SXSW London 2025 - Ones to Watch
SXSW London 2025: Festival Overview
South by Southwest has officially arrived in the UK. For the first time in its storied history, the internationally renowned festival has landed in London, transforming Shoreditch into a week-long hub for music, film, tech and culture. Running from June 2nd to 7th, SXSW London is bringing together creatives from across the globe to share ideas, perform live, and premiere original work across hundreds of venues, screens, and stages.
As the festival’s first European edition, SXSW London has a dual focus: celebrating homegrown UK talent and welcoming international voices across disciplines. With talks from global leaders, exclusive film screenings, and a genre-spanning music programme, it promises to be a landmark moment for London’s cultural calendar. It’s a fresh chapter for SXSW, and one that places London’s creative community firmly at the centre.
Music At SXSW London:
From household names to leftfield favourites, SXSW London’s music lineup spans a wide range of styles and scenes. Major names like Tems and Mabel headline the bill, bringing their signature sound and global reach to the stage. Alongside them are artists exploring fresh approaches to songwriting, production, and performance—all contributing to the ever-evolving shape of contemporary music.
The week is packed with over 500 shows across Shoreditch’s most iconic music venues, with each night offering something for everyone: from late-night DJ sets and basement gigs to full-band showcases and genre deep-dives. It’s a programme that values discovery as much as star power, offering the chance to stumble across your next favourite artist in an intimate setting.
Feats. SXSW London Ones-to-Watch:
This year’s debut in London is a prime opportunity to catch rising talent before they break through. Here are three names worth putting on your radar:
Keg – Hailing from Brighton, Keg are a seven-piece ensemble whose chaotic live sets blend punk energy with off-kilter brass and theatrical flair. They’re as much performance art as they are post-punk, and their debut album is already building serious momentum.
Sunday Best – Raw, emotionally charged and impossible to pin down, Sunday Best are part of the new wave of UK underground bands redefining post-hardcore. Their sets are wild, passionate affairs, powered by soaring vocals, wall-of-sound instrumentation, and a sense of catharsis that can’t be faked.
Gender Crisis – London’s Gender Crisis is a four-piece post-hardcore act known for their explosive live shows and genre-defying identity. Blending elements of metalcore and glam-punk, the band leans into contrasts—shifting between visceral intensity and playful, camp aesthetics. Their approach is unapologetic and theatrical, making them a standout voice in the UK’s alternative scene.
Together, these artists reflect just a sliver of what SXSW London has to offer. Throughout the week, audiences will encounter a broad spectrum of new voices shaping the next wave of music across the UK and beyond.
SXSW London Conferences & Panels:
SXSW is internationally known for bringing leaders, creators and innovators from across the globe to hold conferences, panels & answer questions, with SXSW London being no different! The focus is broad but grounded in timely themes: the rise of AI, the future of storytelling, creative entrepreneurship, climate action and how we work in a post-digital world.
This year’s speaker lineup features some of the most influential figures in entertainment and tech: Dan Clancy (CEO of Twitch), Kay Hsu (Head of Creative Lab at Spotify), Tony Harlow (CEO of Warner Music), and Lizzie Dickson (Head of YouTube Music). Expect a mix of thought leadership, trend forecasting, and behind-the-scenes insights from those shaping the cultural industries from the inside out.
Film:
SXSW London’s film programme highlights the growing overlap between music and cinema, curating screenings that showcase creative crossovers and artist-led storytelling. Among the standout titles is Stans, a new documentary co-produced by Eminem that explores fan culture and the evolving relationship between artists and their audiences. Elsewhere, the festival features a retrospective of filmmaker Jenn Nkiru’s work, including the London premiere of her latest film The Great North, adding a visually rich and sonically attuned perspective to the lineup.
These films reflect a wider shift explored in our own piece, From Gigs to Reels: How Artists Are Adapting to the Cinematic Trend. Increasingly, musicians are expanding their creative presence beyond the stage—directing documentaries, starring in narrative films, and capturing the emotional pulse of live performance through cinema. SXSW London offers a timely spotlight on this crossover, blending screenings with post-film discussions and giving audiences the opportunity to explore how artists are navigating both mediums.
Conclusion:
SXSW London is more than just a transplant of a Texas tradition. It’s a reimagining of what a festival can look like in one of the world’s most creative cities. We’re here all week covering the shows, the screenings, the panels and the late-night chaos.
Check back soon for our daily coverage. In the meantime, listen to our curated "Ones-to-Watch" playlist – 25 tracks from emerging artists performing at SXSW London this year.
