Artists to Watch from SXSW 2020
Say hello to the eight artists we were most excited to see at this year’s music festival.
Written by Annie Lyons
Photos courtesy of Jinni J., Parisalexa, and Kane Hibberd
Each year, the South by Southwest music festival is a veritable hotbed for new talents with a reputation for putting deserving artists on the map. While this year’s SXSW was cancelled due to well-founded concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, we thought it was still a worthy endeavor to share the artists we’d hoped to see.
In an alternate universe, we’d be spending these final few days on the SXSW schedule out in the Texas sun, falling in love with new music. But we’re hoping to bring the festival’s sense of discovery to you at home with our Artists to Watch list and playlist.
While we might have to wait a little while longer to hear them in person, here’s an introduction to some artists who might not have found their way onto your playlists yet. We’ve picked our eight standouts from the roughly 1,500 artists on the SXSW 2020 line-up. They encompass everything from bouncy R&B to aggressive surf punk and offer up careful introspections on every topic under the sun: mental health, summer flings, and self-acceptance.
To discover even more acts, check out our full SXSW playlist, which highlights 50 artists from this year’s line-up.
Ali Barter
Photo courtesy of Kane Hibberd
Australian artist Ali Barter crafts coming-of-age movie soundtrack perfection with her latest album, Hello, I’m Doing My Best. With its early 2000s and 1990s pop-punk sound, the album is instantly nostalgic for the teen movies of the time. Hello, I’m Doing My Best also has the narrative to match, with the sober Barter reflecting on her past alcoholism and turbulent youth. The lyrics are sometimes brutal in their honesty: in “Cocktail Bar,” she sings, “Dumped out on the lawn again / I don't know my name.” While she doesn’t gloss over rough details, Barter treats her younger self with care, and the songs benefit from her time-earned perspective.
Yet while the album focuses on mostly dark times, Barter’s tone isn’t one note. In “Ur A Piece Of Sh-t,” she pays homage to the female friendships that helped her weather past struggles. The song is catchy and playful, featuring the tongue-in-cheek rhyme of “We went from gateway drugs / to class-A drugs” and a cheerleader-esque chant listing adolescent traumas.
Discover more Ali Barter on her website.
Christelle Bofale
Photo courtesy of Jinni J.
Against a backdrop of lustrous guitars and dreamy jazz notes, Christelle Bofale offers an intimate examination of mental health in her debut EP. The Austin artist draws inspiration from the Congolese musical heritage of her family for her introspective indie rock with folk and soul sensibilities. Swim Team, released May 2019, flows gracefully from track to track. In opener “Moving On, Getting On,” Bofale repeats the simple but powerful mantra of the title, each luxuriously stretched out word setting the deliberate and unhurried pace of the record. Bofale is comfortable taking her time. The sprawling seven-and-a-half minute “U Ouchea” ripples in on itself, and again, and again. Bofale’s voice is soft and full, navigating difficult subject matter but still finding points of healing.
In her latest release, the stripped-down single “Miles,” she sings, “Seems like nobody’s scared enough / Seems like nobody cares enough.” The song tackles generational anxieties, but Bofale is not without hope, finding solidarity in those who feel the same.
Discover more Christelle Bofale on her Bandcamp.
Field Medic
Photo courtesy of Field Medic
“I need a cigarette / Those f---ers talked over my whole set / but I don't have any time to reflect / I gotta sell some shirts / to try & make the rent” — and so begins fade into the dawn, the latest album from lo-fi folk artist Field Medic. The solo project of Los Angeles artist Kevin Parker, Field Medic is a self-described “freak folk poet” who offers sometimes wry, sometimes hopeful observations of his anxieties and fantasies.
His acoustic arrangements are sparse but varied. “tournament horseshoe” taps along to a rollicking banjo and the especially wistful “mood ring baby” opens with a despondent harmonica. The bedroom production lends Parker’s work a hushed, intimate feel and lets his poetry take the spotlight. While Parker’s lyrics tend to bleed into the melancholy, his sensitivity is his strength. And just as the opener “used 2 be a romantic” subverts the romantic image of being an artist in its depiction of grueling tour life, fade into the dawn finds power — and hope — in its soul-baring honesty.
Discover more Field Medic on his website.
Katie Pruitt
Photo courtesy of Alysse Gafkjen
Nashville singer-songwriter Katie Pruitt possesses a voice that’s an instrument all on its own. On her debut album, Expectations, Pruitt’s voice effortlessly glides from soft affections to well-seasoned grit. Her country sound has an indie rock feel built around spirited guitars and her captivating voice. Released this February, Expectations reflects on Pruitt’s experiences growing up gay in suburban Georgia and learning how to shed the expectations that others pin on her.
In “Loving Her,” Pruitt details the healthy relationship she’s found and her growth to a place where she can unabashedly celebrate it. She sings, “You see I used to be ashamed / To write a song that said her name” before telling anyone who doesn’t like the song to “turn the damn thing off.” Pruitt gains momentum throughout the track, her voice tender yet self-assured, until the end where one of her final notes soars gloriously and shamelessly into the sky.
Discover more Katie Pruitt on her website.
MICHELLE
Photo courtesy of MICHELLE
On their intoxicating debut HEATWAVE, Brooklyn pop collective MICHELLE pens a love letter to a sticky New York summer. The city makes a compelling backdrop for the record’s vignettes about summer love, complete with references to the Q-train and “streetcar mango, with Cholula” — but the real treat comes from the group’s lush and synth-laden sound. Produced by Julian Kaufman and Charlie Kilgore, HEATWAVE was recorded in just two weeks in Kaufman’s bedroom, with vocals and songwriting from Emma Lee, Layla Ku, Sofia D’Angelo, and Jamee Lockard. The resulting record defies genre with its shimmering bass lines, jazzy flourishes, and silky R&B vocals over danceable beats.
Eclectic and youthful energy suits MICHELLE. In the twinkling “IDEAL,” the dreamy imagery of “kissing by the fountain in the moonlight” transitions halfway through the track into a spoken-word monologue paying homage to the furry, skittering “rat-volution” in the subway tracks. One of the album’s catchiest tracks, “STUCK ON U” details an on-off relationship that doubles as a metaphor for the band’s relationship with the city — by the end, it’s hard not to be stuck on MICHELLE too.
Discover more MICHELLE on their Spotify.
Parisalexa
Photo courtesy of Parisalexa
Parisalexa weaves together sunny R&B songs that focus on her growth and positivity with a delightful self-assuredness. The Seattle-based Paris Alexa Williams, who performs under the nickname, builds upon bouncy ‘90s-inspired R&B full of boom bap drums. While the retro element provides the foundation for her sound, she brings a fresh perspective with a pop sheen and smooth vocals.
In the memorable 2017 single “Like Mariah,” Parisalexa pays homage to the pop R&B scene that precedes her, while also asserting her own unique talents and sound. Over a buoyant beat, she sings with a contagious cockiness, “You tell me I'm the best and I'm the one you tryna marry / Tell me why you so obsessed I'm feeling like Mariah Carey.” Warm and breezy, “Chocolate” is Parisalexa’s feel-good anthem that sets the blueprint for the confidence of her artistry. She rejoices in her power, singing, “I got the magic, dreamed up what I want then I grabbed it.”
Discover more Parisalexa on her website.
The Paranoyds
Photo courtesy of The Paranoyds
Los Angeles punk outfit The Paranoyds swagger and snarl their way through their debut album Carnage Bargain. The record’s 10 tracks careen around like a pinball machine, just barely reining in a delicious chaos. The Paranoyds draw from an assortment of influences — Southern California surf punk, garage rock, horror movie soundtracks — letting the sounds bleed together in dizzying layers. There’s a clear old-school appeal that channels ‘70s punk and groups like The B-52’s.
The Paranoyds is composed of bassist Staz Lindes, guitarist Lexi Funston, keyboardist Laila Hashemi, and drummer David Ruiz, with Lindes and Funston taking the spotlight on vocals. Over hypnotic bass lines, Lindes and Funston switch between disaffected malaise and biting cockiness. In “Heather Doubtfire,” they repeatedly moan with bored exhaustion, “It’s the same damn trick.” But The Paranoyds’ I-don’t-care punkish attitude finds coolness not in nihilism, but in the band’s confidence that they’ve already carved out a space for themselves. On the standout track “Girlfriend Degree,” they sing: “(I'm not) just a face among the scene … (I'm not) another girlfriend groupie.”
Discover more The Paranoyds on their Bandcamp.
Yung Baby Tate
Photo courtesy of Christian Cody
In standout track “That Girl” off her debut album, GIRLS, Yung Baby Tate introduces herself with unmatched bravado, singing, “Woke up feeling awfully cocky / Who the f-ck gon' stop me? Baby, I'm a job, you a hobby.” And her confidence is well-earned. The Atlanta-based artist boasts a lot of titles — singer, producer, songwriter, rapper — and a magnetic persona as she raps with evident glee and crafts a concept for every release. Each of her three previous EPs all have clear themes, from the rainbow on 2015’s ROYGBIV to her 2016 Christmas EP, XMAS, and the self-descriptive BOYS in 2018.
Released February 2019, GIRLS is Tate’s latest era, pink-hued and vibrant. The album sees Tate cycle through different facets of her femininity through 11 tracks all with the eponymous moniker: “Lover Girl,” “Cozy Girl,” “Play Girl.” Tate showcases her versatility from Nicki Minaj-esque bars to glossy vocals with production that dabbles in 2000s pop and futuristic electro beats. The album’s features are sparse but deliberately chosen. Tate surrounds herself with fellow Black female rappers and singers, including BbyMutha and Baby Rose, cementing GIRLS’ status as a no-judgement celebration of Black womanhood.
Discover more Yung Baby Tate on her website.
During these next few months, fan support for lesser known artists is crucial. Keep discovering and sharing the music you love. If you’re in a fortunate financial position, buy music and merch to help artists continue to create.