Meet three innovators representing Memphis at SXSW this year

Astrid Kayembe, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·3 min read

After two years of being disrupted by the pandemic, South by Southwest Conference & Festivals is making a full in-person return March 11-20 to celebrate the convergence of tech, film, business and social justice.

The Austin, Texas-based festival brings together creatives and industry leaders to participate in a variety of events including conference sessions, keynote speakers, film festival screenings, music festival showcases, comedy festival events and competitions.

Here are three innovators making an impact in Memphis, who will be featured at SXSW this year.

Blvck Hippie

Memphis indie rock band Blvck Hippie will appear at South by Southwest 2022, a festival and conference celebrating leaders in music, art, film entrepreneurship, social justice and innovation.
Memphis indie rock band Blvck Hippie will appear at South by Southwest 2022, a festival and conference celebrating leaders in music, art, film entrepreneurship, social justice and innovation.

D-I-Y "sad boy indie" rock band Blvck Hippie will bring its post-punk sound to the SXSW Music Festival. The band is led by vocalist and lead guitarist Josh Shaw, and he will be joined onstage by Casey Rittinger on drums, Celest Farmer on guitar and Tyrell Williams on bass. Blvck Hippie released its debut LP, "If You Feel Alone At Parties," in September and has just concluded a national tour.

Shaw's musical influences include Kid Cudi, Kanye West and The Strokes — artists whose fearless innovation and vulnerable lyrics are thoroughly present in Blvck Hippie's music. He also attributes Memphis as a place that has helped shape his work ethic as a groundbreaking indie artist.

"I feel like it's kind of making me like a gritty urban artist," Shaw said. "Memphis, I feel like, is always the underdog. I feel as an artist, it's made me work twice as hard and kind of pushed me more because l have to put Memphis on the map in some capacity, and I feel like we get overlooked a lot."

Set times for the music festival have not been announced yet.

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Kayla Gore

Kayla Gore leads participates in a PRIDE rally that started in Overton Park on Sunday, June 14, 2020 in Memphis, Tenn. The demonstration was part of the ongoing protests in the city following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.
Kayla Gore leads participates in a PRIDE rally that started in Overton Park on Sunday, June 14, 2020 in Memphis, Tenn. The demonstration was part of the ongoing protests in the city following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.

In 2016 Kayla Gore founded My Sistah's House, a trans-led nonprofit organization that provides healthcare advocacy, equitable housing, career resources and community space-holding to predominately transgender women of color in Memphis. She is also the Southern Regional Organizer for Transgender Law Center, the largest national trans-led organization advocating, protecting and advancing the rights of transgender and gender nonconforming people across the country. She currently serves as chair of the Tennessee Transgender Task Force with Tennessee Department of Health.

At SXSW, she will speak on a panel titled LGBTQ+ Sex Education for Brands, a discussion about the ways in which brands can make respectful, intentional and informed decisions when it comes to marketing to the LGBTQ+ communities.

The panel will be 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. March 16.

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Don Lifted

Lawrence Matthews, under the moniker Don Lifted, incorporates hip hop, alternative rock and electronic music to create an ambient and introspective inquiry into love and self-determination on his latest album, "325i." The album was released in October under Oxford, Mississippi-based label, Fat Possum Records.

While his music has received attention from national music publications, Matthews also won the "Best Hometowner Music Video" at the Indie Memphis Film Festival for his song “Brain Fluid,” directed by Nubia Yasin and Josh Cannon, showcasing his talent and vision as a multi-disciplinary artist.

Matthews is also the gallery director of TONE, an art gallery and nonprofit dedicated to providing platforms for Black creatives in Memphis.

In an Instagram post announcing that he would be performing at the festival, Matthews said he was so excited, he "almost did donuts on Winchester when I got the email."

Set times for the music festival have not been announced yet.

In-person and virtual passes to the festival can be found at www.sxsw.com/attend/.

Astrid Kayembe covers South Memphis, Whitehaven and Westwood. She can be reached at astrid.kayembe@commercialappeal.com, (901) 304-7929 or on Twitter @astridkayembe_.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: SXSW 2022: Three Memphis innovators part of South by Southwest