SXSW has made it down under.
The famed gathering of film, music, gaming, and more was held in Sydney from 15 to 22 October for the first time.
SXSW Sydney took over the International Convention Center Sydney (ICC Sydney) and Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour, with conferences and exhibitions held at the ICC, while the adjacent Tumbalong Park was transformed into a vibrant site for brand activations. The main stage showcased free-to-public performances, complemented by food and drink options in the pop-grungy F&B setup. It was a stunning site even from afar, with colourful beanbags scattered by the massive main stage, allowing the audience to sit back, relax and enjoy the performances in the sunny and breezy weather.
BANDWAGON TV
Touchdown Under, a stage by YEG and Concrete & Grass Festival, showcased artists from Indonesia, Malaysia and Korea. Performances were accompanied by either a live band or DJ, infusing a lively festival atmosphere. With the performance schedule flashed on the massive TV screens during changeovers, it was easy to keep track of who was coming up next.
Indonesian Pride
On Day 1, Touchdown Under featured performances by Soegi Bornean, Adhitia Sofyan, Feby Putri, Ardhito Pramono, Isyana Sarasvati, GAC, and Nadin Amizah. Indonesians came out in full force, supporting their homeland favourites, cheering and singing their hearts out.
GAC glistened in the afternoon sun with their dazzling silver outfits as they took the stage with their in-sync choreography for their intro ‘Baru’ and kept the high energy with ‘Never Leave Ya’. They brought it down a notch for ‘Berlari Tanpa Kaki’ which clearly showcased their individual vocal prowess even in such an outdoor space and despite their initial in-ear issues. The mesmerising trio got the crowd up on their feet to a singalong frenzy for ‘Galih & Ratna’, OST from the film “Galih & Ratna” and rounded off their show with another crowd favourite ‘Bahagia’ which left the audience in high spirits.
Under the setting sun, the evening mellowed with an ethereal performance by Nadin Amizah also known as @cakecaine. She started with her top hit ‘Rayuan Perempuan Gila’ from her latest album ‘Untuk Dunia, Cinta, dan Kotornya’, and as ‘Bunga Tidur’. In between songs, her adoring fans gifted her a bouquet of flowers and a large fan sign that she gracefully accepted before she continued with ‘Sebuah Tarian Yang Tak Kunjung Selesai’. For her closing song, she delighted the crowd with an older favourite ‘Beranjak Dewasa’ that ended with passionate singalongs as the crowd resonated with the challenges of adulting. After the show, a crowd soon gathered by the side of the stage, eager to meet her. She more than happily obliged their requests for group photos before saying goodbye to her adoring fans.
Malaysia Represent
While Day 1 was focused on Indonesian artists, Malaysian acts took over for the most part of Day 2, with the likes of Yuji, Pop Shuvit, and Hujan. Yuji was the first performer of the day, right after his interview with Bandwagon. He brought along Adriel to start with ‘…rocketship’, and performed his massively viral songs ‘tired’ and ‘More Than Friends’. Lunadira made a surprise appearance for ‘Old Love’ and even treated the audience with her eclectic ‘i’ll be alright, right?’
Top Malaysian bands Pop Shuvit and Hujan had the crowd rocking out, chanting and up on their feet right in front of the stage, especially during Hujan’s ‘Dugaan’, and ‘Mencari Konklusi’. Hujan specially brought out their band merch as the fans huddled closer to the stage front and tossed it out to the crowd for lucky fans to snag!
Korean Wave
Interwoven into Day 2 performances were Owen and Marv from Korea’s R&B Hip Hop collective Eclipse Empire (EE), which also comprises music producer xrface whom Bandwagon spotted was giving full support to the team backstage. Marv started on a high with ‘WAYNE’ from his debut album, ‘RIDAH’, he introduced Eclipse Empire and the music then transitioned to afro beats where he grooved up the crowd with songs from his album 'Souly', such as ‘My World’ and ‘Love ur way’. Owen joined Marv onstage for ‘Run To’, before taking over with a commanding ‘I Want You 2 Understand’, followed by ‘Frenemies’, ‘Homesick’ and more.
For a satisfying end to Touchdown Under at Tumbalong Park, Hindia made the home run with his first song ’Rumah ke Rumah’, as the sunset melted into the evening.
Apart from the performances on the big stage at Tumbalong Park, some of the artists performed at cosy side shows for up-close and personal sessions. Bandwagon caught Owen’s set at Sneaky Possum bar in a room washed in all-red lights - perhaps a reference to Owen’s latest album ‘Red Rum’. The full house was treated to Owen’s spectrum of repertoire from the unrestricted ‘Cold Hearted’, ‘Amazian’, to the more emotional tear-jerking ‘forever’.
The colourful multi-genre performances at the Touchdown Under showcased just a glimpse of the massive talent in Asia right now. and we can only look forward to more of these great acts dominating stages and charts in the region and beyond.
Bandwagon caught up with Yuji, GAC, Hindia and Ardhito Pramonto at Touchdown Under to find out about their latest updates, pick their brains on favourite shows and share their festival essentials.
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