Free and Cheap events at SXSW Sydney: a guide for locals (without an exxy festival pass)

As the legend goes, South By is *the* place for up-and-coming musicians to make their big break. Ever heard of Billie Eilish? Claire Collins, the head of music for SXSW Sydney, who ended up becoming Eilish’s publicist for this side of the world, discovered the ‘Ocean Eyes’ wunderkind playing to 200 people in Austin when she was completely unknown. And SXSW Sydney’s managing director Colin Daniels counts stumbling on a gig by the Strokes as one of his best experiences from SXSW Austin. In Sydney, more than 300 artists are turning up the volume, taking part in countless parties and events hosted at some of the city’s most legendary live music venues, including the Lansdowne and Hotel Hollywood.

FREE STUFF

Young Henrys, the craft beer lords of the Inner West, are kicking off the music offering with the biggest ever iteration of their Rock & Roll Circus at Tumbalong Park on Wednesday, Oct 18, from 5pm. Hosted by bonafide Aussie bloke Fitzy, a string of local and international darlings will sing their hearts out to some of the nation’s favourite rock ‘n’ roll classics – including Dan Sultan, Wallice (US), Ben Marwe (Bad Dreems), Hayley Mary, Tyne-James Organ, Emmy Mack (RedHook) and Jamie Timony (These New South Whales).

Tumbalong Park will also witness Touchdown Under, a huge showcase of the hottest emerging and established artists from Asia and the Middle East, on October 19 and 20, from 1-8pm. Discover award-winning Indonesian multi-instrumentalist and composer Isyana Sarasvati, Jakarta’s power-pop trio GAC, fellow Jakarta indie megastar Hindia, and poetic songwriting icon Nadin Amizah. There are more free appearances from the Musical Festival line-up in the Tumbalong Park program, check it out here.

Over under the Marrickville flight path, South by Inner West is a day party taking over the Factory Theatre on Saturday, Oct 21, from midday-6pm. A bunch of bands will run amok across outdoor and indoor stages, including the likes of Japanese punks Otoboke Beaver, the cumbia rhythms of Los Bitchos (UK), and revered Aussie punks These New South Whales. Entry is subject to capacity, but you can up your chances of getting in by RSVPing over here.

Meanwhile, Rolling Stone will have a big activation behind the Powerhouse Museum, which they’re calling The Courtyard (Oct 18-21), featuring live music performances, expert discussion, and four big top-secret secret headliners. The acts we’re allowed to know about range from the high-strung rock of Adam Newling, to indie upstarts The Terrys, the cinematic psych of Telenova, and the explosive hip-hop of First Nations rapper Barkaa. Priority access is given to Badge and Wristband holders, but you can try your luck by registering your interest over here.

CHEAP(ISH) STUFF

If you want free reign to roam between the four days and nights of gigs (Oct 18-21) across 25 venues, the final release of SXSW Sydney Musical Festival Wristbands are selling for $330 over here. Whether you’re into gritty garage or smooth R’n’B, a wristband gives you access to discover your next favourite band or singer, with SXSW takeovers in cool spaces – like TikTok’s House of Music Discovery at Pleasures Playhouse, a subversive party haven in an abandoned Chinatown cinema, and a special SXSW program at Phoenix Central Park, a secretive contemporary music venue. (FYI: Music Conference events, like Chance the Rapper’s tribute to 50 years of hip-hop, are only accessible to Badge holders.)

SXSW’s 'film festival within a festival' has long drawn international attention, with some of the most influential movies, shorts and television series in the world getting their big break in Austin. Notably, Richard Linklater’s 12-years-in-the-making Boyhood premiered at the festival in 2014, and Bridesmaids screened as a work-in-progress in 2011 (according to Austin Monthly). 

FREE STUFF

Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour is at the centre of all the free action at SXSW Sydney, and this is where the Screen Festival calls “action!” with a big outdoor Opening Night Party (Sun, Oct 15, from 7.10pm) – it’s open to everyone, with performances by funky musicians like Sydney act Go-Jo and special guest Harvey Sutherland. 

There are also some Free Outdoor Screenings, with a program drawing on highlights from SXSW (Austin)’s own back-catalogue of crowd favourites. Exhibit A: Before Taika Waititi was winning hearts as a grisly gay pirate, his endlessly quotable vampire comedy What We Do In The Shadows sunk its teeth into the zeitgeist after premiering in Austin at SXSW 2019 (it’s screening on Saturday, Oct 21, at 8pm). You can also catch open-air screenings of the original anime feature Ghost in the Shell (Oct 16, 8pm), cult-classic High Fidelity (Oct 17, 8pm), and Dazed & Confused (Oct 19, 8pm) in which Matthew McConaughey first uttered "alright, alright, alright”.

Every day at noon, you can also catch Feature Moments on Screen on the Tumbalong Park Stage – which spotlights what’s being featured in the Screen Festival. Expect movie trailers, guest appearances from talent, producers, directors and more. Hear all about the upcoming features and maybe, if you’re lucky, snap a picture on the Media Wall with some of the familiar faces you might see on stage.

CHEAP(ISH) STUFF

If you want to get in on the new stuff screening at SXSW Sydney, final release Screen Festival Wristbands are selling for $280 – this gets you unlimited access to all the exclusive red carpet premieres, including the wildly anticipated Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles. A limited number of $25 single-session tickets have also just been released for some screenings between October 15 to 21, which you can buy over here. There will also be proper "rush tickets" available 15 minutes before showtime at some screenings, if you feel like taking a risk. This could be your chance to be amongst the first to see flicks like Outback backpacker thriller The Royal Hotel; the Australian premiere of Last Stop Larrimah, a doco about a murder in an Outback town with a population of 11; and more movies and shorts set in places other than the Red Centre, too. (Note: it’s more likely that tickets will be available for sale at larger venues.) Screenings are happening at Event Cinemas George Street, Palace Central in Chippendale, and the Darling Harbour Theatre at the ICC Sydney. Find out more about the Screen Festival here.

Technology and creativity are core components of SXSW, so naturally, the gaming industry is a big part of it, with many advancements in the gaming industry having got their big breaks at South By. Gaming professionals, established enthusiasts of video games and tabletop playing alike, as well as the gaming-curious look to SXSW to experience the future of this boundless industry.

FREE STUFF

There are slim pickings for publicly accessible events in the Gaming stream, but the Tumbalong Park free zone has some presentations and interactive demos to check out. You can step up and put your button-mashing skills to the test live on stage with community gaming sessions featuring Overcooked 2 (Oct 15), Street Fighter VI (Oct 17), and Super Smash Bros Ultimate (Oct 22). There will also be a gaming live stream exhibition (Oct 22 from 4.30pm) with current and veteran Counter-Strike players (a multiplayer first-person shooter game) taking the stage in the fourth in a series of show matches, pitting Team Australia against Team UK.

CHEAP(ISH) STUFF

If gaming is life, a Gaming Festival Wristband is worth the investment – final release wristies are $195 over here. Over five days and nights (Oct 18-22) you’ll get access to live playthroughs, product launches, performances, screenings, hands-on demos, parties and more across multiple venues including the flagship games site Fortress Sydney. The Games Festival Opening Night Party (Tues Oct 17, 7-11pm) sets the stage for a huge week of immersive gameplay. Music and gaming will collide with the international cast of the newly released Australian game Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical performing live – including American voice actor and musician Troy Baker (The Last of Us), Broadway veteran and Hollywood actor Anjali Bhimani, and Aussie art pop musician and Eurovision star Montaigne. 

It’s not just about music, movies, gaming and every brand that wants to slap its name on a cool-looking experience – SXSW is also about big ideas and innovations in technology. Remember when the social media platform formerly known as Twitter was cool? The blue bird got its big break at SXSW in 2016. SXSW is also where Apple discovered and promptly acquired Siri. 

FREE STUFF

The free events program in Tumbalong Park is welcoming lots of interesting speakers to the stage – highlights include Adam Spencer’s "Big Questions” Panel with Dr Karl Kruszelnicki (Oct 21, 3.10pm); a live cooking class with Hong Kong-American chef Martin Yan (the host of Yan Can Cook since 1982) and artist and entrepreneur Yiying Lu (the creator of the dumpling and boba emojis, TEDx Speaker on Innovation) to celebrate World Food Day (Oct 16, 2.30pm); and Big Ideas in Augmented Reality (Oct 15, 2.20pm) with the masters of Australian AR. 

Want to find out what goes on in Sydney’s Tech Central innovation district? It’s home to the University of Technology, the Sydney Quantum Academy, the future Space Industry Hub, tech start-ups and more. There are free one-hour walking tours every day at 3.30pm, you can register here. 

CHEAP(ISH) STUFF

Want to get a glimpse into the future of, well, everything? The SXSW Sydney Tech & Innovation Expo isn’t a regular expo, it’s a cool expo. For $40, an Expo day pass grants you access to get up close and personal with businesses and creators that are breaking new ground across tech and innovation, gaming, entertainment, education, health and wellness, and more. The Expo will be held from Oct 18-21 in the Upper Halls at ICC Sydney, find out more about it and get your tickets here.