Music, technology, and culture converge for the world’s biggest, coolest mentoring seminar when SXSW holds its annual festival in Austin. Big ideas across a variety of industries are often fomented on this grand stage.

People come to Austin from across the world to learn about their own industries or to soak up the scene of big stars from TV, music, comedy, and movies. SXSW 2023 runs March 10-19, with film and TV taking center stage from March 10-18 and musicians and concerts joining the conference beginning March 13.

It’s impossible to see everything at SXSW, but you can create a schedule that allows you to attend the conference programs in the industry of your choice and not miss the headliners.

In TV and Film, some of Hollywood’s biggest names appear on the red carpet, and not just for the headliners. SXSW is also an opportunity to see documentaries, international films, and features that were selected because they celebrate the art of filmmaking.

The Music showcases begin March 13 and will be scheduled at venues around the city. Check out concerts at Neon Grotto Rooftop, The Iron Bear, Hotel Vegas, Las Perlas, Swan Dive Patio, Valhalla, Elephant Room, Higher Ground, Elysium, Flamingo Cantina, Central Presbyterian Church, and The 13th Floor. The festival organizers are slowly releasing the schedule and headliner artists.

The Comedy lineup won’t be announced until the final week in February, but you can expect some pretty big laughs. Last year’s roster included Dulcé Sloan, Jim Gaffigan, Jon Daly, Matt Besser, Rich Vos, Sean Patton, and Vanessa Gonzalez, just to name-drop a few. All badge levels are welcome to the comedy shows.

Keep a close eye on the SXSW schedule website for showtimes and ticketing information to see some of the biggest film releases on the docket:

• Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves — Cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head and Hugh Grant (Opening Night World Premiere)
• Evil Dead Rise — Cast List: Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, Nell Fisher
• Problemista — Cast: Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton, RZA (World Premiere)
• Flamin’ Hot — Director: Eva Longoria. Cast: Jesse Garcia, Annie Gonzalez, Dennis Haysbert, Emilio Rivera, Tony Shalhoub, Matt Walsh, Pepe Serna, Bobby Soto, Jimmy Gonzales, Brice Gonzalez (World Premiere)
• Bottoms — Cast: Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine, Miles Fowler, Marshawn Lynch, Dagmara Dominiczyk, Punkie Johnson (World Premiere)
• Tetris — Cast: Taron Egerton, Nikita Efremov, Sofia Lebedeva, Anthony Boyle, Ben Miles, Ken Yamamura, Igor Grabuzov, Oleg Shtefanko, Ayane Nagabuchi, Rick Yune, Roger Allam, Toby Jones (World Premiere)

More than 300 musicians and artists from all over the world are scheduled to make appearances at SXSW. Some are veterans, and others are bands starting to make their names.

The announced 2023 lineup includes New Order, Killer Mike, and Run the Jewels member and the post-punk band THUS LOVE.

Immersion (Malka Spigel and Colin Newman of Minimal Compact and Wire) will play with Brighton-based club Nanocluster and collaborate with Thor Harris. Coco & Clair Clar, a duo from Atlanta and Antwan Glover, also known as Big G and leader of the BackYard Band, comes from Washington, D.C., to play in Austin.

Also, find Peter One, a West African country folk star from the ‘80s who has recently resurfaced. Soul revivalists Three Sacred Souls is on the schedule, as is Venbee, a new UK drum and bass revival star.

Though the festival has released a list of some artists scheduled to attend, complete information will be issued closer to the festival date.

The conference tracks this year span the spectrum from preparing for the future (2050) to sports, health and med tech, the brand experience, cannabis, design, economics, energy, food, sports, the workplace revolution, and many more.

SXSW also attracts giants from these industries to talk about their experiences and provide context and new ideas for attendees. Keynote speakers vary by conference track. Still, you can expect a few to catch extra eyes watching talks by:

• Josh D’Amaro, Disney Parks, Experiences & Products Chairman on March 10
• Model Miranda Kerr on March 10
• Actress and director Eva Longoria on March 11
• KIND founder Daniel Lubetzky on March 12
• A keynote discussion with Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert on March 12
• Comedian and actor Cheech Marin on March 14
• RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan on March 14
• Grammy-award-winning rapper Killer Mike on March 15
• DJ Jazzy Jeff, Ma Dukes and Asya Shein discussing the life and legacy of J Dilla on March 16
• A discussion about NASA’s Webb Space Telescope

If this is your first year attending SXSW, it’s essential to understand how the conference works. While musicians, movie stars, and tech giants flock to the festival to see and be seen, it’s also about learning.

By selecting one of the conference’s “tracks,” you have access to learn from mentors and speakers in that field. Formats vary by presentation type. For example, two keynote speeches and hundreds of featured speakers present at different times based on their track.

The music festival was designed to help aspiring musicians connect with industry professionals and inspire their careers. It has also evolved into a showcase of emerging talent and the artists that motivated them.

As the music festival lineup is slowly released throughout the winter, you can catch the artists and their popular songs on the official SXSW playlist on both Spotify and Apple Music.

The film & TV festival is filled with feature films on their way to the big screen and smaller documentaries that will be featured in other festivals and screened for the Oscar nominating committee.

Convention attendees on the film track can learn from industry professionals discussing everything from Diversity in Media to Using XR for Fan Engagement. Artist and Texas native Eva Longoria is hosting a discussion of her directorial debut, “Flamin’ Hot,” a biopic about Richard Montañez and the spicy Flamin’ Hot Cheetos snack.

The SXSW Pitch competition is a chance for emerging companies to pitch their innovations and ideas to a hand-selected panel of venture capitalists and industry experts. On March 11-12, 40 companies from eight categories will make their pitches vying for investment capital.

With ideas and products in artificial intelligence, food and health, sustainability, and more, the panel of judges will select a “Best in Show” from the 40 pitches.

Companies from Norway, Germany, London, Ireland, Brazil, Taiwan and the United Aram Emirates are participating, and event-goers can see demonstrations from the finalists during a showcase on March 13.

Badges of many price ranges are available, with each one allowing varying access to the events.

For all-inclusive access, the Platinum Badge costs $1,895 and allows the holder entry to all events. The other badges — Interactive ($1,595), Film & TV ($1,495) and Music ($895) — provide access to their conferences and events exclusively, with additional access to the comedy showcases and exhibitions. Costs increase when a walk-up rate is applied.

Anyone who can’t attend in person but still wants to learn from industry experts can purchase an Online Access pass for $199. Many featured speakers and keynote addresses will be broadcast live through accessible platforms such as Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Roku, iOS via Airplay and Android mobile with Chromecast.

The digital experience is the best option for anyone who can’t make the trip to Austin, but the film screenings and music festival showcases are not included with the access.