Lady Gaga to Deliver SXSW Keynote Address
Lady Gaga will be delivering the keynote address at this year’s South by Southwest Festival. The festival’s organizers announced late last night that the 27-year-old pop queen will be giving her speech as part of a conversation led by John Norris of Fuse on Friday, March 14th at 11:00 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Austin-Downtown.
The keynote address will unfold the morning after Lady Gaga‘s first-ever performance at SXSW. On Thursday, March 13th, she’ll be hitting the Subb’s Doritos #BoldStage for an intimate show, with admission offered to fans willing to complete a series of “bold challenges” issued by Doritos. Gaga’s performance will benefit the singer’s Born This Way Foundation.
In an interview with Rolling Stone earlier this week, Lady Gaga said that her SXSW performance will be a “completely one-off set and experience.” “I’ve been dreaming of this moment,” she continued. “It’s all about the music and the connection with the crowd, and I want the audience in Austin to see me live in a way I never have before. I love theatrics, but I started out singing at a piano with a Bud Light in a bikini. Performing at Stubb’s is a real blast from my past, I can’t wait to celebrate with the audience how far music can go when we believe and stick together. It’s moments like these that I live for.”
In delivering this year’s address, Lady Gaga joins the ranks of SXSW keynote speakers Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young and Dave Grohl, who declared last year’s speaking gig “without a doubt, my musical life’s greatest honor.”
SXSW 2014 kicks off on March 11th.