Taiwan Beats Showcase @ SXSW

South by Southwest (SXSW) marked its 40th anniversary with a fully revamped 2026 edition, and six Taiwanese acts — Hung Pei-yu, someshiit, Collapse, Sorry Youth, Prairie WWWW and Ao Yu Shan — took the stage in succession at "Taiwan Beats Showcase" on the evening of March 13 local time. Organized by Taiwan's Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development, the showcase returned to Austin's Venue 6 with the same momentum as previous years, opening that afternoon with a "Day Party" that connected partners across Japan, Malaysia and other Asian markets, matching the six Taiwanese acts with industry professionals from the US, Canada, Czechia and Brazil — complete with bubble tea, popcorn chicken, braised pork rice and spring rolls for a full cultural experience.

Ahead of the show, this year's lineup had already caught international media attention — Rolling Stone and others sent photographers, with 360 Degree Sound naming Hung Pei-yu a festival highlight; Sorry Youth and Ao Yu Shan each sat for interviews with Starry Constellation Magazine; and someshiit and Collapse were both invited to play additional official SXSW showcases. Austin radio station KTSW 89.9's music director, Ethan McConnell, singled out Collapse in SXSW's official listening guide, praising the band for pushing metal to its extreme while still embracing a range of genres and holding onto distinctly Taiwanese elements — and showed up in person to watch them play.

That night, someshiit opened with an all-star backing band that quickly had the room warmed up. Ao Yu Shan made their full-band US debut, performing songs from their latest album Hidden Album and reworking their signature track "Richard" with English lyrics for the overseas crowd. Collapse packed the venue the moment they took the stage, with the crowd breaking into circle pits through the set; during "Birth + Tiger God" the band shouted from the stage, "We are from Taiwan! Taiwan is a beautiful country worth loving — come visit!" The next day, Collapse landed on SXSW's own social media as a headline act, hailed by the festival as "the band you will absolutely not forget."

We're so happy to play SXSW — it's probably the festival in the world that embraces the broadest mix of music, people and cultural exchange. Even where we're different, we all share the same love and passion for music.

Making her first US appearance, Hung Pei-yu performed the English-language track "Passenger Side," carrying its romantic, intimate mood out into the Austin night. Sorry Youth, playing SXSW for a second time, closed out the night at midnight — sharing those words above in English before "Your Love for Taiwan Is Different," and finishing with "Undercurrent," dedicated to the Taiwanese community working and living in Texas, bringing the 2026 Taiwan Beats Showcase to a close.

This year's SXSW held its music, film and tech tracks together for the first time. Beyond facilitating on-the-ground networking during the event itself, "Taiwan Beats Showcase" began its matchmaking work well before the trip, helping participating artists connect more smoothly with the international industry and continuing to push Taiwanese music onto the world stage.