The 2026 two-day Sips and Sounds Festival tied in with SXSW this year in downtown Austin, Texas with yet another unique lineup and range of artists. The weather was a perfect Spring day and Friday was packed with artists at The Long Center overlooking the Austin skyline. It kicked off with local Austin artist Skateland, who makes dreamy indie pop rock music. On the Coca Cola stage, Aidan Bissett continued the alt-pop theme with crooning vocals while strumming guitar.
Dream pop duo The Two Lips, comprised of besties Jewelz and Andrea, pranced around stage with adorable choreographed movements while lipstick marks appeared on the screens behind them. Next was Ravyn Lenae, an R&B singer from Chicago, who sang and ran down the runway on the main stage in a shimmery white dress. Sunset hit with duo Between Friends, and continued with iconic DJ group Major Lazer, who played global beats and brought lots of energy.
Fans enjoyed activations held by Coca Cola, including trying their new Cherry flavor Diet Coke and a Cinemark activation where they could watch movie trailers and sip on a Coke and some fresh movie theater popcorn. The Soda Shoppe was a fun area with a balcony that fans could sit down and relax as well as take some photos with cute giant cherry props. There was a livestream on YouTube for folks to watch who couldn’t attend in person, and various local food trucks for savory bites & refreshing beverages. Peace Tea had a pop up with games, prizes, and photo ops.
Grouplove and Christina Aguilera finished out the night with all the throwback hits, with the former playing their hit song “Tongue Tied” and the latter kicking off her show with “Dirty,” “Fighter,” “Genie in a Bottle,” and “What a Girl Wants.” Christina wore a red bodysuit and knee high boots, and had a slew of dancers performing incredible choreography with her, and ended with fireworks.
A sunny day two started on the SXSW Stage with Caroline Hale, Austin artist with a country-folk vibe, or as she calls it, “twang pop.” Next up on the main stage was Australian singer-songwriter Grace Shaw, known as Mallrat. Canadian singer and pianist Jade Lemac played her hit song “Constellations” while 1950’s inspired artist Stephen Sanchez crooned romantic lyrics t0 his popular song, “Until I Found You.” He ran around stage and danced down the runway.
The afternoon turned into evening with The Runarounds, who had a very dedicated fanbase screaming their lyrics and headbanging. Indie rock bands Foster the People and Flipturn had sunset slots and the night closed with Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, who opened with “Sweet Nothing” and played hits “This Is What You Came For,” “Feel So Close,” and “We Found Love,” creating a grand finish to the weekend.
We had a blast again this year and can’t wait to see what artists are on the lineup next year. Check out the gallery below for all the photos from Sips and Sounds festival.
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