stuff. That may be partly on me for being there for only a few days, though I also felt like it all seemed to be winding down even earlier this year. Still, when you’re in the thick of it, SXSW can be a lot of fun, and I still saw a bunch of great shows. So, see you again next year, SouthBy …. maybe?
