‘We have all this real estate’: An oral history of Austin-based agency GSD&M’s SXSW parties

For Austin, Texas-based ad agency GSD&M, throwing a party during SXSW is a must.

The agency has called the city home for 53 years, according to GSD&M CEO Duff Stewart, and the party is a way to participate in the the South by Southwest festival and represent its hometown. What started as backyard concerts in 2009 has morphed into a mini-festival on the Monday night of SXSW, where somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 attendees will make a stop at the agency’s fete. Throughout the years, acts like The Hold Steady, Gary Clark Jr., Toro y Moi, Charley Crockett and Reggie Watts have taken the stage at GSD&M’s party.

The shop will kick off its 13th annual party at its headquarters in downtown Austin tonight, with Band of Horses headlining. Ahead of this year’s event, here’s the story of how the parties came to be, how they’ve grown, handled the pandemic and continue to this day, straight from the people who’ve built them.

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