Billboard Closes SXSW 2026 With Sold-Out Nights of Music, Conversations & Fan Experiences

Billboard wrapped its return to SXSW 2026 reaching more than 20,000 attendees with three sold-out nights of live music, artist conversations, and fan experiences across Billboard Presents THE STAGE at SXSW and Billboard House at Mohawk, bringing together artists, industry leaders, and fans from around the world for one of the festival’s most dynamic music hubs.

Across March 13–15, Billboard’s signature concert series Billboard Presents THE STAGE at SXSW was a three-night celebration of genre-spanning music, featuring headlining performances from Don Toliver, Junior H, and Mau P alongside a diverse lineup of emerging and breakout artists. Meanwhile, Billboard House at Mohawk served as a central gathering point throughout the weekend, hosting conversations, showcases, and special events spotlighting the artists, executives, and creators shaping music and culture today.

Night one of the concert series, presented by Intuit TurboTax, kicked off with performances from Chase B, sosocamo, Yakiyn and house DJ Cee Watts, before hip-hop and R&B star Don Toliver took the stage for a sold-out crowd. During his set, Toliver celebrated the sixth anniversary of his platinum-certified debut album Heaven or Hell, performing fan favorites including “After Party” and his Billboard Hot 100 hit “Body.”

The following evening, DJ HELIOS and Música Mexicana breakout artist Oscar Ortiz opened the stage to another sold-out crowd, ahead of a powerful headline performance from Junior H, who delivered a high-energy set including hits “LAS NOCHES,” “sad boy,” “Y Lloro,” and “El Azul.” During the show, the artist surprised fans by signing a Mexican flag handed to him from the crowd before closing the night with “CULPABLE.” A portion of ticket proceeds from nights 1 and 2 benefited Waterloo Greenway Conservancy. The Waterloo Conservancy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the natural and cultural resources of Waterloo Park. 

Presented by Carnival Cruise Line, Billboard closed out the series on Sunday with performances from Apex Martin and house DJ Austin Ashtin, followed by a headlining set from internationally acclaimed Dutch DJ and producer Mau P. Despite a weather-related venue move to The Concourse Project, which quickly reached capacity, Mau P delivered an electrifying performance, including his remix of “Mercy” by Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz.

Carnival Cruise Line invited guests to find their fun again during all three unforgettable nights of music and celebration, bringing Carnival’s unmistakable brand of fun to the heart of Austin. Guests were welcomed to a one-of-a-kind experience that brought the Carnival cruise vacation to life with a pool deck-inspired bar serving up tropical cocktails, a taste of onboard favorites, including soft serve ice cream and towel animals, an airbrush tattoo station,  and custom photo opportunities.

Beyond the concert series, Billboard House at Mohawk offered fans a packed slate of programming across the three days, including artist conversations, industry panels, and cross-genre showcases spotlighting rising talent.

Highlights included conversations with The All-American Rejects, Mark Cuban, Jonás Cuarón, and Edgar Barrera, along with Billboard’s Superstar Q&A series featuring Don Toliver, Junior H, and Mau P. The programming also featured a special discussion on mental health and creativity with Corinne Bailey Rae and Ravyn Lenae, presented by BetterHelp, the world’s largest online therapy platform, as well as the debut of Billboard and BetterHelp’s new mental health storytelling initiative, a video series called “Like Minded.”

Additional moments throughout the weekend included the U.S. debut of Los Guitarrazos, the Mexico City-born traveling event spotlighting regional Mexican music.

Billboard House also hosted more than a dozen artist showcases throughout the weekend featuring Alicia Creti, Amie Blu, Babyfxce E, BrunOG, Dizzy Fae, EddyJae, feel trip., The Gringos, Hermanos Espinoza, INK, Kairo Keyz, Karina Galicia, Lena Dardelet, Momo Boyd, Mosmo, Oscar Ortiz, Panic Shack, Sassy 009, Sofish, THEBROSFRESH, TTSSFU and more.

On Friday night, Billboard House at Mohawk transformed into the CHEETOS FLAMIN’ HOT Pickle Pop-Off, an afterparty featuring DJ duo Loud Luxury. Guests experienced the unexpected pairing of CHEETOS FLAMIN’ HOT and dill pickle through product sampling, custom cocktails, fan-favorite arcade games, karaoke battles, and a high-energy dancefloor soundtracked by Loud Luxury’s signature mashups.

The weekend concluded with “The Offline Sessions,” an afterparty hosted in partnership with Global Day of Unplugging, encouraging fans and artists to connect through music and conversation without digital distractions.

Billboard will continue to report live from SXSW throughout the week as the festival takes over Austin from March 12–18, 2026. Viewers can follow the latest news and moments from the event by visiting Billboard.com and following @billboard across social media.

Billboard parent company Penske Media acquired a majority stake in SXSW in 2023.