Highlights From The FADER Fort 2016 At SXSW

Every year at Fader, there’s always a special guest, and usually you’re just stuck with someone like Rick Ross, but this year it was Drake. He did a surprise set with his OVO Sound family, which featured dvsn’s first performance, Roy Wood$, Majid Jordan, and PARTYNEXTDOOR, before leading into a six-song performance from Drake himself. Metro Boomin hopped out to “Jumpman,” while Erykah Badu, Kelly Rowland, and Hannibal Buress were spotted in the crowd.

I was able to see for myself Desiigner. I didn’t know what to expect, because all I knew about him was track 3 on Life of Pablo. When that song first came out, it was like, is that Future? Because Metro Boomin is credited in track 2 and that goes right into track 3. Future and Kanye didn’t really make sense to me, or at least Kanye with a trap beat didn’t make sense to me, and no mention of xanny seemed uncharacteristic and the song is only 2:09 minutes. What is this? Nope, it’s some dude from Bed Stuy. But the best part was Desiigner doesn’t sound like Future. He has his own sound and vibe, and he’s dope.

Day 2 at Fader I was just there for Rae Sremmurd. These 2 and their Stremmlife crew really threw it down. The crowd was far more intense and wanted to party. The crowd entirely cleared when Rae was done. No one cares about Kacey Musgrave. No one goes to Fader not to see rap. That’s what they do best.

The crowd went mental when Swae Lee screamed “F— Trump, we’re voting for Bernie” But the real highlight was when I was walking down E. 5th Street at 2am coming out of the club Kingdom, I saw the whole Stremmlife crew. Like 12 of them, just me and the Stremmlife crew on the street. They stopped to talk and were extremely friendly. They were happy to take instagram photos with me and my friends. 

That is what makes SXSW one of the most unique music festivals in the country. Artists of all calibers playing at tiny venues, often for free, then roaming the streets faded just like the rest of us. Hope Fader can pull it together for 2017 because that is definitely the place to party every March.

Additional sighting: Bud Light – America’s most popular and inclusive beer brand, and first time Super Sponsor of South By Southwest transformed Austin’s Brazos Hall into the Bud Light Factory featuring some of the biggest and up-and-coming names in the industry. The Bud Light Factory builds on Bud Light’s reputation as a leader and innovator in the music space and is bringing unforgettable music showcases to SXSW. In addition to delivering a wide range of musical performances to the Bud Light Factory during the music portion of SXSW, attendees were the first beer drinkers ever to get their hands on Bud Light’s new and highly anticipated cans and bottles – first announced in December. This new look for Bud Light is dynamic, bold, and modern and nods to their heritage by displaying their trademark AB crest, something they have not done for 15 years, but in a fresh way.

Wednesday kicked off the first-ever Bud Light Factory event at SXSW, the brand played host to Stereogum’s Showcase featuring Into It. Over It., Chairlift, Twin Peaks, KING, A$AP Ferg and Lower Dens. Lower Dens set the night off with an thrilling performance, followed by captivating sets by KING, into It. Over It, Twin Peaks, and Chairlift. Headliner A$AP Ferg closed out the night with an electrifying performance delivering fan favorite hits like “Work” “Shabba” and his new single “New Level” which sent the crowd at the Bud Light Factory into a dancing frenzy. Justine Skye brought her beautiful voice to SXSW and entertained the crowd with original material along with a stunning cover of Rhianna’s “Work”. BJ The Chicago Kid provided a soul lift to the afternoon performing “Church” and “Woman’s World” off of his recent full length album, In my Mind. Anderson .Paak closed the afternoon showcase with a captivating performance that had the crowd dancing and in awe of his musical talent as he commanded the stage on the microphone, then jumped behind the drum kit to provide an added level of entertainment to the stage. Anderson also brought out BJ The chicago Kid to perform “The Water” off .Paak’s debut album, Malibu.

-Lindsey Le Garrec