Sips & Sounds Music Festival returns to Auditorium Shores in Austin this March, serving as one of the highlight events during this year’s SXSW. This will be my second year attending, after having an awesome time seeing Halsey and Suki Waterhouse last year.
It is a smaller-scale festival compared to something like ACL, but it still delivers all the energy needed for a full festival experience.
I usually only spotlight the artists I’m looking forward to, but since this lineup is pretty compact each day, I’m more than happy to showcase them all.
The festival kicks off with one of Austin’s own, Skateland, playing the smaller SXSW Stage. The indie bedroom-pop artist got his start in the city, with songs like “Postcards!” being featured in indie publications and playlists.
It’s sure to be a fun hometown festival appearance for him.
Aidan Bissett will be the first to take the main Coca-Cola stage at the festival. His emotional indie-pop sound helped him gain traction on TikTok during COVID, especially with the song, “More than Friends.”
Back on the side stage will be The Two Lips, an indie dreampop pairing whose bedroom sound creates an intimacy that has stuck with their audience. Their viral track, “still love you (todavia)” made numerous Spotify playlists, leading to their major label signing last year and a supporting spot at Sabrina Carpenter’s highly-attended London show.
Ravyn Lenae is the first artist here that I have seen live – I caught her in San Antonio at the March Madness festival – and she’s a strong voice in the alt-R&B scene.
She’s been active for over a decade now, but 2025 was her true breakout year. “Love Me Not” hit the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, followed by a Coachella slot and an opening run on Sabrina Carpenter’s tour.
I can already see the alt-pop sibling duo Between Friends being one of the most high-energy sets of the entire festival. All the energy they’ve had in clips of their live shows is going to translate perfectly to a festival stage, especially with their online Gen Z aesthetic that’s drawn more people to them over the years since COVID.
I’ve heard Major Lazer for quite a while now, but when I read “Major Lazer Soundsystem” on the lineup, I was absolutely confused as to what this “Soundsystem” aspect meant. It’s the name they use for their live shows with full production, lighting, and choreography.
The DJ duo of Diplo and Switch is no mystery to making hits, such as “Lean On,” with their Latin and Caribbean sounds mixed in with their signature EDM that has earned them massive worldwide appeal.
I’m admittedly mostly familiar with Grouplove through one of the great indie songs of the 2010s, “Tongue Tied.” It made its way onto several Billboard charts and shot the band up the ranks of 2010s indie bands.
That era of music is still such an enjoyable time to listen to, so I know it’ll be a blast seeing them close down the SXSW stage.
Getting Christina Aguilera to headline the Friday night of the festival is gonna be a real party. I can’t recall the last time she’s played Austin or even been on tour, so it’ll be cool to get a rare performance here.
From her No. 1 hits to close the ‘90s like “Genie in a Bottle” and “What a Girl Wants,” her vocals and influence are still felt today, making this a full pop star moment to close the night out.
Heading into Saturday, Caroline Hale is set to open things up. The San Antonio-born, now Austin-based singer released her debut record at 21 years old, putting her squarely into Texas’s alt-folk scene.
Since then, she’s played the lovely Stable Hall, the iconic Gruene Hall, and now a spot at a hometown festival.
My friends rarely fail to put me on to artists, and Mallrat’s one of those I’ve heard from them that I’ve yet to check out. She’s an alt-pop artist hailing from Australia, building a true fanbase with the younger crowd there.
I’ve got a feeling she’ll really be able to attract the U.S. crowd with her set here.
Jade LeMac is another young musician who caught fire on TikTok, but it wasn’t even initially with music content that did it. It was through her personality that fans first got to know her.
She used that platform to promote her music, including her debut single, “Constellations,” which became a viral hit, leading to a Lollapalooza appearance and now a spot at Sips & Sounds.
I still remember “Until I Found You” blowing up like it was yesterday. Stephen Sanchez was posting snippets and covers on social media when he released the aforementioned song, and it quickly climbed the charts. The romantic themes resonated with not just the younger generation but even the older crowd, feeling the nostalgia of the song.
It established Sanchez as a modern crooner, with that vintage romantic aesthetic being exactly what he’s bringing to the Coca-Cola stage.
The most interesting origin story I found for any of these bands was The Runarounds. The band members were assembled through a casting call for a fictional band for the Netflix show, “Outer Banks,” but they stayed together as a band outside the show and put out some indie-rock music. They even landed their own scripted show at Amazon, further adding to the reality-versus-fiction debate surrounding the band.
The reality is they’re getting people talking, and now we’ll get to see them live at Sips & Sounds.
I caught Foster the People at Emo’s leading up to ACL Fest 2024, and it was an awesome show. They’ve been elite since their Grammy-nominated album, “Torches,” in the early 2010s, featuring hits like “Pumped Up Kicks,” “Houdini,” and “Helena Beat” — all still hitting just as hard today.
They’ve kept their success going throughout the decade with songs like “Sit Next to Me” proving that the indie band makes a consistently great sound, and they’re set to show that again at Sips & Sounds.
I briefly saw Flipturn at ACL 2024 – I was mostly hiding from the blazing afternoon heat under a tree that offered only temporary relief. I wasn’t able to see much of the band, so I’m glad to get that chance now.
They built their momentum early in their home state of Florida, growing nationwide by touring with other indie bands like Two Door Cinema Club and Mt. Joy, and hitting huge festivals like Lollapalooza, pulling songs from their albums “Shadowglow” and “Burnout Days” that are both well-loved in the indie scene.
Calvin Harris is set to close this year’s Sips & Sounds, turning downtown Austin into an absolute riot. I always thought that if he’d ever play Austin, it’d have to be at ACL, so I’m shocked and equally excited to see him here.
He’s got so many hits that it could make for its own article. He’s been producing for over 20 years now, first establishing himself in the UK’s electronic scene before becoming a global star in the early 2010s with songs like “Feel So Close” and “We Found Love” with Rihanna.
He evolved into the late 2010s with his “Funk Wav Bounces” albums, whose disco-funk sound is still perfect for high-school summer vibes. No matter the era he’s playing from, it’s going to be insane to watch him shut Auditorium Springs down.
This year’s Sips & Sounds Festival feels intentional in what it’s offering fans, diving deep into 2010s indie and EDM while also featuring artists that Gen Z is tapped into right now. I love the identity the festival is shaping this year, and I’m ecstatic to be back at Auditorium Shores to experience it firsthand.
