SXSW 2024 Day 9 Recap
March 15
Riverboat Gamblers, 2007. Photo by Jay West
SXSWorld
A Look Back: 25 Years of the SXSW Outdoor Stage
Reviewing the history of SXSW's free concert series
For over 25 years, the SXSW Outdoor Stage has hosted free charity beneficiary concerts for the general public, enabling both Austinites and visitors to enjoy some of SXSW’s biggest names without a badge or wristband. In recent years, these shows have become SXSW’s largest venues, drawing more than 50,000 attendees over three days.
The concert series has been anchored both past and present at Auditorium Shores, on the south bank of Lady Bird Lake. Its beginnings were in 1992 with a one-night Columbia Records-sponsored show that featured future Grammy and Academy Award winner T-Bone Burnett, as well as a surprise appearance by the legendary Willie Nelson.
In 1994, the first multi-day concert series debuted on a stage located at the corner of 6th and Brazos Streets (outside of the Driskill Hotel), where it remained for four years. The Outdoor Stage then moved a few blocks north to Waterloo Park in 1998 where it remained for another four years. In 2002, the concerts returned to Auditorium Shores where they have remained aside from 2014, when due to park renovations, they were moved to a stage across Riverside Drive outside of the Palmer Events Center.
The Outdoor Stage is free and open to the public. Keep an eye on sxsw.com for announcements of the 2019 lineup.
Outdoor Stage - Photo by Tye Truitt
Outdoor Stage - Photo by Tye Truitt
Photo by Tye Truitt
Crowd during Deftones, 2016.
Photo by Jessy Ann Huff
Crowd during Bowling for Soup, 2011.
Photo by James Buchan
Riders Against the Storm, 2017.
Photo by Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW
Jim James, 2013.
Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images for SXSW
Lucinda Williams, 2014.
Photo by Heather Kennedy/Getty Images for SXSW
Doug Pinnick and Slash, 2014.
Photo by Heather Kennedy/Getty Images for SXSW
Outdoor Stage, 2014.
Photo by Dustin Finkelstein/Getty Images for SXSW
William Bell and Snoop Dogg, 2014.
Photo by Jordan Naylor/Getty Images for SXSW
Outdoor Stage fireworks, 2015.
Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW
Spoon, 2015.
Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW
Deftones, 2016.
Photo by Sean Mathis/Getty Images for SXSW
Systema Solar, 2016.
Photo by Waytao Shing/Getty Images for SXSW
Intocable, 2016.
Photo by Waytao Shing/Getty Images for SXSW
Outdoor Stage, 2011.
Photo by Scott Melcer/Getty Images for SXSW
Residente, 2017.
Photo by Nicola Gell/Getty Images for SXSW
Panteon Rococo, 2017.
Photo by Nicola Gell/Getty Images for SXSW
Outdoor Stage, 2017.
Photo by Nicola Gell/Getty Images for SXSW
DJ Jester the Filipino Fist, 2017.
Photo by Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW
DSC_7627-1
Outdoor Stage, 2017.
Photo by Merrick Ales
Shinyribs, 2018. Photo by Shedrick Pelt
Photo by Shedrick Pelt
Prince Tribute Concert, 2017.
Photo by Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, 2018.
Photo by Merrick Ales
Nathaniel Rateliff and Shakey Graves, 2018.
Photo by Merrick Ales
El Freaky Colectivo & Friends, 2018.
Photo by Carol Watson
Explosions in the Sky, 2009.
Photo by Gideon Tsang
