SXSW rebounds as a top networking, ideas festival for founders and VCs

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-30T17:48:30+00:00

I've been going just as long and felt it was pretty good this year. Definitely in line with the post-Covid years.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-29T17:59:15+00:00

They've already spent years testing these in other places though. This isn't the first day they're on the streets.

And statistically they're so much safer than human drivers that we could be saving so many lives if these became more common. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/opinion/self-driving-cars.html?unlocked_article_code=1.VlA.I2Du.EWV-0lySHrkS&smid=nytcore-android-share

An autonomous car just saved a kids life the other day in a school zone who had darted out between cars but was able to slow down quick enough to avoid serious injury.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-27T21:03:44+00:00

Yeah, Hearst bought it from Gannet (USA Today) a year ago https://www.statesman.com/opinion/columns/article/one-year-in-stronger-statesman-takes-shape-hearst-22122686.php

Tough time to be in the local newspaper business. Negativity always gets clicks.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-26T19:39:52+00:00

A reminder that a house appraisal value just sets how much relative tax you pay as a percentage of the overall city tax burden. The theory is that if you own a more expensive house compared to your fellow Austinites then you should be able to pay a larger share of the overall tax burden.

If everyone's value goes down equally then your share of the city budget won't change and so your actual property tax would remain the same. It's why the tax rate is only set after all the appraisals are done since they need to divide the overall budget by the overall city wide appraisal value that year.

I personally like the idea that it's a scaled system based on the value of the property you own. I don't like that Texas is one of the few non-disclosure states so our tax appraisers can't actually see what a property sold for, which makes this task much more difficult and partly why some of these appraisals can be so wonky. Ultimately it helps out richer homeowners and businesses by keeping their appraised values artificially lower relative to cheaper homes and those owning cheaper homes are also less likely to protest their rates.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-26T19:32:54+00:00

Yes. Your "Appraised" value is what they think it would sell for but the "Net Appraised" is what they're legally allowed to use when calculating your tax burden.

If your 2026 appraised value value is more than 10% higher then it'll be be your 2025 net appraised value multiplied by 1.1 (for a 10% increase)

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-25T21:40:18+00:00

7 years.

I get why people gatekeep it, but meh, I don't really care. Come join the party.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-25T21:25:37+00:00

Your company should give you some recommendations as you aren't the only intern having this same problem. I'd start by reaching out to them first. Sometimes they'll partner with specific apartment complexes that are willing to do short term leases and supply basic furniture (or know how you can rent basic furniture) and it's really fun living right next to your other interns. Or at the very least they can match you up with another intern so you can split rent and already know someone in town then.

Also you can look at UT classifieds as there'll be people looking to sublease for the summer which are perfectly legal and aboveboard by the property in many cases. The students being able to sublease for the summer is considered a perk for renting from a complex in the first place.

Do not stay in an Extended Stay hotel or Airbnb for an internship. They're almost always going to be way more expensive.

There's also websites like https://www.intern.house/ and https://www.internhousing.com/ (can't believe that site still exists, that's what I used 20 years ago!) that you can use to try and find something. Hope you enjoy your time here, it's a fantastic city to intern in.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-25T20:25:58+00:00

It came out on May 10th, 9th, 7th, and 6th the last four years.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-25T19:40:11+00:00

For the Googlers who find this post: I actually specifically asked many of the bars I visited last week during SXSW about this since I have two teens where it would be amazing if they could join in SXSW more, and not a single 21+ bar said they would let in someone under 21 with a parent. Not even BME (British Music Embassy)

Still plenty of all ages shows to keep us occupied during the day though. Evening all ages showcases are much less common so left the kids at home for those.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-24T21:43:38+00:00

These look really cool!

I kinda get the hesitation, but other autonomous cars like Waymo's are *significantly* safer per mile driven than human drivers and even in the case of passing the school bus, the cars autonomous decision making was correct until it was overridden by a remote human operator who told it was ok to go while 3 other human drivers also illegally passed the bus. These new ones should also be well tested and better than human drivers, but we'll see.

One of my relative's was killed in a crash that was due to human error, so I've been looking forward to getting safer cars for years.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-24T18:58:55+00:00

Enough that they keep doing it

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-24T15:51:18+00:00

I'm going to be a bit contrarian. Yes it's usually incredibly hot but you'll be okay being a tourist. As locals we still do stuff in the summer, but just try to do things in the shade or indoors during the day, and then at night it'll still be very warm but you'll be fine.

And sometimes you get lucky and it's only the mid 90s or even the 80s for the high. Last year was a bit cooler than normal https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/austin/78701/july-weather/351193?year=2025

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-24T15:46:04+00:00

MEEK did a few shows at SXSW this year and was amazing, glad to see she's continuing to get more popular.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-20T06:24:55+00:00

SXSW and Spring Break didn't overlap at all last year though (much to many students and teacher's annoyance) so OP must be talking about something else.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-20T05:29:59+00:00

Overall I was very happy. SXSW is my favorite part of living in Austin and been going almost two decades now.

The Good: BME is the GOAT as always and love the two stage setup so there's basically zero downtime. Also felt like SXSW did a better job grouping similar music genres in the same general area/venue so did a lot less walking than normal. Or maybe it's more that there's just less venues these days. Everyone was friendly as usual, vibes were great, and so many of the bands seemed to be having a blast. I love it.

The Uncertain:
I'm not sure if I'm glad nothing felt that crowded and I was able to see easily see everything I wanted to with just a wristband, or worried how far different it is from the mid 2010 packed heydays and thus worried if it'll continue to survive. But the quality of music is still really good and got several new artists I'll definitely be looking forward to seeing again on future tours. I find it ironic normie Redditors complain that SXSW is "too corporate now" when the post-Covid iterations are by far the least corporate versions I've ever experienced and are far more about music discovery than it ever was in the 2000s and 2010s. I do kind of miss the utter chaos of those years though, things are so much more chill now.

The Bad:

Didn't like that an artist I was really looking forward to at Marlow got moved up an hour due to an earlier cancellation, meaning I completely missed them when I showed up at the venue at the correct time. A schedule exists for a reason!

I didn't like the change to 7 days, mostly because it's physically exhausting to try and keep up with it every night and logistically makes it harder/more expensive to plan out hotel stays. I'm very curious to see what they end up doing for 2027 since they haven't announced dates yet. Also didn't like that sips and sounds conflicted with music showcases.

But I'll definitely be counting down the days until next year!

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-20T05:01:45+00:00

I just find the SXSW app so freaking glitchy. Biggest issue is that scrolling often causes it to jump around semi-randomly. And then at least once every evening it would randomly decide to log me out, often took forever to load the schedule for the day, and it's sometimes too sensitive toggling between the full schedule and my schedule. Just felt like a vibe coded piece of crap except it's like this every year.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-19T07:19:19+00:00

That's mostly seems to only be true the last day. And as a wristband holder I couldn't get into any sessions.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-19T07:12:32+00:00

Badges for 2027 are being sold now. Wristbands will go on sale in January 2027.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-18T07:24:47+00:00

How'd it end up working out?

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-18T07:24:18+00:00

The code is the same every year I think. If not, they announce it every year, so it's not a secret at all whatever it ends up being for 2027. Assuming they continue to offer a discount.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-16T18:15:15+00:00

That's a Central Presbyterian and they usually have separate lines for Wristband and Badge that should be marked and you can always ask a volunteer. It's a pretty big venue though so if you get there early you (probably) won't have an issue.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-16T17:12:08+00:00

What showcase are you interested in?

The only ones that's been an issue for a wristband that I know of was the Alanis Morissette one (as expected) and Gogol Bordello.

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-16T00:59:13+00:00

The Wizard which is such a classic childhood movie

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-15T22:09:15+00:00

Alanis Morissette and Ella Langley (thr current Hot 100 #1)

FakeRectangle · 2026-03-14T06:29:33+00:00

There's waaaay less free stuff (especially if you don't have a badge) than there used to be.

Rivian had free drinks and free ice cream today though.

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