Photo of Ryan Gosling, by Loic Venance
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In the run-up to this year's SXSW, we've reached the point when the Austin festival has begun bulking up its lineup with bigger and more prominent names.
Ryan Gosling, Sally Field and Henry Rollins have been added to the Film (March 13-21) portion.
Brandi Carlile, Mike WiLL Made-It, Big K.R.I.T., Rae Sremmurd, Sam Hunt, Real Estate, Future Islands and more have been officially added to the Music (March 17-21) lineup.
No Doubt reportedly set to appear, but a rep for Gwen Stefani tells us she is not aware of any SXSW plans, as of Feb. 19.
» Fourth Wave of SXSW 2015 Lineup
Feb. 19: Ryan Bingham, SZA, Gorgon City, The Knocks, Busta Rhymes confirmed
Feb. 23: Passion Pit at FADER Fort; Earl Sweatshirt; Freddie Gibbs; Saturday Night Live players Jay Phaorah, Vanessa Bayer and Sasheer Zamayta; Judd Apatow; Community creator Dan Harmon; Bog Saget; Chris D’Elia; Nick Thune and more confirmed
Feb. 24: Big Sean (mtvU Woodies), Shamir, Hamilton Leithauser, Atmosphere, Tove Lo, Ty Dolla $ign confirmed
Feb. 25: Hudson Mohawke, Migos, Bleachers and Vince Staples confirmed for FADER Fort; 2 Chainz, Spirit Animal, The Flaming Lips also added
Feb. 26: Kid Cudi, RiFF RAFF added
Feb. 27: TV on the Radio, Cazzette, The War on Drugs confirmed
Feb. 28: Chance the Rapper has added his name to the rumored list, suggesting he wants to play SXSW
March 2: Interscope Records may be hosting an event during Music week, but sources tell us it isn't finalized yet.
March 4: Questlove (Southbites), Willow Smith (Hype Hotel) added; Wiz Khalifa, B.o.B also confirmed
March 5: J. Cole added; Jack Antonoff (Bleachers, fun.) confirmed to host mtvU Woodie Awards on March 20
March 8: John Legend, T-Pain, Wyclef Jean added
March 9: Fall Out Boy added to mtvU Woodies lineup; Chance the Rapper (Fader Fort) confirmed
March 10: Snoop Dogg confirmed as Music keynote speaker; The Weeknd added
March 11: Kevin Hart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Romo, Austin resident Matthew McConaughey, Brad Paisley and Gary Clark Jr. confirmed as Jimmy Kimmel's guests during his show's week in Austin; Clark was already announced as a SXSW performer
Kanye West, who has been rumored for weeks, is reportedly planning a performance at Stubb's on March 21. A rep for West would not confirm nor deny this.
March 12: Fabolous added; Kanye West officially confirmed to be performing Jimmy Kimmel Live's March 20 episode from Austin (March 21 still not publicly confirmed)
March 13: D'Angelo, Mary J. Blige confirmed for SXSW Interactive performances
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Some rumored performers include The Decemberists, J. Cole (extremely likely), Big Sean (also extremely likely) and Ariana Grande (her convenient tour schedule).
Kanye West is also rumored to return, possibly even as a candidate for keynote speaker. Given last year's panned Lady Gaga keynote, the fest will likely want to redeem itself. And given West's raised profile lately, he'd be a huge get.
Drake has been rumored on and off over the past few weeks, and his recently added March 19 show in Amsterdam did cast doubt on a SXSW possibility. But that would essentially leave March 17, 18, 20 or 21 open (the 17th or 21st would seem to be his best options, given the seven-hour time difference between Austin and the Netherlands). And hey, Drizzy does have a new album/mixtape to promote, right?
Other rumors: Death Cab for Cutie (a real possibility), Kendrick Lamar, Royal Blood (no announced Texas dates on upcoming tour), Hozier, Chris Brown (his tour with Tyga and Trey Songz has a gap and no Austin dates), Knife Party, R. Kelly, Big Data and Bleachers.
Expect more updates to come...
(This article will be updated with additions to the SXSW roster until March 15. Please note: This is not a comprehensive list.)