credit:  El Hardwick

Freak Slug at Radio Day Stage at Rivian Park

Mar 14, 2025

12:00pm – 12:40pm CT

Radio Day Stage at Rivian Park

The name Freak Slug encapsulates Xenya Genovese’s artistic world perversely and perfectly. Her releases under the name so far - debut 2020 EP Videos and its viral hit “Radio” (20 million streams and counting), and follow-up EPs I’m In Love (2022) and Viva La Vulva (2023) - might have introduced listeners to a “more summery, happy, LA sound”, but with the advent of debut album I Blow Out Big Candles, this Slug is burrowing down into evermore unlikely places. As she accurately points out: “The name is giving more grunge than joy”.

Hugely influenced by ‘90s cult heroes including Ride, Mazzy Star and Stephen Malkmus, Freak Slug is all about hitting a mood. Everything that fuels her creative output is raw, authentic, sometimes weird, but always totally true self-expression. I Blow Out Big Candles is a strong statement of all of this and more. Down there, picking through the curious mix of sounds and feelings, from nostalgic, 90s-influenced and dreamy as well as eccentric and experimental, lives Freak Slug.

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

Events featuring Freak Slug

Mar 12, 2025
9:20pm — 9:50pm
Presented by
BBC Introducing
Mar 13, 2025
11:00pm — 11:40pm
Presented by
Future Classic
Primary Access
Free to the Public
About
From: Manchester, United Kingdom, England
Genre: Pop
Subgenre: Indie Pop
Type: Showcase
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