EVENT FOCUS
BRITISH MUSIC EMBASSY PRESENTS SXSW 2022 The British Music Embassy (BME) sets sail on its 15th year at South by Southwest (SXSW), providing a stage for emerging British artistry and technical production talent to shine post-lockdown.
Words: Jacob Waite Photos: TyneSight Photographic Services
Having curated a COVID-19 secure production for 35 breakthrough acts to showcase their talent with UK-only production and equipment at Production Park as part of SXSW Online 2021 [see #TPi 260], the latest edition of SXSW saw a return to in-person audiences and increased production values with over 70 sets by some of Britain’s most exciting acts taking to the BME stage over eight days at the new backdrop of 700-capacity venue, Cedar Street Courtyard in Austin, Texas. Effectively the first ‘British invasion’ of SXSW since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, TPi sat down with Production Manager, Ant Forbes, Stage Manager, Sam Wilkinson and Lighting Designer, Bradley Nicholson – screen-toscreen – to retrace the roots of the project. “We were effectively working from a blueprint which was conceived in 2019,” Production Manager, Ant Forbes began. “After the 2019 event in Austin, we made the collective decision to upgrade the venue and upscale purely because of capacity issues.” After a scouting mission in Austin, Texas, SXSW organisers and stakeholders decided on Cedar Street Courtyard. Further steps were taken by Production Park to upgrade and improve the venue to bring it up to a standard worthy of showcasing the next wave of up and coming British talent both on-stage and behind the scenes, with an all-new Martin by Harman lighting rig installed and operated by Backstage Academy Live Events Production student, Bradley Nicholson. “This was a golden opportunity for us to bring along a Backstage Academy student like Bradley to throw into the deep end and
024
