Image Credit: Photo of Adem Holness, Head of Music, SXSW London

Adem Holness’ journey into music starts where the best ones often do – not in boardrooms, but in everyday moments of connection. From weekend drives soundtracked by pirate radio to dancing in his grandmother’s kitchen, music became his way of understanding the world: “how I’ve understood culture, community, friendship, heartbreak – all of it.” That instinct – to see music as a shared language – has carried him from London’s grassroots scenes to his role as Head of Music at SXSW London.

And what a platform it is. SXSW London marks the festival’s first European edition (now in its second year), transforming East London into a sprawling, multi-venue “global music village” – a place where underground scenes, global voices, and established artists collide. Built on co-curation and community, it’s less about headline acts and more about context: the people, spaces, and movements shaping what comes next. As Holness puts it, “at a time when algorithms can flatten culture into sameness… stepping into real, physical music communities matters more than ever.”

When he’s not orchestrating that collision of culture, you’ll likely find him seeking it out – grabbing food from Jurkish, catching the energy of City Splash Festival, or, naturally, back in the thick of SXSW itself.

Read on for our conversation – and if you’re tempted, grab a £25 day pass and go discover the next wave for yourself.

Before SXSW London and the global stage – take us back to your early chapters (thinking of your childhood to teens to early 20s – those informative years). What were the sounds, spaces, or moments that first pulled you into music? And how do those early influences still shape how you think about culture today?

For me, music has always been how I make sense of my thoughts, feelings, and the world around me. It’s how I’ve understood culture, community, friendship, heartbreak, all of it.

I think about being in my dad’s car and listening to Choice FM on the weekends, or in my grandma’s kitchen dancing to Jimmy Cliff, or sharing unreleased Beyoncé tracks on MSN with friends. In my early years each of those spaces had their own sound, their own music language, which definitely created a sense of safety or connection for me.

I supposed that’s why I care so much about the impact music can have. The sense of togetherness. That’s really shaped how I approach creating music experiences for other people.

Image Credit: Photo of Salvador Navarrete, aka Sega Bodega who’ll be performing live at Christ Church Spitalfields on Tue 2 June as part of the Crack Magazine line-up.

Your programming leans toward scenes rather than stars. When you’re deciding what to platform, what are you listening for beyond the obvious – what’s the signal that tells you something really matters?

At its core, SXSW London is somewhere independently minded decision makers, from across the creative industries, can come to discover the future of music, culture and creativity. So for me, that’s about us platforming both artists and scenes that have the potential to grow beyond their immediate context.

I want the programme to feel genuinely global and reflect London’s internationalism. So I’m looking for things that feel specific to their culture and context, but with the ability to travel. Music that can reach new audiences and develop.

It’s about finding trailblazers. That might be artists, collectives or platforms. People who really understand their scene, but also have momentum, energy, and a connection with audiences that suggests they’re about to break through.

Image Credit: Photo of ODUMODUBLVCK who’ll be performing at the Village Underground on Thursday 4 June as part of the Clash Magazine line-up.

SXSW has a strong identity in Austin – but London is a very different cultural beast. What’s the version of SXSW you’re building here, and what does “doing it the London way” actually mean in practice?

I love SXSW Austin’s original core purpose. It was about creating a pathway for artists outside of New York and LA to find their way into the industry.

We’ve taken that ambition and made it make sense for London, the UK, Europe and beyond.

London is already a place where you can experience culture from all over the world. That had to be reflected in this festival. In London, you can step out of any tube station and find a distinct community.

So when I started plotting SXSW London across Shoreditch, the idea was that each venue becomes a window into a different global music scene. It should feel the same as stepping out of the tube. We invite co-curators from around the world to present the future of music from their perspective. That’s what makes it feel like London.

You’re effectively turning East London into a global music village for a week. How much of SXSW London is about the artists – and how much is about the spaces, the movement through the city, and the feeling of being there?

It’s absolutely about the artists. I feel so lucky and honoured people like Rachel Chinouriri, Sega Bodega and Shame come to showcase with us. But I also feel we have a responsibility to communicate the context they’re in, and platform the creatives and collectives who also help pioneer those scenes. The fact that we then get to do this in these iconic east London venues just takes it to another level. It’s all those components that make it magical.

I love that whether you’re one of our industry delegates, or a music fan who’s grabbed a £25 wristband, you get this amazing feeling from running around Shoreditch and experiencing such different new music cultures all side by side.

Image Credit: Photo of Rachel Chinouriri who’ll be performing live at Shoreditch Town Hall as part of the Mahogany line-up.

SXSW London brings in dozens of co-curators and industry voices to shape the programme. How does that change the end result – and what does it allow you to do that a more traditional booking model can’t?

It adds genuine depth and richness that you just wouldn’t get otherwise.

As an audience member, you can move between completely distinct worlds. You might go from Korean underground electronic via Seoul Community Radio, to contemporary classical with Classical Unlocked, to Notion Magazine’s take on the next wave of artists.

That range, and that level of specificity, comes from working with people who are embedded in and driving those scenes. It’s not something a traditional top-down booking model can replicate.

Image Credit: Photo of the band Shame who’ll be performing live at Village Underground on Friday 5 June as part of the Huck Magazine line-up.

In a landscape where AI can generate infinite music, the real challenge becomes what gets seen, valued, and remembered. Does that shift more power toward curators and platforms like SXSW – and how do you approach that responsibility when you’re shaping what cuts through?

Listen, it’s hard out there for an emerging or independent music artist. I don’t take the responsibility of showcasing artists lightly. But I also don’t see it as something we hold alone.

We share it with the scenes, with our co-curators, with the wider industry and our jury. We’re all part of enabling artists to express something real about the world, and paving their own way. Ultimately, I believe great art has always finds a way through.

What we can offer is a space where people step away from algorithms and experience music in real life. That’s where things really connect and stay with you.

Image Credit: Photo of Earl Sweatshirt who’ll be performing live at Shoreditch Town Hall on Thursday 4 June as part of the NOTION line-up.

With the full line-up of artists now announced – what does it say about where music is heading right now? And what should we be paying close attention to?

It’s about artists making music on their own terms, within their own scenes.

Culture and community are driving innovation. That’s where the most exciting music is coming from right now.

There’s a lot in the programme that I genuinely can’t wait for people to experience.

If we handed you a Free Pass to London for 24 hours – no SXSW badge, no schedule – where are you heading? Give us three ‘culture spots’ or communities you genuinely love, for inspiration or just pure good times.

Number one, I have to say SXSW London, 1 to 6 June. It’s a collision of creativity, and a chance to experience the future of music and the wider creative industries.

Number two, so I’m Turkish-Cypriot and Jamaican, and there’s an incredible chef who shares my heritage, @wellfednaz, who runs Jurkish. She had a delicious pop up a Jumbi in Peckham for a while and now is moving to John The Unicorn, very excited to see what she’ll be cooking up for us there.

Number three, I have to say City Splash Festival. There’s not much that will pull me away from my desk the week before our festival, but the chance to sway to Beres Hammond with a plate of cooked food will probably do it.

Find Adem at @ademholness

SXSW London
1-6 June at various venues across east London.
Various venues across east London.
Tickets & info → sxswlondon.com