We caught the last night of the multi-day event that featured Lil Yachty, Feid, Eladio Carrión, Lola Brooke and Armani White and Kx5 (Kaskade x deadmau5) at the Billboard’s The Stage event at SXSW 2023. The event was sponsored by Billboard, Samsung, Doritos, and Carnival. Carnival Cruise line had slide on Red River Street where people had a blast outside the venue (where you can still hear the music).

We were impressed with the packed venue and incredible high-energy show that had a crazy and raucous crowd with many fans wearing lights on their body that made it feel more like a rave than an electronica concert.

DJ Paul Garrett played first followed by DJ Soxxi who played a lot of Spanish song remixes of songs by Adele, The Killers, Jay Z, TLC, Katy Perry, Gwen Stefani, and more. Fans were hyped for headliners Kx5.

Kx5 set went on at 9:30 and played about an hour with no encore -but they didn’t need one. Bright Lights was the first song they played – an amazing and mesmerizing light show and many blasts from the fog machine made it a super fun atmosphere for the all ages crowd. They continued with big hits, Escape, Sacrifice, Alive, and more.

Their debut album came out 24 hours before the event so there was a lot of buzz and anticipation for this headlining show.

When Kaskade and deadmau5 first partnered on their 2008 smash “I Remember,” the pair were leading names in the rapidly expanding electronic music scene that enraptured a generation of music lovers across America. 14 years later, the duo has formalized their occasional collaborations and long-running friendship into an official project– Kx5–with a self-titled album that carries on the genre-defining spirit of their early work with the additional excellence that comes from a decade and a half of studio and onstage experience for each. Kx5 comes to Austin in support of their Kx5 album out now which features their Top 40 smash “Escape” and singles “Sacrifice” with SOFI TUKKER, “Take Me High” and “Alive” with Elderberry.

This year Billboard hosted a variety of events in Austin -for three nights of star-studded concerts, plus an interactive content house featuring conversations with musicians and industry leaders.

The one-day-only interactive content house, featured brand activations, one-of-a-kind photo moments, small bites and cocktails, and more. The place was packed with lines out the door and entry priority was given exclusively to SXSW Music and Platinum Badge holders and SXSW Music Festival wristband holders.

Event Schedule

Thursday, March 16

• Lil Yachty Presented by Doritos®: On the heels of his new album Let’s Start Here debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard charts across Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, and Top Alternative Albums, Doritos and Lil Yachty will hit the stage and take things to Another Level with an electrifying performance.

Friday, March 17

• Conversations at The Billboard House: This year’s free content house offered festival attendees the opportunity to experience a series of interactive activations and industry-focused discussions, with speakers. Several artists also took part in conversations during a variety of events. The one-day-only interactive content house will feature brand activations, photo moments, bites, cocktails and more.
• Feid and Eladio Carrión Presented by Samsung Galaxy: Global Latin superstars Feid and Eladio Carrión delivered show-stopping performances featuring Billboard chart-topping hits from their albums Feliz Cumpleaños Ferxxo: Te Pirateamos El Álbum and SEN2 KBRN VOL. 2.

Saturday, March 18

• Kx5 (Kaskade x deadmau5) Presented by Carnival Cruise Line: Hot off the release of their debut album Kx5, which features Top 40 and Billboard #1 dance track “Escape,” as well as their record-breaking Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum stadium show that was the biggest ticketed global headliner dance event of 2022,electronic music artists Kx5 closed out the three-night concert series with a can’t-miss dance party that brought the crowd to their feet.

Billboard will also be donating a portion of ticket proceeds to Waterloo Greenway Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that aims to create an urban park system in partnership with the city of Austin. The organization’s first phase, Waterloo Park, opened in 2021 to provide downtown green space, community programming and performing arts and entertainment at the Moody Amphitheater.

In addition to the presenting sponsors, Billboard will be sharing Reels on its official Facebook page across the three-day experience, and fans will have the opportunity to create custom Facebook Reels with unique experiential activations throughout SXSW.

About Waterloo Greenway Conservancy

Waterloo Greenway Conservancy is a non-profit organization whose mission is to create and maintain an extraordinary urban park system and a restored Waller Creek, in partnership with the City of Austin, for the benefit of all. The Conservancy renews the natural environment, promotes play, health and wellness, economic vitality and mobility, and engages the community through outreach, education, cultural events, and the arts.