eatin’ and earin’ at sxsw 2023

We missed three years of South by South West due to the pandemic (2020 and 2021) and a trip to Iceland to see our favorite band’s 25th reunion concert (gusgus, 2022), but we were in town for this year’s event.

Several things have changed, and not for the better. The hotels that used to host KUTX’s and ACL Radio’s morning showcases came under new ownership which no longer wanted to host the stations’ SXSW events, more venues have gone under the wrecking ball of hi-rise gentrification, not as many off-venue events, and the crowds weren’t nearly as thick–the latter two, I reckon, are part of the continuing post-covid hangover. Fortunately, Hotel Vegas still hosts its punk shindigs and South by San Jose still had their’s, but many must-visit places (Waterloo, Whole Foods, and ye olde Yard Dog, to name a few) did not host this year.

We traded in our traditional KUTX morning shows for ACL Radio’s shows since the latter were indoors (a wise choice, it turned out). ACL Radio’s new venue, their play-two-songs-now-get-off-the-stage format, and free wifi worked well and made for relaxing mornings (barring the 5am wake-up calls). Hotel Van Zandt‘s tacos and hospitality weren’t as good as the Four Seasons, but they put on a good show.

After listening to tunes from 8am til noon, we then ventured out to different places for brunch, including Austin Taco Project (still darn good), TLV at Fareground (stunningly good), and Maie Day (really good). We ended our days at SXSW-sanctioned happy-hour hotel shows at Cannon + Belle (Hilton Austin), The Corner Bar (JW Marriott Austin), and Fulton (Fairmont Austin). As a hangover cure (we really didn’t drink that much…), we enjoyed Jewish migas at JewBoy Sub Shop, somehow managing to walk there!

Food and fave photos below. See you next year!