The Amateur (Currently in wide release in English and French in Quebec) 

Dir James Hawes 

Staring: Rami Malek, Michael Stuhlbarg, Laurence Fishburne, Rachel Brosnahan

Austin is weird. The city’s growing tech sector has spawned these characterless, glass obelisks everywhere. SXSW has clearly embraced it too. There was so much weird and terrifying tech stuff at the 2025 edition of the fest. But if you avoid all that and focus your time criss-crossing the city going to as many concerts as possible, it is actually really nice. 

It has been exactly a month since I, along with the CJLO music team, returned from Austin, Texas for SXSW 2025. In that time, I have been trying to form my takeaways from this year’s festival, in a way that is more substantial than ‘Woo! Fun!’ I assume my job there (other than shaking hands with label reps)  is to act as a bit of a trend correspondent. With that, here are some of my music director takeaways from this year’s SXSW. 

Project Instep is a student-run organization that aims to support indigenous people's brands and help kickstart their businesses through various initiatives, events and collaborations. Find out more in this interview with Juliana Camillia Vergara Nunez, the organization's Vice-President, and Daryl Leclaire, Tewa's Director of Business Services.  

Joni Void’s latest release drops with a wonderful genre blend of lo-fi, avant-pop, downtempo, and ambient, incorporating his home base of Montreal as a recurring character. It offers a warm and peaceful transitional journey throughout its concise 44-minute runtime. Every Light Is A Life is an experimental collage of sounds that invites its listeners to get lost in its extended loops and slow bpm.