SXSW 2023 offered Austin Woman an opportunity to explore the creativity of the conference.
By Claire Heleniak, Photos by Claire Heleniak
March 10
We had the pleasure of attending Miranda Kerr’s KORA Organics SXSW Kickoff Event. This event was held at the lovely Commodore Estate on March 10. There were light bites and mocktails. Miranda Kerr gave a toast to the event celebrating her birthday as well as the launch of the new Plant Stem Cell Retinol Alternative Serum, which every attendee was given as part of the swag bag at the end of the event! The DJ was none other than DJ Cassandra who is featured on the cover of our first ever “Music” issue. Seeing our cover woman perform live was an exciting experience, and she did not disappoint.
March 11
Create & Cultivate
We had the pleasure of attending the Create & Cultivate Future Summit. This event was held on March 11, 2023, at the South Congress Hotel. The Create & Cultivate Future Summit is the world’s largest technology and innovation festival.
The event kicked off with the Create & Cultivate Founder Jaclyn Johnson and Tinx, a social media star. They discussed what it’s like to be a social media influencer and how to stay innovative with social media. Tinx explained that what has kept her content unique is by staying true to herself online on every platform.
Squeezed Consulting Founder and Audience Development Consultant Dana Such focused on how to grow a quality audience. She provided insight on how to engage your audience from following on social media to becoming repeat purchasers.
Another panel kicked off called The Realities of a Recession From Women at the Top. This panel included the Founder of Tower28, Amy Liu; entrepreneur Mary Seats; Founder and CEO of Packed Party, Jordan Jones; and Founder of RLVNT Media, Tina Wells. They all agreed that it is important for businesses to remain transparent with stakeholders because trust is built over time and can fall as quickly as it is built.
Prime Texas – Daisy Jones and the Six
Prime Texas and Amazon Music presented An Evening Celebrating Daisy Jones & the Six, their new hit show based on the book by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This event took place at Hotel San Jose.
This event kicked off with members of the cast introducing the band, Joseph. This band is three sisters who aren’t afraid to belt it out. Joseph played their music, along with a cover from the show. Following the performance, Sam Claflin (Billy Dunne in Daisy Jones & the Six), introduced the band GROUPLOVE. Lady GROUPLOVE aka Hannah Hooper was the first in the band to express gratitude for Amazon Music. Her band performed original songs including “Tongue Tied,” “Let Me In,” and “Ways To Go.” GROUPLOVE also covered the song “Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)” from the show.
Along with the wonderful music, there was merch, festival food, drinks and an “Aurora”-themed photo moment.
March 13
Bumble’s Chief Brand Officer Selby Drummond and Chief Executive Officer of Rolling Stone Gus Wenner hosted an evening of cocktails and networking at Howards Bar & Club. This event included drinks from Rosie’s Wine Bar and Howard’s Bar & Club, light bites from Howard’s Bar & Club and sweet treats from Swedish Hill Sweets. Complementing the curated cocktails and food was a setlist focusing on uplifting women’s voices.
March 14
Eat North Italia
To celebrate Pi Day, North Italia, an Austin-based Italian restaurant, hosted the Pi Block Party. There were free tattoos, bags of North Italia pasta to take home, delicious pizza, chilling mocktails and a BMX exhibition. In attendance were the North Italia’s marketing manager and the publicist, two of the women who work behind the scenes at events to keep them running smoothly.
March 15
SoundOn x TikTok Artist Showcase
The SoundOn x TikTok Music Showcase featured four artists within the SoundOn music community. The event kicked off with venbee, whom we had the pleasure of interviewing after her performance. The Chatham, Kent, native performed her hits and thanked TikTok for the success of her music. Nicky Youre performed next, then Justine Skye. Her song “Collide” was recently certified Gold, selling half a million equivalent units. She took time out of her performance to celebrate her family being there to support her and encouraged everyone to continue to support women in music. bbno$ ended the performance with high energy, Minion costumes, beach balls and engaging rap.
Check out all of our coverage of SXSW 2023!