ASCAP Wraps-Up SXSW 2026 With Rock, Pop, Latin and Film Music Members Riding High

By Erik Philbrook, ASCAP Editor in Chief  •  March 20, 2026

The 2026 edition of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music and Film Festivals wrapped up this week in Austin, Texas, reflecting both the enduring cultural power of the event and a moment of transition for one of the world’s most influential creative gatherings. First launched in 1987, SXSW has now been running for nearly four decades, evolving from a regional music showcase into a global convergence of film, music, technology and media.

ASCAP has long partnered with SXSW over the years, presenting showcases, co-sponsoring the SXSW Songs camp, hosting happy hours and creating space for our ASCAP members at the festival to get together and network.

This year ASCAP presented a panel at the film conference: How SXSW Film Composers Are Redefining Cinema Featuring Bear McCreary. Acclaimed composer McCreary has won three Emmy Awards, including two for Disney’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians and one for his theme for Da Vinci’s Demons, a musical palindrome. He also has won 12 International Film Music Critics Association Awards. Among his top credits are The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power; Foundation; Outlander; Godzilla: King of the Monsters; The Walking Dead; and Netflix’s Crip Camp.

Pictured (l-r) ASCAP’s Mike Todd, composers Paul Leonard-Morgan, Marius de Vries, Bear McCreary and Charles Humenry with ASCAP’s Shawn LeMone (Photo by Erik Philbrook)
Pictured (l-r) ASCAP’s Mike Todd, composers Paul Leonard-Morgan, Marius de Vries, Bear McCreary and Charles Humenry with ASCAP’s Shawn LeMone (Photo by Erik Philbrook)

The panel celebrated ASCAP composers with films screening at SXSW 2026, and featured Paul Leonard-Morgan (Pretty Lethal), Marius de Vries (The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist) and Charles Humenry (Downbeat). They shared what tools, approaches and learnings they’ve gained in their careers and attendees were treated to film clips from each of their SXSW films with commentary on how they scored those scenes.

The SXSW Film & TV Festival remains a premier launch platform for independent and studio-backed projects. The 2026 Film & TV Festival featured nearly 120 films along with episodic premieres and competitions.

Two highly anticipated music docs featuring ASCAP members had their world premieres at the festival. They included Netflix’s Noah Kahan: Out of Body – an intimate, behind-the-scenes documentary that follows the singer-songwriter during a pivotal stretch of his life and career, and Jack Johnson’s Surfilmusic – a laid-back, deeply personal doc that traces Johnson’s journey from Hawaiian surfer to filmmaker to globally successful musician. Both Kahan and Johnson performed surprise shows to promote their films.

Historically, SXSW has served as a launchpad for emerging talent while still hosting established names. This year a wide range of top ASCAP members performed on some of the biggest stages across Austin – from Grammy Award-winning UK singer-songwriter Lola Young, who performed at Rolling Stone Future of Music showcase to The All-American Rejects, the pop-punk stalwarts who headlined SXSW’s Opening Night Party at Stubb’s BBQ to Alanis Morissette and St. Vincent who performed at Spotify’s 20th Anniversary Concert, also at Stubb’s. Other high-profile ASCAP music creators lighting up stages included Jessie Murph, Diplo, Major Lazer, Grouplove, Calvin Harris, Steve Aoki, Mike Posner and Orville Peck.

The 2026 festival also continued the hybrid approach of emphasizing discovery, international diversity, and supporting local Austin talent. ASCAP members representing diverse genres of music and regions included Tune-Yards, whose members Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner scored the SXSW Film Festival’s opening film, I Love Boosters, directed by acclaimed director Boots Riley; Lena Dardelet, the French/Dominican singer-songwriter who beautifully combines bachata into modern Latin pop songs; Mosmo, a new voice reshaping regional Mexican music; Angela Autumn – a rising Americana music artist from Nashville blending Appalachian twang with country rock buzz; Feet, a British indie rock band known for their energetic, wonky sound; and local Austin favorites, SugaRee & Cold Sweat and legendary singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist Charlie Sexton, among many others.

Local Austin superstar SugaRee and the Cold Sweats perform at the South by San Jose Showcase (Photo by Erik Philbrook)
Local Austin superstar SugaRee and the Cold Sweats perform at the South by San Jose Showcase (Photo by Erik Philbrook)

Although this year’s SXSW spanned fewer days, the event is still massive in scope, with over 300,000 participants attending across all conference tracks. SXSW remains a vital launchpad for music, film and creative innovation worldwide.

ASCAP was thrilled to highlight and celebrate our members in the “Live Music Capital of the World” this year and proud of our longstanding support for SXSW’s core mission.

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