South by Southwest® (SXSW®) today announced new Keynotes and Featured Sessions for the 2026 Innovation, Music and Film & TV Conferences, more artists and showcases for the Music Festival lineup, and much more for the 40th edition of SXSW (March 12-18).

“SXSW has always been the ultimate convergence of culture and innovation, but this announcement takes it to a new level. Between the business moguls, the political giants, and the entertainment legends our team has assembled, the collective star power coming to SXSW might actually be visible from space,” said Greg Rosenbaum, SVP of Programming at SXSW. “With our new format this year, the collaboration and crossover between our Conferences and Festivals has never been stronger. Get ready for seven action-packed days in Austin.”

SXSW today announced a new Keynote and 11 Featured Sessions for the Innovation, Music and Film & TV Conferences. Additionally, Phil Schiller, a 35-year Apple veteran and former SVP of global marketing, will join the previously announced Featured Session with David Pogue to share stories and insights on Apple’s first 50 years.

The newly announced Keynote and Featured Sessions include:

Say It Louder: Artists, Activism & the First Amendment—In this Keynote, Committee for the First Amendment founder Jane Fonda, comedian W. Kamau Bell and the ACLU’s Jessica Weitz discuss the vital link between culture and action, sharing how the First Amendment empowers artists to challenge power and how every individual can take concrete action to protect free speech when democracy is at stake.

A Talk About Life, Sibling Rivalry and The Lonely Island—Do you like discussions about art, comedy and music? So do we! Join Jorma Taccone and Asa Taccone, two Emmy Award© winning brothers (for Dick In A Box, don’t get too excited), as they discuss their work together with The Lonely Island, Electric Guest and a gang of other topics, probably. Be there or be square, nerd!

Baby, This is Keke Palmer Live—Join Keke Palmer and the cast of I Love Boosters, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Eiza González, Poppy Liu and Demi Moore, for a live podcast recording of her hit podcast, Baby, this is Keke Palmer.

Bob Odenkirk: Entering His Action Hero Phase and the State of Action Films with the Team Behind NORMAL—Collider’s Perri Nemiroff joins Bob Odenkirk, director Ben Wheatley, writer Derek Kolstad and producer Marc Provissiero to discuss their kinetic neo-Western action film, exploring the future of the genre and Odenkirk’s evolution into an undeniable action lead.

Breaking Barriers, Building Solutions: Meet the Changemakers Transforming Health Innovation—Presented by Serena Williams and Reckitt Catalyst, this conversation spotlights underrepresented founders reshaping health through community-driven innovation and scalable change: Catherine Casey Nanda, Kwamane Liddell, Mika Eddy and Ryan Dullea.

Chaos, Craft, and Chris Fleming—Fresh off his HBO special, Chris Fleming brings his fearless, absurdly precise comedy universe to SXSW for a celebratory deep dive into the creative process and wild physicality behind his singular storytelling.

Clips & Conversation with Riz Ahmed on BAIT—Join Emmy and Oscar-winning actor Riz Ahmed for a preview and live conversation around his upcoming Prime Video comedy series, BAIT, about a struggling actor who auditions for the role of a lifetime, only to see his life spiral out of control over four frenetic days.

Founder-Led Growth: Turning Audience Signal into AI-Powered Commerce—Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, cofounders of shopping agent Phia, share their experience building an AI-native commerce app while prioritizing meaningful community engagement to inform product roadmap.

Matt Strauss & Andy Cohen: Community, Culture & the Future of Entertainment—Matt Strauss and Andy Cohen, in conversation with S.E. Cupp, will explore the evolution of entertainment beyond platforms, exploring how immersive experiences and fandom-building transform shows into expansive worlds and viewers into active participants.

Networth and Chill with guest Governor Gavin Newsom—Join Your Rich BFF Vivian Tu for a live-taping of her podcast, Networth & Chill, where she gets up close and personal about the good, bad, and ugly of how money impacts our lives. In this special episode on the SXSW Keynote stage, Vivian will interview Governor Gavin Newsom about why politics matters for our pocketbooks.

Not All Superheroes Wear Capes: Out of the Kitchen, Into the Comic—Following the success of Feeding Dangerously, a graphic novel about his humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen, José Andrés will sit down with writer Steve Orlando and Marvel Comics editor Nick Lowe to discuss the universal appeal of food and comics.

Play It Live: How Livestreaming is Rewriting the Rules of Music—Twitch’s Head of Community Mary Kish sits down with Tierra Whack and DJ_Dave to explore how artists are bypassing algorithms to redefine the music industry, utilizing live streaming as a real-time studio, stage, and fan hub that prioritizes authentic, collaborative creation.

Music Festival

The SXSW Music Festival will feature seven nights of showcase performances from more than 1,000 artists across Austin’s historic clubs and venues. Highlights from today’s additions to the Music Festival lineup include:

Jack Johnson will perform with Hermanos Gutiérrez in support of the premiere of SURFILMUSIC, and Vic Mensa,in addition to his Featured Session at the Music Conference, will perform alongside up-and-coming acts he has curated from live stream submissions. Plus, performances from multi-Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Ingrid Andress; Atlanta-based pop-punk band The Paradox; Black Midi co-founder Geordie Greep; DJ, producer and electronic artist ZHU; renowned Buffalo rapper and Griselda crew member Benny The Butcher; Latin pop performer EMJAY blending urban, R&B and electronic influences; up-and-coming R&B crooner JayDon; Chicago DJ and producer Hiroko Yamamura; and rapper, singer and producer Ty Dolla $ign.

“The level of talent coming to SXSW this year, both industry heavyweights and the next-generation ready to take their place, is as strong as ever. This will be a SXSW Music Festival you do not want to miss,” said Brian Hobbs, VP of Music at SXSW. “With Music now running a full seven days alongside Film & TV our teams have never worked more closely together, and those efforts will be on full display in a few weeks with the unprecedented number of artists joining multiple SXSW Conferences and Festivals.”

Music showcases are curated by SXSW programmers in collaboration with record labels, booking agencies, export offices, management and PR firms, publishers, media outlets, lifestyle brands and festivals. Highlights from the announced SXSW Music Showcase Presenters today include: Australia’s premiere new music festival BIGSOUND, FONO & Universal Music México, HYBE’s Sin Silencio, Jack Johnson’s SURFILMUSIC showcase, Sony Music Latin, UnderArmour and XYZ Film’s A Case Of The Mondays with ZHU. Previously announced, the British Music Embassy is back for its 19th year at SXSW and last week announced their full lineup.

Today Spotify announced Spotify 20: Live at Stubb’s, their official showcase celebrating 20 years of Spotify featuring seven-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, rising country music star Ella Langley, and St. Vincent on the decks for a rare DJ set. See here for more information.

The Music Conference will feature a special conversation with Radiohead guitarist and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Ed O’Brien. See the full Music Conference lineup here.

Comedy Festival

The SXSW Comedy festival announced three exciting lineup additions today: Bill Burr, in addition to hosting duties at the FOX Entertainment Studios Comedy Showcase,will record a live episode of The Monday Morning Podcast; Devon Walker and Alex English will host their standup show DAD; and Dropout adds to their slate of shows and performances with Dropout Improv Does A Pretty Flower. For more information on the Comedy lineup, see the schedule here.

Vox Media Podcast Stage

Vox Media announced the talent lineup and schedule for its third annual podcast stage at the Hilton Austin from March 13-15:

• Brené Brown Live featuring Adam Grant
• Good One with Jesse David Fox featuring Eric André
• Keith Lee Live
• On with Kara Swisher featuring Jonathan Glazer and Billy Magnussen
• Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway
• Prof G Markets with Scott Galloway and Ed Elson
• Project Swagger with Robin Arzon featuring Mark Cuban
• Raging Moderates with Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov
• Tefi Talks with Tefi Pessoa featuring Lisa Kudrow and Michael Patrick King
• Today, Explained hosted by Astead Herndon
• Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast hosted by tech experts Marques Brownlee, Andrew Manganelli and David Imel
• Where Should We Begin? With Esther Perel featuring Spike Jonze

Marketing Leadership Summit

The Marketing Leadership Summit at SXSW is a two-day series of conversations that convene influential marketing leadership voices from brands like Bank of America, Crocs, Diageo, Taco Bell, Tecovas, UnderArmour, Unilever and Volkswagen, among many more, for a dynamic conversation on the future of marketing, leadership, and innovation. Through thoughtful dialogue and real-world perspectives, the summit explores how today’s leaders are pushing boundaries, navigating change, and shaping what’s next for brands and audiences alike. See here for more information.