CJLO X SXSW: Rock Music Preview

The CJLO music team is headed back to Austin, Texas, for SXSW 2024 in just a few weeks! This is my first year as Head Music Director and my first year attending the festival, so I am beyond excited about all the bands I’ll be seeing. 

With that, I have scoured the SXSW websites and playlists to bring you the best the festival has to offer, with my personal bias to indie rock (you can read my colleagues' articles for their picks from the world of Hip Hop and international music). Starting local, Montreal is bringing an incredibly stacked lineup across multiple showcases. I promise this is not out of bias or a need for local repping, but the calibre of acts our city is bringing is unparalleled. Starting out the night the CJLO touches town in Austin on March 11th, Mothland Records x Exclaim! Magazine x Project Nowhere are showcasing station favourites such as folk-inspired hardcore act Truck Violence, the post-rock Yoo Doo Right, and arty darkwave from Slash Need.

The next day, March 12th, Pop Montreal x M for Montreal will be collaborating on an indoor/outdoor show. This showcase spans language and genre and includes post-punk by Ribbon Skirt and Alix Fernz, indie rock from Knitting and Population II, folk from Billianne and Clerel, and more. 

Now, while I would be fully satisfied to just watch Montreal bands all week, that’s not why CJLO pays me the big, campus non-profit, bucks. I have to network, schmooze with some Americans, and eat my first decent taco in over a year of not being back in the United States! 

So, other bands on my schedule include the dream pop duo, based in Austin, Daydream Twins. The title track of their brand new album Solstice For Embodiment hit me like a ton of bricks when I first gave it a listen. So, even though they are set to play at 1:00 AM the night I fly in, I’m getting myself to that showcase. I am also excited to see Brooklyn duo fantasy of a broken heart, whose catchy psych-pop album Feats of Engineering has been on repeat for me since it came out last fall. I also hope to catch Hiding Places, whose slacker alt-country really appeals to me through the few EPs they’ve dropped. Additionally, I’ll try to catch Wishy, whose 2000s-inspired indie rock garnered them a ton of critical acclaim for their debut LP Triple Seven from last year. 

It’s a lofty, probably impossible, goal to try to catch all these shows once we’re down in Austin. Follow along at @cjlomtl on Instagram to see everything we hit! 

Aviva Majerczyk is the head music director at CJLO 1690AM. She is also the host of The Alley, a folk-rock show airing Fridays at 11:00 AM.