SXSW Recap: Montreal Music Down South

It has been exactly a month since I, along with the CJLO music team, returned from Austin, Texas for SXSW 2025. In that time, I have been trying to form my takeaways from this year’s festival, in a way that is more substantial than ‘Woo! Fun!’ I assume my job there (other than shaking hands with label reps)  is to act as a bit of a trend correspondent. With that, here are some of my music director takeaways from this year’s SXSW. 

SXSW 2025 was Montreal’s year. For a while, I was apprehensive about declaring this outright. I mean, I’m pretty biased right? I know all these names, interviewed some, personally know some more, of course I think these local artists have the best albums. But, on the ground in Austin I can safely say Montreal was on everyone’s lips. On several instances I’d be by myself, standing in line for a taco or a branded tote bag, and I’d overhear some American or British exec-types brandishing their music badges talking about how “you just have to see La Securite” or “the best show I’ve seen all week are these kids Truck Violence.” This is no accident, Mothland Records sent a lot of artists and co-hosted multiple packed showcases. When I ran into labelhead JP Bourgeois on Thursday, he showed me his excel sheet of all their artists’ showcases, tallying several dozens. Lots of Redbull and Vitamin C suppliments, I assume.

Truck Violence threw especially memorable shows, stage diving, screaming, playing with Canadian flags, and more. The band’s mix of hardcore and bluegrass instrumentation, inspired by their Alberta lineages, was a big hit with the Texas crowds. Montreal’s punk scene is chugging up towards a real boom, and bands like Truck Violence and Alix Fernz’ showcases at SXSW showed just that. 

The best part of SXSW is the ability to jump between shows, all just a few steps from each other. Armed with the SXSW app (even when it would log me out randomly), I would make my itinerary in the morning and try to jam in as many showcases as possible, making sure not to miss any SX artist I planned on seeing. In the span of a bit over an hour, I was able to catch Hiding Places, Golom B, Her New Knife, who all gave great sets. I especially enjoyed Her New Knife, who make really discordent, atonal shoegaze, which is refreshing to see in the over-saturated market of Zoomer gazers, many of the lesser which were also at the festival.

A highlight for me was the Brooklyn Vegan showcase on the Thursday. In the spacious outdoor venue of The Mohawk, bands from New York and beyond played an indie-dominant showcase. The first I caught was Brooklyn-duo fantasy of a broken heart, who were one of my top picks going into the fest. I had seen them a few days prior in the much-too-small Chess Club, but their sound filled the Mohawk outdoor perfectly, showcasing their psychy indie pop. The venue’s layout was perfect. At this point, I had wandered away from fellow CJLOers, and had found myself a nice perch on the railing looking over the side of the stage. It was a balmy 28 degrees, I was in jorts, drinking a lovely beverage, living my Brooklyn Vegan hipster fantasy. Cue “We needed this” gif.  Later, joined back by other CJLOers, I saw Mary in the Junkyard whose ambient, slow shoegaze set a great late-night mood. 

Later, indoors, I caught local Austin slowcore band Shallowater. They were such a hidden little surprise, playing a very lowkey set. Their album There is a Well has been on repeat for me ever since. It is the sort of melodic slow indie that fans of Horse Jumper of Love or Midwife would love. 

SXSW does its planning and logistics right. Short sets in showcases with lots of genre variety, it is impossible to not stumble upon at least a few new bands you love just randomly. With many of these showcases free to the public, the city opens up with industry yuppies (like myself) meshing in with local concert goers to experience some truly unique shows. This model is something our local festivals could take a note from. 

While rumours of plans to cut the music festival at SXSW have recently been squashed, the festival has been getting smaller and smaller with each passing year. As an attendee, the experience still felt very full— there will always be way more showcases than any individual could ever attend. However, with SXSW’s dozens of hefty corporate sponsorships and boats of money highlighting every Silicon Valley bro who wants to be the next Elon Musk, why not focus a bit more of those resources back in the fesitval that made their name in the first place? Though SXSW has changed a lot over the years, and seeing a Rivian ad every ten feet does not really inspire confidence, the music festival portion remains an exciting incubator for great new talent.  

Aviva Majerczyk is the head music director at CJLO 1690AM. She is also the host of The Alley, a folk-rock show airing Fridays at 11:00 AM.