Six days, 14 venues, 15 showcases, 38 bands and 44 sets later, our SXSW Music experience is over for 2016. We heard music from bands we’d never even heard of, saw live shows from bands we’d only heard on record, and heard new songs from some of our old favorites. We saw a panel on accessibility at music venues, heard Iggy Pop play and talk about his favorite records, and set up a pop-up photo booth at one of the most buzzed-about showcases in Austin all week. There was even a 3am concert on a pedestrian bridge in the middle of the Colorado River. We also took a ton of pictures. We’ve got plenty to say about what we saw, heard, felt, tasted and smelled at this year’s festival, but here, we’ll let the photos do the talking. Click through for our gallery of highlights from SXSW Music 2016.
(L-R) Downtown Boys’ Adrienne Berry, Mary Regalado, Norlan Olivo, Victoria Ruiz, and Joey DeFrancesco perform on the patio at Swan Dive in Austin, Texas, March 15, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
(L-R) Miss Garrison’s Francisca Straube and Tomás Rivera perform at Sledge Hammer in Austin, Texas, March 16, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
(L-R) Luis Maurette, Alejandra Ortiz, and Pablo Paz of Lulacruza perform at the Townsend in Austin, Texas, March 16, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
(L-R) Cocofunka’s Javier Arce and Reynaldo Escobedo perform at Sledge Hammer in Austin, Texas, March 16, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Music Band’s Lee Putney readies the clapboard during the band’s ‘Jam In The Van’ session in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
(L-R) Music Band’s Lee Putney, Harry Kagan, and Duncan Shea recording a ‘Jam In The Van’ session in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
(L-R) Diarrhea Planet’s Brent Toler, Ian Bush, Emmett Miller, Jordan Smith, Evan Bird, and Mike Boyle at the SXSW 2016 GQ Artist House in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Iggy Pop dances to Ray Charles’ “What I Say” during a special taping of Josh Homme’s Beats 1 radio program “The Alligator Hour,” at the SXSW 2016 Apple Music house in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Iggy Pop lounges as he listens to Gary Numan’s “Cars” during a special taping of Josh Homme’s Beats 1 radio program “The Alligator Hour,” at the SXSW 2016 Apple Music house in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Jazz Cartier performs at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
A fan crowdsurfs during a Freeway set at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Freeway performs at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
The crowd at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, during a Freeway set, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Ghostface Killah performs at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Cappadonna performs with Ghostface Killah at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Ghostface Killah performs at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Killah Priest performs with Ghostface Killah at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Ghostface Killah performs at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
MF Doom “performs” via video screen at Emo’s in Austin, Texas, March 17, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Pumarosa’s Isabel Munoz-Newsome performs at the FADER Fort in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Gallant performs at the Hype Hotel in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Gallant performs at the Hype Hotel in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Gallant performs at the Hype Hotel in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Davido performs at the FADER Fort in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Davido and his backup dancers perform at the FADER Fort in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Poliça’s dual drummers, Ben Ivascu and Drew Christopherson, perform at the Hype Hotel in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
(L-R) White Lung’s Kenneth William and Mish Way perform at the FADER Fort in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Kassie Carlson and Simon Hanes of Guerilla Toss perform at Barracuda in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Daddy Issues’ Jenna Moynihan performs at Barracuda in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Daddy Issues’ Jenna Mitchell performs at Barracuda in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Daddy Issues’ Jenna Moynihan, Jenna Mitchell, and Emily Maxwell pose for a portrait after their set at Barracuda in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Plague Vendor’s Brandon Blaine performs from on high at Barracuda in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Rock dad rocking during Diarrhea Planet’s set at Barracuda in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
(L-R) Emmett Miller and Mike Boyle of Diarrhea Planet at Barracuda in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Brent Toler of Diarrhea Planet performs at Barracuda in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Evan Bird of Diarrhea Planet mugs for the camera at Barracuda in Austin, Texas, March 18, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Little Simz performs at the Hype Hotel in Austin, Texas, March 19, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Little Simz at the Hype Hotel in Austin, Texas, March 19, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Metro Boomin performs at the Hype Hotel in Austin, Texas, March 19, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Bombino performs outside Waterloo Records in Austin, Texas, March 19, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Miss Garrison’s Francisca Straube performs at Maggie Mae’s in Austin, Texas, March 19, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.
Moisés Silva of El Otro Grupo performs at Maggie Mae’s in Austin, Texas, March 19, 2016. Photo by Matthew Ismael Ruiz.