If You Know You Know
Before I became the Photography Director at SXSW, I started out as a volunteer back in 2002. I was the Directional Signs Crew Chief, which meant that I created all of the signage. My happy place is behind the scenes, and it was so much fun to be a small piece of that huge production. I was working in advertising at the time, which wasn’t particularly fulfilling, but having access to the printers at the agency was (so I could print out SXSW signs at midnight!). Volunteering turned into a full time job, and that turned into a 20-year career.
After all these years, the photo request I get the most is always the same: “If you can just find this one photo that encapsulates everything that South by Southwest is, that’d be great.” I’m here to tell you that it’s literally impossible, but if I had to choose an overall vibe, it’s wonder—except wonder needs a taxonomy where you can nest things like discovery and serendipity; that happenstance, the secret sauce where people from different industries come together and create things. You’ll never know who you’re going to run into in a line or who you’ll see tonight, but it’s guaranteed that it’s going to be wild, crazy, amazing, and impeccably curated. Whether it’s Innovation sessions, films, music showcases, brand activations; you’ll meet someone or see something that you’ve never heard of before. For all that to be in one place at one time and you literally have access to all of it? That’s crazy. That’s better than the internet.
In 1986, a group of Austin music scene friends, including SXSW founders Roland Swenson and Louis Jay Meyers went up to the New Music Seminar in NYC and said, “we can totally do this back home.” So in 1987, they launched the festival as a way to promote local musicians and populate the bars on Sixth street that were hurting during spring break (way before it was “Dirty 6th”). Back then, Austin was a college town. There was UT and the state government, and that was it. So nobody was around during spring break. So they filled up these venues with incredible local and regional acts and invited a bunch of music industry professionals to speak and attend.
And since 2026 marks 40 years of this homegrown event, I figured I’d go into the archives and showcase the elements of wonder through some of the most iconic images our photographers have captured throughout the years.
[For an even deeper dive into the history of the festival, check out THE ULTIMATE SXSW TIMELINE]
SX in the Nineties
photo by Courtesy of SXSW
Pre-convention center days, SXSW had all of the Conference sessions at the Hyatt Regency, south of the river. This is a standing-room-only Music Conference session from ‘92 with a bunch of A&R reps. My favorite parts of this photo are the over-the-top ballroom chandeliers and this group down here in the lower right hand corner. Their hair is amazing. That era was amazing. There’s something funny about going to a music session that feels corporate, even though it wasn’t.
If I had to choose an overall vibe that encapsulates SXSW, it's wonder... That happenstance, the secret sauce where people from different industries come together and create things.
Working at SXSW has always felt like being behind the scenes of it all. If you’re somebody who always wanted to work in the movies or the music industry or become a prop master—you’re now running merch for some big band or capturing something on camera. We get to interact with it all behind the scenes. We’re the crew of people who like to be behind the camera. We’re the roadies. We’re the merch guys. The PAs and line producers and location scouts because they’re the ones who do it best.
photo by Mark Kates
Guest, Mark Kates, Johnny Cash and Beck prior to performing at Emo's during SXSW in Austin, Texas (1994)
SXSW: the only place you’ll see Johnny Cash open for Beck.
It’s 1994 at the original Emo’s downtown, right on the corner of Red River and Sixth street. Johnny Cash was the Keynote speaker that year and played an early set at Emo’s, followed by Beck. This was maybe two weeks after the album “Mellow Gold” came out. SXSW: the only place you’ll see Johnny Cash open for Beck.
Many years later, I saw Beck when he played at a high school here in town and he told a story about this night at Emo’s. He had said that he was so nervous and his performance was a disaster (his mic stand fell and hit an audience member in the head). He walked off stage into the grungy, tiny “green room” and there was this really tall dude that was extremely enthusiastic and kept telling him, “you're the fucking punk rock revolution, man.” Then he handed Beck a free mason coin and left. Beck had no idea who he was. He later learned it was Gibby Haynes from The Butthole Surfers.
SX Serendipity
Imagine a conference session on the topic of independent filmmaking in the ‘90s where the line-up on the dais was Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Richard Linklater, Kevin Smith, Mike Judge, Steven Soderbergh, and George Huang.
photo by Theresa DiMenno
Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, and Richard Linklater (1997)
photo by Theresa DiMenno
Kevin Smith, Mike Judge, Steven Soderbergh, and George Huang (1997)
That was just one of the Film Conference sessions from 1997. I remember when I first saw photos of this session I kept squinting at them as if that would help me believe what I was seeing. Imagine trying to put that session together today!
In pre-internet times, SXSW was a chronicle of what was going on around the world, but also right here in Texas. In 1991, Texas’s coolest Governor Ann Richards stopped by to open the festival with welcoming remarks and found time to hang out with Keynote speaker Rosanne Cash. I’ve always wondered what this Americana icon and Texas legend were talking about when this photo was made.
photo by Theresa DiMenno
Governor Anne Richards and Roseanne Cash.
Courtney Love was a Keynote in 2002, and she was still on a hot mic in the bathroom. So that was interesting. I’ve never seen an audio engineer move so fast.
photo by Gary Miller
2002 Keynote speaker, Courtney Love
The meeting of House Stark and House Biden was a totally unscripted moment in 2017. Biden’s stint as Vice President had just ended and he was here to promote his cancer initiative with Dr. Jill Biden. Game of Thrones was at peak popularity, and Dr. Jill was a superfan. The two sessions were scheduled at the same time in rooms next to each other, so the groups met during their pre-session step-and-repeat photos. I swear it was not programmed that way just to get this photo. Purely a case of SX Serendipity.
photo by Amy E. Price
(L-R) "Game of Thrones" writer/director producer D.B. Weiss, actress Sophie Turner, Vice President Joe Biden, actress Maisie Williams, Dr. Jill Biden and writer/director producer David Benioff during the 2017 SXSW Conference and Festivals.
Game Changers
This is the kind of photo that’s only incredible when you look back. In March of 2007, Twitter – a nascent short-form publishing platform – came to SXSW and put up two big monitors at the Austin Convention Center displaying a steady flow of “tweets” with signage that encouraged attendees to sign up. For some technology context, that was back when we were all T9 texting on our Nokia bricks because we were still three months away from the very first iPhone being sold in stores. Twitter entered the SXSW Web Awards and beat out four other finalists including BuzzFeed for the top prize in the Blog category. Biz Stone, Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Jason Goldman came out on stage but it was Jack Dorsey who accepted the award, saying “I would like to thank everyone in 140 characters or less … and I just did.”
photo by Jay West
Biz Stone, Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Jason Goldman, and MC Ze Frank at the SXSW Web Awards (2007)
It was 2016 and Barack Obama was a sitting president, so he rolled up to the Long Center in “the Beast” for his Keynote on the first day of SXSW, roads closed all along his route. Security at the venue was multi-layered with metal detectors, canine units and under-vehicle inspections. But no one was fazed and once you got inside, it was like rock-star level energy. Same energy five days later, when Michelle Obama came to promote her “Let Girls Learn” initiative with Queen Latifah, Missy Elliot, Sophia Bush, and Diane Warren. Prep for a visit with the President and First Lady is a master class in coordination. We might even still be on the Secret Service Christmas card list.
photo by Neilson Barnard
President Barack Obama speaks at the opening Keynote during the 2016 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival.
photo by Neilson Barnard
First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama speaks onstage at SXSW Keynote: Michelle Obama (2016)
HOW YOU DO SXSW ONLINE?
2021 was the height of the pandemic and the year SXSW was entirely online. My job usually involves coordinating a big group of photographers who are capturing almost 1,000 in-person events, but that year it was just me pulling screengrabs from live streams and recorded video. Scrubbing through Zoom-style panels and film Q&As to find a frame where no one looked like they were awkwardly mid-sentence was a huge challenge. But so much personality came through when everyone’s background was something they chose in their own space.
photo by SXSW
clipping. performs during SXSW Online on March 20, 2021.
It was such a unique experience, because everyone had to figure out how to do it on the fly, but no one in the world is better at that than SXSW. So we did a music showcase where bands would send multi-song videos and were allowed to be as creative as they wanted to be. There were traditional performances but there were also Swedish death metal bands running through the forest with a handheld camera, and you’re thinking: What am I watching? And then NPR ran with it and did these beautiful shoots. That’s the most I’ve ever attended SX in 20 years.
The Joy of Everything and Everyone All Back At Once
It was March 2022: The pandemic wasn’t quite done with us but we’d learned to cope. Everyone was masked. There was a dedicated Covid testing center in an exhibit hall at the Austin Convention Center. But we were back IRL and the joy was off the charts. Setting up one of the best SX’s ever, the opening night film for the Film & TV Festival was Everything Everywhere All At Once. Attendees were freaking out over how good the film was. We have so many incredible photos from that premiere. There’s a portrait of Jamie Lee Curtis in the green room by Rich Fury that would destroy you, it’s so amazing. But the photos that truly tell the story of that premiere are from the Film & TV Opening Party afterwards.
photo by Rich Fury
Jamie Lee Curtis poses for a portrait at the premiere of "Everything Everywhere All At Once" during the 2022 SXSW Conference and Festivals at The Paramount Theater on March 11, 2022.
photo by Amy E. Price
Harry Shum Jr., Jenny Slate, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Daniel Kwan, Michelle Yeoh, Daniel Scheinert, and Jamie Lee Curtis
The entire cast and the Daniels posted up at the party’s step and repeat and went wild (and then went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture). While it’s clear they were celebrating gifting that wonderful work of art to the world, to me that series of photos also looks like a celebration of everyone getting to be together again.
We can’t wait to see you in Austin this March! In the meantime, plan your schedule and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn , TikTok , and Bluesky to learn about the latest announcements.