SXSW 2026
Welcome back SXSW (South By Southwest)! The festival returned to Texas in March 2026 – the state of the USA where it began nearly 40 years go. And we were there too, continuing our support for UK music internationally alongside around 500,000 other music lovers and industry insiders.
Our work at SXSW 2026
- Selector Radio, hosted by Sian Eleri, returned to SXSW, capturing live music for Selector Sessions from the British Music Embassy stage at Palm Door on Sixth.
- We continued our support for Future Art and Culture – the innovative platform premiering major new work by artists, technologists and scientists that explore ideas about the human condition, society and the world around us.
- We continued our support for PRS Foundation’s International Showcase Fund, resulting in 21 UK music creators receiving support to attend SXSW in 2026. The International Showcase Fund supports UK artists taking their first steps into international territories at industry showcases, like SXSW, around the world.
Selector at SXSW 2026
We teamed up with the British Music Embassy (BME) – in collaboration with BBC Introducing, UK record labels association the BPI, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and music licensing company, PPL – and took over the 700-capacity Palm Door venue on Sixth Street from 12 March to 19 March in the heart of downtown Austin.
‘The British Music Embassy is ever the vibrant hot spot at SXSW for catching the best of UK music talent. It's a vital catalyst for artists developing international profile, building audiences and creating a buzz as well as a meeting point for making international connections,’ says Joel Mills, Director of Music, here at the British Council. ‘Selector Radio, and presenter Sian Eleri, are once again collaborating with BBC Introducing to share hosting duties alongside Steve Lamacq throughout the weekend and we’ll be recording a SXSW Selector special show and filming Selector Sessions, so we can share the excitement with global audiences.’
Future Art and Culture
Future Art and Culture is an award-winning platform at SXSW for projects that use AI and immersive art to explore empathy and connection in the age of surveillance. We continue to support and this year were joined by a cohort including people from Drake Music and Paraorchestra.
‘The Future Art and Culture programme once again champions a cohort of UK artists and creators working at the forefront of cross-disciplinary innovation to showcase, participate and network within SXSW’ says Joel Mills, Director of Music at the British Council.
Here are the four AI and immersive creative projects premiered at SXSW.
- The Baby Factory is Closed – puts users in the body of a menopausal woman and reclaims it as a site of rebellion.
- Ascended Intelligence – a post-dystopian XR AI journey restoring human agency in the age of tech and surveillance.
- loss y – an interactive multi-channel memorial to the loss of the physical body as we cross the threshold to a new reality.
- Love Lost Hotline – immersive storytelling that invites connection, vulnerability and reflection.
International Showcase Fund
21 UK music creators received support to attend SXSW 2026 through PRS Foundation’s International Showcase Fund, run by PRS Foundation in partnership with Department for Business and Trade, Arts Council England, British Underground, Musicians' Union, Creative Scotland, PPL, Wales Arts International, Arts Council of Northern Ireland and us at the British Council. It offers vital and timely support for artists to take their first steps into international territories by enabling them to perform at key showcasing festivals and conferences.
The artists selected for International Showcase Fund support to attend SXSW this year represent some of the most exciting talent from across the UK making waves and in different genres, including the critically acclaimed and Welsh Music Prize winner, Gwenno, Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition 2024 winner, JayaHadADream and those that very rapidly sold out shows, such as Kofi Stone.
