Where to find Lil Yachty, New Order, Margo Price, more big artists at SXSW

We say it every year, and each time it feels a little more true: South by Southwest Music Festival has gotten back in touch with its roots. Gone are the days of multiplatinum chart-toppers haunting Austin clubs in March; here for several years now are up-and-comers looking to make a name.

This year feels especially underground, with celebrity at a minimum. Still, it's not all newbies routing through town — there's a crop of veterans and established hitmakers on this year's SXSW lineup.

Here's a guide to a few notable names to see at SXSW Music Festival, which runs March 13-18.

More:The next 'next big things' coming to SXSW Music Festival 2023 in Austin

Lil Yachty

A new FutureMood video of a surfside conversation between Lil Boat and Drake is a treasure trove of clumsy revelations. (Drake wants to build with aliens! Yachty thinks it’s OK to forget your mom’s birthday!) But the biggest take-home point is that the candy-trap rapper doesn’t appreciate being underestimated. This should come as no surprise to anyone still reeling from a left-field wallop of unexpected artistry in his career redefining masterwork, “Let’s Start Here.” The nautical-named rapper leads listeners on a fantastic voyage, swapping spacious grooves of the trap house for fuzzed-out guitars, otherworldly funk effects and heart-ripping hooks. This will be one of his first live performances of the new material. (Time TBA on March 16 at Waterloo Park. $50 tickets are on sale to the general public through Ticketmaster. )

— D.S.S.

Margo Price

Price, as of this writing, is booked only for a keynote talk at SXSW. But … surely she’ll play somewhere, right? The Illinois-born singer is a frequent visitor to Austin, including stints at Willie Nelson's Luck Reunion, Austin City Limits Music Festival and even last year's Texas Book Festival (to promote her memoir "Maybe We'll Make It"). She released her new album, "Strays," earlier this year. Last year, Price talked to former American-Statesman writer Peter Blackstock about her memoir, her relationship with Nelson and "Strays”: "I started writing ('Strays') when I was still drinking, and then by the end of it, I wasn't drinking, but we were doing lots of psychedelics," she said of the album, which leans into a harder sound. "So it's out there, but it's still grounded. I listened to a lot of Joni Mitchell and Patti Smith and Bob Dylan and Tom Petty when we started writing it. So it's all over the place, but it holds up. I'm really excited for everybody to hear it." (Keynote at 1 p.m. March 17 at Austin Convention Center, Ballroom D; Price also is taping an episode of "Austin City Limits" on March 19)

— E.W.

New Order

New Order is a band that was born under a cloud of trauma. Ian Curtis, the frontman of the group's original band (post-punk outfit Joy Division), committed suicide days before the release of their second album. As the remaining band members muddled forward in the wake of his death — aided by copious amounts of heavy drugs — they landed on a synth-heavy sound that melded their moody ethos with the underground dance music that was sweeping through clubs in the ‘80s. New Order helped pioneer the early electronic music movement, creating visionary sounds for sweaty dance floors. All of the original members except bassist Peter Hook are still with the band. New Order is in town promoting a new music conference and festival in their hometown, Manchester. In addition to their performance, they will participate in a keynote conversation at 1 p.m. on March 15. (Midnight March 13 at ACL Live)

— D.S.S.

More:Our guide to a dozen SXSW parties where you can post up all night

Tangerine Dream

If you’ve heard of Tangerine Dream, you’re probably already intrigued. If not, you’ve certainly experienced the feeling with which the German synth band’s music has become synonymous. When you think of synthwave, outrun, dreamwave, whatever — Tangerine Dream pioneered that neon-streaked-night-sky sound. Their resume, more than 100 albums deep, is deep and hits many cultural touchstones. Soundtracks for movies like “Risky Business,” “Legend” and “Firestarter” boast their ethereal, trance-like music, as does the video game “Grand Theft Auto V.” Plus, Austin artists Survive, who composed the “Stranger Things” theme song, cited Tangerine Dream as an influence, and some of their tracks have been used in the retro Netflix hit. So it’s not gonna be a turn-up, but it’s gonna be pure vibes. (12:20 a.m. March 17 at Parish)

— E.W.

iLe

The artist aka Ileana Mercedes Cabra Joglar evolved the standard bolero storyline of brokenhearted longing to create a protagonist who revels in her strength as she walks away on the breathtaking 2022 Adrian Quesada collab “Mentiras Con Cariño.” On her latest, “Nacarile,” the singer, who cut her teeth performing with Puerto Rican rap supergroup Calle 13, alights her heart in dreamy seascapes, fights the patriarchy and shouts down colonialism over grooves that run the gamut from psychedelic rock to Caribbean folk. (1:15 p.m. March 15 at Radio Day Stage; evening show TBA)

— D.S.S.

Killer Mike

Last year, the king of the mosh-pit rap heavies took a break from obliterating racists, hypocrites and crooked cops with Run the Jewels to release his first solo music in a decade. At 47, the elder statesman of rap is leaning into his role as a leader of the resistance. His single “Run” was a battle cry, a pep talk to the soldiers feeling beat down by a system that refuses to recognize the value of Black life. He thinks of the song as a love letter to all the people “beating the odds like a drum,” he told Jimmy Fallon in October. “We gotta keep running toward victory and freedom,” he said. (12:30 a.m. March 17 at Stubb's BBQ; featured session 2:30 p.m. March 15 at Austin Convention Center)

— D.S.S.

Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness

McMahon made his name in the 2000s as the poet laureate of pop-punk kids, fronting Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin. Expect legions of fans who know every word to songs like “Dark Blue” and “Punk Rock Princess.” (I, for one, experienced a teenage musical epiphany when I came across the video for “Space” on Fuse TV one day.) Lately, he’s been releasing pop-rock under the Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness project, three albums deep with a fourth on the way just in time for SXSW. (10:45 p.m. March 15 at Antone’s)

— E.W.

The Zombies

The British invaders topped the U.S. charts in the late ‘60s shortly after Beatlemania hit stateside. While they never achieved the superstardom of the Liverpool moptops, they produced a series of timeless classic rock hits like “Time of the Season,” “She’s Not There” and “This Will Be Our Year.” In 2019, the band was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Two original members, vocalist Colin Blunstone and keyboardist Rod Argent, lead the group, who will be launching their new album, “Different Game,” at SXSW. (They also launched their last album at the fest in 2015.) In addition to a full slate of performances, including a free community show at Auditorium Shores, “Hung Up On A Dream,” a new documentary about the band, will see its world premiere at the festival. (11 p.m. March 15 at Stubb's; 5:30 p.m. March 17 at Auditorium Shores)

— D.S.S.

Dale Watson

If you could be recognized only by your hair, I think that qualifies you as a big name. No matter where he hangs his guitar these days, the honky-tonk king is as Austin as they come; the deed to the Continental Club probably has his name on it, and where would Broken Spoke be without his crooning? Pick up a Lone Star at the bar. (Midnight March 18 at Continental Club)

— E.W.

Wild Child

Kelsey Wilson spent the pandemic years exploring her soulful side with her solo project Sir Woman. Wild Child's triple-alarm burner of a new single, "Cheap Champagne," is a testament to how the experience has grown her vocal power. The band is dropping their latest, "The End of the World," on March 31. It's their first album since 2018 and the first that features singer-songwriter John Calvin Abney alongside founders Wilson and Alexander Beggins. (11:50 p.m. March 17 at Mohawk Outdoor)

— D.S.S.

Voxtrot

For Austinites of a certain generation — elder millennials — the recent reunion of Austin indie-pop fave Voxtrot was big doin’s. Two November shows at Mohawk packed crowds, and by all accounts (I wasn’t there, but I dropped a friend off), it was a glorious reunion of a scene where everybody knows your name, and the words to songs like “The Start of Something.” Frontman Ramesh Srivastava has embarked on a fruitful solo career as of late, but now’s your chance to see Voxtrot if you missed those 2022 shows. (Time TBD on March 16 at Stubb’s)

— E.W.

Christeene

Queer communities are under attack by their governments in this state and across the country. Especially targeted lately: drag queens. So, in the interest of being as punk as possible in the face of fascism, artist Paul Soileau’s “drag terrorist” alter ego seems needed more than ever. Christeene, who long haunted Austin’s nightlife, is now creating raw, raucous, ribald queer earthquakes in N.Y.C. and has a new album out on local label Spaceflight Records. (Midnight March 18 at The Creek and the Cave)

— E.W.

More well-known acts to see at SXSW Music Festival 2023

• Fastball (8 p.m. March 17 at Saxon Pub)

• Danny Brown (6 p.m. March 16 at Dr. Martens Presents showcase at Clive Bar)

• Fishbone (12:40 a.m. March 18 at Mohawk outdoor)

• RZA (featured session 2:30 p.m. March 14 at Austin Convention Center, Ballroom D)

• Painted Shield (11:30 p.m. March 16 at Stubb's)

• Robby Kreiger of The Doors (10:15 p.m. March 14 at the Belmont)

• Talib Kweli (Midnight March 15 at the Belmont)

• Thao (11 p.m. March 14 at Central Presbyterian Church; 6 p.m. free show at Lady Bird Lake)

• Fruit Bats (11 p.m. March 16 at Continental Club; 10 p.m. March 17 at Lucille)

• Kx5 project by Kaskade and deadmau5 (9:30 p.m. March 18 at Waterloo Park)

• Eladio Carrión (8:15 p.m. March 17 at Waterloo Park)

• Feid (9:30 p.m. March 17 at Waterloo Park)

• Osees (12:15 a.m. March 17 at Hotel Vegas)

• Otoboke Beaver (Time and venue TBA)

• LeCrae (11 a.m. and 6 p.m. during Sunday Service at Stubb's)

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Major artists like New Order, Margo Price, Lil Yachty at SXSW 2023