Officially Stefny

Art Decade Creatives is back for year two of curating official SXSW showcases, and this time, they’re bringing you Austin’s Heavy Hitters, a showcase highlighting the best of local femme and non-binary bands.

With this year’s condensed SXSW schedule, there are a million showcases taking place at the same time. But this is my pitch on why this should be the one you see on Friday night.

Friday, by the way, is Friday the 13th. And the show is at The 13th Floor. If that isn’t reason enough for you, stay tuned.

This year’s lineup includes Glass Mansions (returning for round 2!), Subpar Snatch, Grocery Bag, Lola Tried, MUGGER, and CorMae.

“This year, I wanted to highlight Austin’s substantial punk scene, especially the femme-fronted acts,” says ADC founder Samara Simpson. “I grew up listening to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Garbage, Le Tigre, and Veruca Salt… and that was the direction I wanted to encapsulate.”

Art Decade Creatives also secured partnerships with some of the coolest places in town, including Austin FC, Modern Rocks Gallery, and Boss Radio. “It was important to have the showcase be supported by partnerships, especially local entities. Community support is priceless… I’m honored that [they] wanted to share the vision of elevating these bands.” Local artist Lili Hickman also contributed by creating the incredible poster art.

Samara said the goal behind this year’s lineup is to “blow minds and melt faces,” and each of these bands is one she listens to and sees live whenever she can.

It should be noted that CorMae, Lola Tried, and MUGGER were all finalists for “Best Punk” at this year’s Austin Music Awards.

Each band brings its own brand of punk to the showcase. I spoke to each about what they are looking forward to and what’s in store for SXSW and beyond.

---

CorMae

CorMae describes their sound as “energetic, satirical, and packs a punch with inspirations drawn from 90s riot grrrl, egg punk, and garage punk.”

This will be the quintet’s first time as an official SXSW act, after playing unofficially last year. They’ve known Samara for a while through other members’ projects and friends’ bands, but this is their first time working together. “She sent us a message this year wanting to include us in her showcase, and we were pumped!”

They’re also excited about the people they get to share the bill with for this show. “All the bands in this lineup are top-tier. We love them all equally, honestly, and are humbled to be a part of the collective group. We recommend you come early and stay till the end.”

Their goal for SXSW this year is “to get attention from some label and management reps (booking or otherwise), but like most big shows we play, we are hoping to meet and grow our friend group, aka our fan base. We love connecting with new people through our music!”

They have a lot of exciting news to share as the time comes, both with tours and new music, so keep an eye on their Instagram to see when it all gets announced!

---

Lola Tried

“High-voltage, raw, unapologetic, noisy rock” outfit Lola Tried have changed their sound a bit in the last few years, moving from a pop-punk sound to something a bit heavier, and were asked to play this showcase after the release of their most recent EP, FEAST.

They’re no strangers to playing SXSW, both officially and unofficially, and are also long-time collaborators with Art Decade Creatives. “[Samara] is a fantastic individual to work with in the scene,” says frontwoman Lauren Burton. “I very much appreciate her approach to helping a lot of femmes in the scene navigate their way through it.”

Their goal for this year’s festival is to make more connections with bookers and bands from other parts of the country to expand their footprint outside of Texas. They’re also excited to show off their new sound!

After SXSW, they’ll be recording and releasing yet another new EP.

---

Subpar Snatch

The trio of Subpar Snatch are “fierce, heavy-hitting garage punk and a side of fries.” Their lineup is unique in that they don’t use a guitar; they use only vocals, bass, and drums.

This will be their first SXSW, and they are incredibly grateful to ADC for the opportunity. “We are fans of their works. We really appreciate [their] support of local high-energy acts.”

Being first-timers at the festival, they have a lot to look forward to. “Booking management knowledge and networking. Also hoping this opens the door to other festivals. Some cool film screenings.”

Who are they looking forward to seeing at the showcase? “Glass Mansions. Such an addictive, intentional sound. Their live show is always top-notch. Plus, they’re the real deal. They drop the ladder.”

After SXSW, they’re opening for Mclusky in April and doing some regional shows.

---

Grocery Bag

Grocery Bag is a “garage psych punk” quartet who specialize in “fast and jammy riffs.” This will be their first time as official SXSW artists, but not their first time playing. “We have played lots of unofficial shows, most of them around the west campus area and east side of Austin.”

They’re hoping that playing this showcase will connect them with a booking agent or talent agency. “We want someone who can help us get booked for support tours and help us book our own tours. We are also just really excited to see our out-of-town friends and run around with them all week to enjoy some good shows.”

Who are they excited to share the bill with? “MUGGER. They have such a strong stage presence and know how to throw down. We’ve seen them a few times in concert, but their show at Empire Garage in December was just bonkers.”

Grocery Bag also has tons of stuff on the books for the rest of the year. They’re playing LA Psych Fest in Baton Rouge with Daikaiju and L.A. Witch; they have support dates with The Thing; an EP is coming out in early May; Austin Psych Fest in May; and they’re going on tour with Moon Owl’s Mages from Boise.

---

MUGGER

I am obsessed with the way MUGGER describes their sound. “The music is abrasive, aggressive, and feels like being jumped in a dark alley on the way home from a night of heavy drinking. It’s equal parts hardcore and vintage punk rock.”

While they’ve played SXSW “many times,” this is their first time working with Art Decade Creatives. They love the lineup’s diversity and are most excited to see Grocery Bag!

As far as this year’s festival, vocalist Anna Troxell says she “hope[s] to see a lot of my people from all over the world and have fun playing music with my best friends.”

Immediately after SXSW, they leave on tour and will have many exciting shows to announce later.

---

Glass Mansions

This will be alt-pop/indie sleaze trio Glass Mansions‘ FOURTH time as official SXSW artists and second time in a row hitting the stage for Art Decade Creatives’ showcase.

“Samara is so fun to work with and always curates lineups with such intention behind each artist chosen. Feels very aligned for us this year, and we’re just reeeeeally looking forward to playing it again.”

Their approach to what they want out of the festival this year, though, is different from years past. “We’re hoping to make more industry connections this year.  We usually focus on networking with other artists, but this year we’re hoping to meet with management, talent buyers, publishing execs, etc., to grow our team in 2026.”

As far as the lineup this year, they’re loving all the heavy hitters on the bill, but are “really looking forward to sharing the stage with [their] buddies in Subpar Snatch again.” They also may or may not be performing together in the showcase. 😉 😉 😉

Their new single “SUNSETTING” just dropped on March 6, so this will be everyone’s first opportunity to see it live. They also have a new EP coming out in June, which will be their first time collaborating with some of their favourite other Austin artists. They’ve been working hard in the studio with the help of their recently awarded Sonic Guild grant!

---

Don’t miss the Art Decade Creatives official SXSW showcase on Friday, March 13 at The 13th Floor, 8pm-2am.

Set times: