Ep. 33: SXSW 2018 Preview with Joe Gross, Deborah Sengupta Stith and Peter Blackstock

Every year, both the official and unofficial worlds of South by Southwest collide for 10 days, and even though it might be exhausting for “I Love You So Much” hosts Omar L. Gallaga, Tolly Moseley and Addie Broyles, they look forward to it every year. Omar puts this year’s festival in context with previous years, explaining why the pop culture side of the festival grows every year even as the cost of these parties and activations go up. Addie explains why there are more food panels outside the festival than ever this year, including a free four-day event at Trinity Hall that is a partnership between Land O’Lakes, National Geographic and Microsoft. With morning yoga sessions in the conference session, SXSW has always had an element of wellness, but nothing like this year’s Wellness Expo, which Tolly says is the latest example of the “GOOP-ification” of SXSW. (Thanks, Gwyneth.) Austin360 music writers Deborah Sengupta Stith and Peter Blackstock tell us whether the muted nature of this year’s SXSW Music is worrying local venue owners and if the lack of big-brand showcases might be a good thing for up-and-coming artist discovery. Joe Gross weighs in on this year’s SXSW Film Festival, which includes Wes Anderson’s new star-studded animated film “Isle of Dogs,” the return of “Roseanne,” a visit from “Star Wars” star Mark Hamill and a lean into TV with “Westworld” and “This Is Us” cast/creator panels. All weekend, Tolly, Addie and Omar are strolling the streets of downtown Austin to make short podcast segments to take you into the festival. We’ll be hitting up some of the television activations and keynotes, as well as a party or two. Keep up with us at @loveaustin360 on Twitter and through the @Austin360 Instagram page. Full-length shows will return on March 23. Until then, you can catch up on recent episodes at austin360.com/loveaustin360. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices