Our navigation plan for all the badge-holders out ther

Yeah, yeah, free shows are awesome, but you’ve got a badge, so why front? Ditch your friends at the house show and enjoy all the free beer you can get. SXSW is your oyster. Here’s a few badge-required, non-free showcases we find particularly exciting.

Tuesday

Pitchfork Showcase, Mohawk

Say what you want about the world’s premiere indie music tastemaker, they put together a pretty mean SXSW showcase every year. Plucking some of the best acts just on the other side of breaking through, it’ll be the hippest place to be on a Tuesday evening.

Lineup

Inside:

Light Asylum (Brooklyn, NY)
Tycho (San Francisco, CA)
Sun Araw (Los Angeles, CA)
ScHoolboy Q (Los Angeles, CA)
Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire (Brooklyn, NY)

Outside:

Trust (Toronto, ON)
Star Slinger (Manchester, England)
Cloud Nothings (Cleveland, OH)
Matthew Dear (Brooklyn, NY)
Teengirl Fantasy (New York, NY)
Bear in Heaven (Brooklyn, NY)

Wednesday

Metal Sucks, Barbarella patio

Arguably the best metal blog on the internet, Metal Sucks are curating a wicked-good showcase of some of the most artistically sound metal acts on the planet. If all this lily-livered indie-rock ain’t doing it for you, your best bet is letting High on Fire hollow out your head in the early AM.

Lineup

MonstrO (Atlanta, GA)
Holy Grail (Los Angeles, CA)
Black Tusk (Savannah, GA)
Intronaut (Los Angeles, CA)
Nachtmystium (Chicago, IL)
Darkest Hour (Washington, DC)
High On Fire (Oakland, CA)

Sacred Bones, Elysium

If you want some harshness without the black-on-black wardrobe and surly attitude, your best bet is the Sacred Bones showcase. A sturdy, Brooklyn-based label, their roster teeters on the murky dark without going overboard.

Lineup

Wymond Miles (San Francisco, CA)
Led Er Est (New York, NY)
Amen Dunes (New York, NY)
Zola Jesus (Merrill, WI)
Psychic Ills (New York, NY)
The Men (New York, NY)

Thursday

Mexican Summer, Red 7

One of the most eclectic labels in the country, Mexican Summer’s projects range from gloomy drone to warbled, reconfigured funk. Make sure you’re at Red 7 if you want to look cool.

Lineup

Mike Wexler (Brooklyn, NY)
Quilt (Boston, MA)
The Fresh & Onlys (San Francisco, CA)
Peaking Lights (Madison, WI)
Light Asylum (Brooklyn, NY)
Oneohtrix Point Never (Brooklyn, NY)

Barsuk, Red Eyed Fly

Barsuk, the longtime indie-rock imprint, are the guys responsible for bringing the world Death Cab for Cutie’s The Photo Album. Since then they’ve remained one of the most underappreciated labels in modern perception. OG status abound if you make it to their showcase.

Lineup

Say Hi (Seattle, WA)
Yellow Ostrich (Brooklyn, NY)
Ramona Falls (Portland, OR)
Laura Gibson (Portland, OR)
Nada Surf (Brooklyn, NY)
Cymbals Eat Guitars (Staten Island, NY)
Maps & Atlases (Chicago, IL)

Friday

Japan Nite, Elysium

Around this part of the week you’ll be looking for something a little different than the usual indie-rock chaff, and you’re in luck! The good folks at Elysium put together a number of acts imported straight out of the land of the rising sun.

Lineup

The Rubies (from the Emeralds) (Yokohama, Japan)
The Akabane Vulgars on Strong Bypass (Tokyo, Japan)
Kao=S (Kamirenjaku, Japan)
NOKIES! (Minamihorie, Japan)
Saito Johnny (Tokyo, Japan)
ZZZ’s (Kobe, Japan)
Vampillia (Tenjinmachi, Japan)

Saturday

Stay home, open a beer, and relax. Most of the big acts have already gone home. You deserve the break, you SXSW warrior, you.

Luke Winkie