NME plans “recorded showcase” in support of bands affected by SXSW cancellation
Acts slated to play the festival have something to look forward to.
Image: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty Images
Following the news of the cancellation of SXSW 2020, NME is organising a “recorded showcase” in London in support of bands that had been scheduled to perform at the annual festival held in Austin, Texas.
The music publication announced the initiative today via Twitter, calling for acts that have been affected by the event’s cancellation to reach out. The tweet was a response to indie-rock band Hotel Lux’s suggestion that a day festival or show in London be held to “make up for [the cancellation]”. “There’s thousands of bands in our position right now,” the group tweeted.
Read NME‘s full tweet here:
This is a great idea and we're keen to support this in any way we can. We'll also be coordinating a recorded showcase for some bands who were set to play at SXSW next week. Any artists that are interested/affected, reply to this tweet
— NME (@NME) March 7, 2020
While details of the showcase are yet to be confirmed, the tweet has already attracted dozens of replies. Several bands have responded, including Yorkshire group Bang Bang Romeo, which said: “[We’re] definitely up for anything to make up for not being able to play SXSW this year.” They had been slated to make several appearances in Austin.
SXSW 2020, which had been scheduled to take place from 13 to 22 March, was called off earlier today at the behest of the City Of Austin due to public health concerns. It’s the latest in a series of festivals, concerts and MI trade shows to be either postponed or scrapped entirely in the wake of the global Covid-19 outbreak.
Even gear brands are feeling the impact. Korg UK MD Ricci Hodgson told MI Trade News: “The problem we face, along with other manufacturers, is that we have products made in the Far East – Japan, China and Vietnam – and we only need one small component from one factory in China to stop production of that entire product.”
We will update this page with new information as it comes in.
[Editor’s note: NME is owned by BandLab Technologies, which also owns Guitar.com and Guitar Magazine.]