Smartpunk Records Announce "Smartpunk House" Showcase at SXSW 2024

SMARTPUNK RECORDS ANNOUNCE THEIR ANNUAL SHOWCASE DURING SXSW SMARTPUNK HOUSE ON MARCH 16-17

Free event, all ages, no SXSW badge is required. Doors at 12 PM both days. An option to RSVP is available here.

The free event, featuring over 60 artists ranging from punk to metal and everything in between, will be held at the Empire Garage and Control Room located at 606 E 7th Ave, Austin, TX.

The event will be held on Saturday, March 16th and Sunday, March 17th. 

"This is our 5th year of doing Smartpunk House, and I feel like every year it just gets better and better—closer to the idea that has been growing and building in my head. This showcase is everything I've loved about going to festivals like Plea for Peace or Warped Tour or RiotFest. Getting to partner with amazing companies like SIMS Foundation and MusiCares while listening to incredible artists, getting tattooed or watching someone rip it on a halfpipe? That’s what dreams are made of." - Matt Burns, Label Manager of Smartpunk Records

THE LINEUP (in alphabetical order): Aud Whitson, Big Girl, Bigfoot & The Gregs, Birthday Girl, Bob Nanna, (Braid), Breed, Broken Gold, Current Comfort, Dave Elkins (Mae), Day Aches, Day By Day, Dead Tooth, Debt Neglector, Desert Sharks, Die Spitz, dust, Ekko Astral, FEA, Flowers For Emily, Fugitive, Glare, Glixen, Hellfury, High Waisted, Housewife, Jess Cornelius, Jhariah, Jonah Matranga (Far), Kierston White, Light, Beams, Limbeck, LUNA AURA, Mark Rose (Spitalfield), Matt Pryor (The Get Up Kids), Mean Jeans, NewDad, NYGMA, O., Perennial, Portrayal of Guilt, Proper., Rain On Fridays, Remo Drive, Ritual, Smooth, Brain, Spitalfield, Suck Brick Kid, Sunspite, Sweet Spine, Tear Dungeon, The Belair Lip Bombs, The Brogues, The Color 8, The Dreaded Laramie, They Are Gutting A Body of Water, Tied Up. Trauma Ray. VIJI, Virginity, WAKE, Winona Fighter

ABOUT SMARTPUNK RECORDS:
Smartpunk has been a recognizable name in the scene for a long time (Remember that sponsored Warped Tour stage?!). After exchanging several hands and countless ideas of what it could and should be, they decided to start a record label in 2016 with the main idea of focusing solely on reissuing records that have been out of print or never on vinyl. After all, they're a label of vinyl dorks themselves! After releasing Set Your Goals' Mutiny and Gameface's Good, they started to venture into signing newer bands. They actively balance in between many worlds — putting out amazing music from friends and bands that rock, reissuing older titles, and partnering with other incredible labels in our scene and doing exclusive color variants of their releases.

"Since forming the record label, Smartpunk Records has released timeless albums such as Less Than Jake's Anthem, Nominee's Lowlife, RIVALS' Sad Looks Pretty on Me, Virginity's POPMORTEM, and melodic skate punkers The Swellers' My Everest.

Knotfest x SXSW Showcase Set for March 18 at Elysium, Feat. The Callous Daoboys, Soul Slo, Creeping Death, + More🤘

KNOTFEST EXPANDS "PULSE OF THE MAGGOTS" BRAND WITH OFFICIAL SXSW SHOWCASE

SHOWCASE TAKES PLACE MARCH 18 AT ELYSIUM IN AUSTIN

PERFORMERS INCLUDE HEAD-TURNING ACTS SUCH AS THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS, CREEPING DEATH, ESCUELA GRIND, MILITARIE GUN, SOUL GLO,+ VCTMS

Knotfest is expanding its emerging artist brand, Pulse of the Maggots, by teaming up with SXSW for an official showcase set for March 18 at Elysium in Austin.

This showcase is a powerhouse that spotlights a wide range of artists currently causing thrills in the heavy culture space. 

The lineup, in alphabetical order, is as follows: The Callous Daoboys, Creeping Death, Escuela Grind, Miliatrie Gun, Soul Glo, and VCTMS.
 
SXSW states that it is "thrilled to partner with KNOTFEST for their first-ever official showcase. As a festival that's focused on highlighting new and upcoming artists in the heavy scene, KNOTFEST and Pulse of the Maggots are a perfect fit and are helping us expand more into the growing metal and hardcore scenes. We are excited for everyone to see what is in store for the night." 
 
Clown of Slipknot shares the enthusiasm, saying, "Excited for the new Pulses for us all."

Pulse of the Maggots Fest initially began as a digital festival in 2020, shortly after the launch of Knotfest.com as a full heavy culture media hub as a way to bring emerging artist performances to audience across the world during the world shut down. After two more digital festivals, Pulse Fest had its inaugural in-person event with the Pulse Fest UK featuring Sylosis, Orbit Culture, Heriot, Spiritworld, and more.

With this SXSW showcase (as well as other festivals spanning the globe, including currently on-sale festivals in Australia, Japan, and Italy, Knotfest continues its impact as a curator in the heavy genre.

ABOUT THE PULSE OF MAGGOTS x SXSW SHOWCASE LINEUP:

THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS:
Earning comparative nods to mathcore lineage like Botch and Converge, the sextet package a cacophony of organized chaos in a performance on 2022's Celebrity Therapist  that is purely volatile. 

CREEPING DEATH: 
Practitioners of Texas heft, Creeping Death have taken up the torch for the modern era of death metal. The band's Edge of Existence EP was hailed for it classic and contemporary take on the genre such that their forthcoming 2023 release is among the most anticipated of the year. 

ESCUELA GRIND:
The New England grindcore unit proved relentless on their 2022 full length, Memory Theater. Paying homage to their predecessors like Napalm Death, Brutal Truth, and early Carcass, the technical prowess in tandem with the sheer brutality of the band make them among extreme music’s most promising prospects. 

MILITARIE GUN: 
Dynamic songwriters well beyond their years, L.A.'s Militarie Gun have a knack for crafting tunes that stick. Their All Roads Lead to the Gun ushered in a new era of post-hardcore brilliance that leaned heavily on memorable hooks, punchy guitars and a '90s angst executed with grit and guts. 

SOUL GLO:
The Philly hardcore standouts scored a massive win in 2022 with the release of their universally acclaimed, Diaspora Problems. Praised for their biting social commentary and frenzied execution, they are among the most exciting, emerging names in the landscape of contemporary hardcore. 
 
VCTMS:
The Chicago aggressors and DIY riders spent most of 2022 touring in support of their Vol. IV: Numb the Ache LP. Ending the year with the reveal of the single, "The Dearly Beloved," the band's layered assault and musical bombast makes for an impressive show of force.