
South by Southwest (SXSW) is one of the hottest events in the music industry’s calendar, and now the much-anticipated festival is coming to London for the first time ever.
Originally founded in Austin, Texas back in 1987, SXSW has grown into a huge global event, attracting creatives from around the world to its series of conferences and festivals.
SXSW London is taking place from 2-7 June in Shoreditch, and two lucky Metro readers will be able to win tickets to see the incredible array of live gigs and musical showcases.
We’ve teamed up with SXSW London to give away two pairs of Music Festival Wristbands valid for the whole week. Read on to find out how to enter to be in with a chance to win.
A launchpad for emerging artists and a platform for discovery, SXSW London is an exciting series of multi-genre live showcases, industry meetups and networking opportunities across Shoreditch. The festival brings the world to Shoreditch in a unique multi-venue format, including both big names and emerging talent.
Fans can explore a host of new music and underground scenes at ultra cool East London venues, including the historic Shoreditch Town Hall, Village Underground, nightclub XOYO and 93 Feet East.
SXSW London’s Music Festival will dive into international underground music scenes, offering a glimpse into the future of music from London’s unique perspective. Co-curated by world-class and cutting-edge pioneers, each venue will transport festival-goers into a different musical movement, from Afrobeats to classical.
Who is playing?
Headliners include Brit Award-winning artist Mabel, Crystal Castles’s Alice Glass, and East London-based R&B artist NAO.
But there’s also plenty of emerging talent set to perform at showcase acts around Shoreditch.
Back home in Austin, SXSW has grown a reputation for helping to launch the careers of huge stars like Amy Winehouse, Little Simz and Billie Eilish, and it’s likely you might discover the next big thing at this year’s event in London.
You can see the first 100 showcase acts on the line-up alongside full details of the performances on the festival’s website here.
Where are the events and showcases taking place?
Shoreditch Town Hall is set to host The House of R&B for the entire week, highlighting the best emerging voices in R&B from both the UK and internationally, featuring showcases by some of the most influential platforms in the genre.
The series kicks off with Notion, presenting BRIT Award-winning artist Mabel. Following that Soul Surge will spotlight Sasha Keeble, while The Blues Project showcases Grammy-nominated NAO. This week-long series offers an exciting opportunity to discover the next wave of R&B talent in one of London’s iconic venues.

Shoreditch Town Hall will also play host to the Future of Classical Music Series with showcases including Classical: Next, Classical Unlocked and Black Lives in Music, with special guest Carleen Anderson.
From Thursday 5 June, the Caribbean Music House will take over Strongrooms, an independently-owned bar and late-night venue and Shoreditch’s biggest beer garden, presenting a series of exciting showcases featuring artists from across the Caribbean diaspora. Highlights include a special showcase by Deadly, featuring Lila Iké in the live room, while fans in the courtyard will be treated to Seani B’s Bruk Out session.
Across the festival, a series of showcases will spotlight queer music, featuring platforms such as Gay Times, Queer Alt Music, Wraith, Sounds Queer, Trans Voices and Queer Ass Folk. As part of this celebration, special guest Queen Priyanka will perform at the Old Blue Last for the Hungama showcase.
Village Underground and XOYO will spotlight diasporic electronic music and community clubbing with showcases from Crack Magazine, featuring Alice Glass; Eastern Margins, presenting Mono; and Shubbak Festival, which will debut an immersive audiovisual performance by DJ Saliah.
Adem Holness, Head of Music for SXSW London said: ‘One of the things I love most about London is that you can step out of any tube station and find yourself in a distinct community.
‘That’s exactly how I want our festival to feel — each of our music venues will be a gateway into a different international new music scene. We’re collaborating with the most exciting pioneers in underground music movements to present the future of music from their unique perspectives, and I’m beyond excited by the artists they’ve chosen to platform.’
What you could win
Each winner will win two Full Week (6 days) Music Festival Wristbands (each wristband worth £99) granting secondary access to Official SXSW London Music Festival showcases valid 2-7 June 2025.
How can you win tickets?
Single-day music festival wristbands start from £65 and 3-Day Passes to the music festival and conference are available to buy now for £595.
But Metro has teamed up with SXSW London to give away two pairs of full-week Music Festival Wristbands worth £99 so you can gain access to the incredible grassroots music events taking place around East London.
For a chance to win an incredible day out at this UK-first festival for you and a friend, simply enter your details in the form below.
You have until midnight on Sunday 25th May 2025 to enter. Good luck!
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
A CHANCE TO WIN 2 MUSIC FESTIVAL WRISTBANDS TO SXSW LONDON
Conditions of entry
- This prize draw (the “Promotion“) is only open to legal residents of Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland). Any employees or agents of either the Promoter, the Prize Administrator, and/or any company connected with the production or distribution of this Promotion, as well as any members of their immediate family (e.g., spouse, parent, child, sibling) and persons living in the same household as them, whether or not related, are not eligible to enter this Promotion. Persons under the age of 18 are not eligible to enter this Promotion.
- Entrants must be aged 18 years or over at the time of entry. Proof of eligibility must be provided upon acceptance of the Prize. By entering the Promotion, you are deemed to accept and be bound by these terms and conditions.
- Enter between 06:01 BST on Tuesday 13 May 2025 and 23:59 BST on Sunday 25 May 2025 inclusive (“Promotion Period”).
- The Promotion is free to enter; however internet access is required.
- To enter, entrants must visit https://metro.co.uk/2025/05/02/win-a-pair-of-music-festival-wristbands-worth-99-to-sxsw-london-23014181/ and when prompted by the form, submit their name, email, telephone number, date of birth and postcode. Acceptance of the terms and conditions (by ticking the relevant checkbox) is necessary to enter the Promotion.
- Only one (1) entry will be accepted per person. Maximum one (1) Prize per person.
Winner
- There will be two (2) winners. Each winner will win two (2) Full Week (6 days) Music Festival Wristbands (each such wristband worth £99) granting secondary access to Official SXSW London Music Festival showcases valid from 2nd until 7th June 2025 (“Prize”). Individual venue or showcase access cannot be guaranteed. Digital codes will be delivered via email to winners to redeem their e-tickets before the event by visiting https://dice.fm/event/xerlx3-sxsw-london-music-festival-wristband-2nd-jun-various-venues-london-london-tickets. SXSW London Music Festival Wristbands will need to be collected from a dedicated collection point at Shoreditch Studios, 37 Bateman’s Row, London EC2A 3HH, which will open at midday on Monday 2nd June 2025. Proof of age and photographic ID is required for entry (18+). Accepted forms of photo ID include: an in-date photographic driver’s licence or provisional licence; a valid passport (please note that photocopies or out of date passports will not be accepted); and a Proof of Age Standards Scheme Card (showing the PASS hologram). The Prize, including entry and attendance at SXSW London, is subject to and governed by the Promoter’s full ticket terms and conditions: https://www.sxswlondon.com/ticketing-terms-and-conditions
- The winners will be selected in a random draw, conducted by the Prize Administrator using a computer process that produces verifiably random results, from all eligible entries, held on Tuesday 27th May 2025.
- The winners will be notified by the Prize Administrator by email within one (1) week of this date and will be given details of how to accept their Prize. Reasonable efforts will be made to contact the provisional winners, but it is each winner’s responsibility to monitor their email address (including spam folder). Failure by the winner to accept the Prize in the manner specified within seven (7) days of the Prize Administrator’s email will make any claim invalid and the Prize Administrator will then select another winner using the same random process.
- For the avoidance of doubt, the Prize does not include any travel/transportation, accommodation, food, beverages, souvenirs, gratuities, car parking charges, or any other costs of a personal nature (including spending money) that are not explicitly set out in these Terms and Conditions and neither the Promoter nor the Prize Administrator nor any provider of any part of the Prize will be responsible for any such costs.
- Gifts, prizes and other promotional items are not transferable, may not be re-sold and are subject to availability. The Promoter reserves the right in their reasonable discretion to substitute any such gift, prize or item with a gift, prize or item of equal or greater value.
- By entering the Promotion, each entrant acknowledges that in the event of a win, their surname and county of residence may be disclosed to persons enquiring, where permitted by law. Provided no objection is received from the winners, a winners list will be made available by the Prize Administrator 4 weeks after the end of the Promotion Period, for a period of 8 weeks. To request the winners list, please email [email protected]. Without prejudice, the Prize Administrator will provide winner information to the Advertising Standards Authority when requested by them.
- Entrants agree to provide reasonable cooperation to allow the Promoter and the Prize Administrator to use the name and/or likeness of the winner for advertising and publicity purposes in connection with this Promotion including but not limited to publication of the winner’s name and photograph on the Promoter and Prize Administrator’s websites. In addition, by submitting an entry and in consideration of the Promoter and the Prize Administrator granting a right to enter the Promotion, entrants agree to grant the Promoter and the Prize Administrator a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sub-licensable right and licence to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute and exercise all copyright and publicity rights with respect to any materials contained in the entry (including but not limited to text, images or video materials) (the “Materials”) worldwide and/or to incorporate the Materials in other works in any media now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in the Materials. By submitting Materials to the competition, an entrant:
- warrants that the Materials are its own original work and that it has the right to make them available for all the purposes specified above; that it does not infringe any law; that it is not obscene or libellous; and that it does not violate the rights of any third party;
- agrees to indemnify each of the Promoter and the Prize Administrator against all legal fees, damages and other expenses that may be incurred as a result of a breach of the above warranty;
- agrees to waive any moral rights in the Materials for the purposes of its submission to, and publication by, the Promoter and/or the Prize Administrator and the purposes specified above.
Personal information
- Any personal information provided to the Prize Administrator during the entry process (including but not limited to your name, e-mail address, address, post code, telephone number and date of birth) must be correct. The Prize Administrator accepts no responsibility for any incorrect personal information provided.
- We will hold your personal information in accordance with these terms and conditions and our privacy policy (available here: https://metro.co.uk/privacypolicy/) The Prize Administrator will only share your personal information with the Promoter where you are the winner of the Promotion or where you have opted in to receive direct marketing from the Promoter. The Promoter will hold your personal information as a separate controller in accordance with its privacy policy (available here: https://www.sxswlondon.com/privacy-policy) and shall implement and maintain appropriate technical and organisational security measures in compliance with the UK GDPR and any other applicable law.
General
- The determination and decision of each of the Promoter or the Prize Administrator on all matters shall be final and no promotional correspondence or discussion will be entered into.
- The Promoter and the Prize Administrator reserve the right in their reasonable discretion:
- to disqualify any claimant, competitor or nominee whose conduct is contrary to the spirit of the rules or the intention of the promotion and to declare as void any or all of their claims or entries based on such conduct;
- to declare as void any claims or entries resulting from any printing, production and/or distribution errors (including but not limited to any error(s) on any website of the Promoter and/or the Prize Administrator, any game cards and/or other printed materials) or where there has been error(s) in any aspect of the preparation for or conduct of the promotion materially affecting the result of the promotion or the number of claimants or the value of claims;
- to add to or to waive any rules on reasonable notice; and/or
- to cancel the promotion or any part of it at any stage in the event of circumstances beyond the Promoter’s and/or the Prize Administrator’s reasonable control.
- No entries will be accepted in bulk, from agents or third parties.
- To the fullest extent permitted by law (and subject to paragraph 21 below), the Promoter and the Prize Administrator hereby exclude all warranties, representations, covenants and liabilities (whether express or implied) relating to this Promotion and/or the Prize.
- The Promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with any social media platform or any other third party. All third-party trademarks and other intellectual property rights are hereby acknowledged. Use of and entry to promotions via social media platforms is always subject to the rules, terms and policies of those platforms. By participating in the Promotion, entrants are providing information to the Promoter and Prize Administrator, not to any relevant social media platform. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the relevant social media platforms shall have no liability to any person in connection with or arising out of the Promotion howsoever caused, including for any costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities.
- Nothing in these terms and conditions shall exclude the Promoter’s and Prize Administrator’s liability for:
- death or personal injury as a result of its negligence;
- fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
- any liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law.
- The Promoter and the Prize Administrator each reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, suspend or cancel the Promotion should virus, bugs, tampering, fraud or other causes beyond the reasonable control of the Promoter or the Prize Administrator corrupt or hinder the administration, security or proper play of the Promotion.
- If any of the provisions of these terms and conditions are held to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part that part shall be severed from the remainder of the provisions and the validity of the other provisions and the remainder of the provision in question shall not be affected.
- These terms and conditions shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales and any dispute shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, except that residents of Scotland may also bring proceedings in the Scottish courts.
Promoter
- The Promoter is SXSW LONDON LIMITED, Second Floor, 67-71 Shoreditch High Street, London, England, E1 6JJ (company number 16034054).
Prize Administrator
- The Prize Administrator is Associated Newspapers Limited, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5TT, (company number 00084121).
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