SXSW is coming up soon and you may be asking yourself, “Which of these 1000 showcases should I catch? Where can I find the best of the best local artists?”
The answer, dear reader, is the Art Decade Creatives showcase on March 15, featuring Urban Heat, Glass Mansions, Night Ritualz, Exotic Fruitica, J’cuuzi, and Cold Body Club (new project of Urban Heat’s Jonathan Horstmann).
Taking place on the last day of SXSW, this will be an incredibly fun and diverse way to end your hectic week, whether you’ve attended SXSW or not. That said, this is an official showcase, so badge holders will be given priority with a limited number of tickets sold at the door.
But what is Art Decade Creatives?
Art Decade Creatives (ADC) is a consulting company owned and operated by Samara Simpson, a New York native who relocated to Austin in 2011 and has been making a name for herself in the Austin music scene.
Samara started ADC in 2018 after receiving a music business degree from Austin Community College as a way to assist emerging artists. “It was important to me to integrate education along with my consultant work for those artists that didn’t have a handle on how tricky the music business can be to navigate.”
This path led to them working with Spaceflight Records from 2020-2023 before striking out on their own as the manager of Urban Heat, one of the bands on the showcase’s bill.
If you’ve ever met Samara, the name of the company may not surprise you. “Art Decade Creatives comes from the song ‘Art Decade’ off the 1977 album Low by David Bowie. It’s an instrumental, deep cut on a less commercially popular album. ‘Moonage Daydream’ and ‘Rebel Rebel’ were already taken!”
What did come as somewhat of a surprise was the chance to curate their own showcase for SXSW 2025. When asked how the opportunity arose, Samara said, “How does anything happen in the music business? A touch of hard work, a little ‘right time right place’ mentality, and maintaining relationships with musicians and with other professionals.”
The artists performing at the showcase cover a range of sounds and genres, but they all have one thing in common: stage presence. “Yes, each Artist does have a unique sound compared to each other. That was very intentional. It was important to select acts that have high-energy stage shows because I want SXSW festivalgoers to be absolutely enthralled. I wanted to keep this showcase within a broad genre… somewhere in the rock, electronic, post-punk vein. Glass Mansions is definitely the most pop-leaning. Exotic Fruitica is the most manic and punky. If you’re not dancing at an Urban Heat show, you’re doing something wrong.”
Each band brings a specific flavour to the showcase highlighting the local scene. I spoke to each in preparation about the showcase, what they are looking forward to, and what’s in store for SXSW and beyond.
Exotic Fruitica
Exotic Fruitica is a “loud, noise, punk af” act from Austin. No strangers to SXSW, they were an official artist in 2024 and have played numerous unofficial shows. “Samara’s been a huge supporter of our band… Stoked to be on this showcase that they are putting on!” They’re most excited to share the bill with Night Ritualz, although “every band on this showcase is dope.”
Night Ritualz
Night Ritualz from San Antonio describes his sound as “like Deftones if they made music for a club in the 80s.” This will be his first time playing SXSW as well as working with ADC. “I was planning some dates for my spring tour and the homie Samara had mentioned she was putting a showcase together with some of my friends at a venue I really dig here in ATX; it was an offer I couldn’t refuse.” He has a new album that will be released before the showcase and “I just hope to get more ears on my music… show it to as many people as possible.” Although currently on tour with Urban Heat, he is most excited to share the bill with them once more. “They’re some of my favorite people.. it’s always a blast when we get to tour/play together.”
What’s coming up in the rest of the year for Night Ritualz? “Currently just a festival in Canada in May followed by a Mexico tour! I miss the East Coast so I’m gonna try to go back out there either with another band or solo, I just wanna play as much as I can and make sure to hit the cities I’ve played in the past and see all the friends I’ve made through this musical journey.”
J’cuuzi
Austin-based “verybigandstrong” band J’cuuzi has been tied to SXSW almost since their inception. “Our second performance was at an unofficial show for SXSW last year.” This will be their first time working with ADC, and it comes from being at the right place at the right time. “Samara enjoyed our Free Week show on the patio of Chess Club and selected us to be part of her showcase.” They are excited to see Exotic Fruitica for the first time and Night Ritualz again. When I asked what they wanted out of SXSW this year, they said “a SXSW Jansport backpack. Do they still do those?”
What are they doing for the rest of the year? Well… that’s a good question, too. “Can you predict the wind? Can you plan a hurricane? J’cuuzi moves to a rhythm too whimsical to be anticipated. We may release an album this summer, or we may never release an album. We may go on tour, or we may only ever play within the city limits of Austin. Everything is on the table, and we’re just trying to find the silverware.”
Glass Mansions
Originally from South Carolina, Glass Mansions describes their sound as “Alt/Pop, Indie Sleaze Revival.” This will be their third time as an official SXSW artist, while having played many unofficial showcases prior. “Before moving here, we used to route our DIY tours around a stop in Austin for SX and it’s probably our most favorite time of the year. I [Jayna] also spoke on a SXSW panel for Merch Strategies with MerchCat a few years back.”
They are most excited to see J’cuuzi. “Our sets were at the same time during Free Week so we have serious FOMO from how fun and wild their live show looks. This will be our first time sharing the stage with Urban Heat, too, who we’ve been fans of since the first time we saw them (their 2nd show?). It’s gonna be such a legendary night for ATX music at SXSW.”
After SXSW, Glass Mansions is keeping busy. “[So] much new music coming out from us. We’ve been working hard on a new EP we’ll be releasing later in the year, a summer tour, our most ambitious music videos to date, playing more regional shows, and getting back in the studio to write more.”
Urban Heat/Cold Body Club
This is definitely not Austin locals Urban Heat‘s first time around the SXSW block, as they have played SXSW “more times than I [Jonathan] care to remember.” They’ve been working with Samara since their Spaceflight Records days and, together with Samara, thought it would be cool to be in control of their own SXSW showcase. This will, however, be Jonathan’s first time playing SXSW under the name Cold Body Club, which he describes as “essentially [a] repository for everything that I’ve written that wasn’t quite right for Urban Heat.” This showcase will only be the second show for this project. He’s looking forward to playing with Glass Mansions. “[They] are sweethearts and super fun.”
After SXSW, Urban Heat is “getting back on the road in the US, Canada, and Europe. And some really big stuff that I can’t talk about yet.” 👀
As for Samara and Art Decade Creatives? “Continue to work with and develop Artists. Go to music festivals. Go on tour. There’s some other things but I’m not allowed to share just yet…”
Don’t miss the Art Decade Creatives official SXSW showcase on Saturday, March 15 at Elysium, 8pm-2am.