SXSW 2022 came with open arms to us as we were excited to attend the event. We have previously been media during the pandemic years as we lived the showcase from home. We were able to travel to Austin and experience a few days of fun, sad, angry, and drunken times with our team and new friends that we met.
My team and I went as Platinum badge holders with media access to nearly all events going on during SXSW. We had an itinerary of places go to such as interviews, meetings, and after parties. We also explored other areas that weren’t on our schedule as they were in walking distance to where we were at. Below is the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly that we experienced during SXSW. We can’t wait to go back next year to SXSW and explore more of the convention through our our eyes.
The Good
- The Music
- The music was so damn good! I enjoyed discovering new musicians such as Jane N The Jungle and Robynn Shayne. Their music is on rotation on my lists when I listen to music. The overall event had so many musicians at each venue ranging from big names to indies. I appreciated all this new music I was able to enjoy at my time during SXSW.
- Film Festival
- The film festival was pretty damn good! I didn’t get to see a film inside Paramount or Drafthouse but on SXSW online, they had films that you can RSVP and watch. The Tony Hawk doc was my favorite as I learned more about him and his plight as a skater in the early 80’s.
- Disney Plus booth
- The Disney Plus booth provided food, drinks and some exciting movies to watch for fans of all ages for free!! I was able to eat some hot dogs and popcorn, drink a few drinks and watch Jungle Cruise, Cruella and Shang-Chi movies. Overall an amazing event that day and experience as well!
- Prime Video
- The combination of Lizzo and The Boys shows marked an outrageous booth that screamed excitement! There was Vought burgers, Lizzo makeovers, merry go rounds, and much more! I was totally blown away on how awesome this area was! Prime Video did an amazing job creating these scenes!
The Bad
- Shuttles
- I thought the shuttle rides were an amazing idea to have for us to use to move around the event freely. The bad part was them not sticking to a damn route. I was on a shuttle for an HOUR trying to get the convention center. The SXSW representative that traveled with the driver kept on going to alternate spots and picking up and dropping off people. I asked a few times why we haven’t gone to the convention center and was told almost there. A previous shuttle ride from Palmer Events Center to Convention Center was only 5 minutes while going through the normal route. This was a horrible situation and nearly got sick in the bus as well.
The Ugly
- Rays Bar NYC X Bumble Event
- This pop up was the worst spot we went to during SXSW. As media, we were given option to interview a few individuals and photograph their mural. Once we got there, we weren’t allowed in, confusion on what we were doing with the “PR People” of the event, and the presentation of the event. The presentation of the actual event looked like a cheap run down house party that I felt like I was back in the hood during my college days. Many people we saw and talked to left after going through their own horror stories there as well. I will not type out their stories here but on SXSW online places, you can read them as well. This by far was the worst event we went to and will not go to ever again!
SXSW overall: 7 out of a 10
Let us know about your SXSW experience in the comments!
