Podcast Summary: Coffee N° 5 with Lara Schmoisman

Episode: Inside SXSW: 35 Years of Community, Creativity, and Constant Reinvention with Hugh Forrest
Guest: Hugh Forrest (former Chief Programming Officer, SXSW)
Date: October 7, 2025

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, host Lara Schmoisman sits down with Hugh Forrest, a central figure behind the legendary South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas. Together, they explore the evolution of SXSW over 35 years, dissect the art and science of building impactful large-scale events, and discuss the enduring power of community. Their conversation blends practical wisdom on event planning with personal anecdotes and industry insights, providing listeners with both inspiration and actionable takeaways.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins and Evolution of SXSW

• Hugh’s Early Days at SXSW

  • Hugh joined SXSW in 1989, back when “having a computer made you unique” and the festival was primarily music-focused.
    • "I was hired because I had a computer and they didn’t. Having a computer in 1989 was, I guess, a little bit rare." — Hugh Forrest [01:31]
  • Did not anticipate a 35-year journey with the organization.

• Pivoting to Broaden the Festival’s Scope

  • SXSW started as a small, music-centric event (1987) and gradually added film and technology in 1994, responding to Austin’s own creative growth and trends.
    • "The elements we added always paralleled what was hot and trending in Austin..." — Hugh Forrest [04:01]
  • Added health and med-tech content as Austin’s university expanded.

2. Defining the SXSW Experience

• Unique, Multidisciplinary Character

  • SXSW is intentionally a mix of creative industries, designed to spark cross-pollination between fields.
    • "Creative people, no matter what industry they’re in, can learn from other creative people in other industries." — Hugh Forrest [06:36]
  • The event is hard to define without experiencing it first-hand due to its city-wide scope and breadth: music, film, technology, comedy, and more.

• Role of Community

  • Community engagement is central; the event’s evolution mirrors Austin’s growth and what mattered to the city's creative community.
    • "I was lucky enough to be driving the boat [...] but it was very much the community [...] that built this event." — Hugh Forrest [02:55]
  • Reliance on both ticket sales and sponsorships, with sponsors integral to making large-scale, multi-industry experiences possible.

3. Change over the Decades: Technology, Scale, and Generation

• From Grassroots to Major Production

  • Early days: manual processes, no digital tools, and limited marketing reach.
    • "You didn’t have the kind of social media that we have now. [...] Your mistakes were not amplified in the same way." — Hugh Forrest [07:54]
  • Event platforms (like Eventbrite) and social media have transformed both logistics and risk.

• The Dilemma of Scale

  • SXSW grew from several thousand to 50,000+ ticket holders, with another 100,000+ participating in unofficial events.
  • Acknowledges the tension between scale and intimacy/community.
    • "I also am strongly [of the belief] that scale is kind of the enemy of community." — Hugh Forrest [09:02]

• Evolving Expectations: From 'Event' to 'Experience'

  • Experience is now paramount; audiences want unique, memorable, participatory moments, not just passive attendance.
    • "I don’t think most people are all that excited about going to events. They're more excited about being part of an experience." — Hugh Forrest [11:07]

• Generational Shifts

  • The festival continually pivots to resonate with younger generations, while retaining its core mission.

4. Reinventing and Learning: Failures, Pivots, and Community Input

• Constant Experimentation

  • Reinvention is an ongoing process; SXSW made gradual pivots every year.
    • "There was never a night and day [...] We always prided ourselves [...] about reinventing the experience every year." — Hugh Forrest [11:56]

• PanelPicker: Democratizing the Speaker Selection Process

  • SXSW’s “PanelPicker” allows the community to submit and vote on panel/speaker proposals.
    • "We posted all the speaker applications on a [...] votable interface so the community could upvote or downvote [...] That very much aligned with our belief in the power of community." — Hugh Forrest [13:07]
  • Around 70% of content is sourced from user-generated proposals.

• Lessons Learned from Failure

  • The event learned more from experiments that failed than those that succeeded.
    • "Failures are just one step closer to a success. Right?" — Hugh Forrest [15:07]
  • Examples: shifting keynote times to the middle of the day for better attendance, trying—then abandoning—open town halls during the festival, and recognizing the importance of accessible locations for events.

5. Anatomy of Planning a Major Event

• Year-Round (or Nine-Month) Planning Cycle

  • Immediate post-event period is for rest and comprehensive feedback analysis, both positive and negative.
    • "It's also really important to read the feedback of people who did not have a stellar experience and try to understand what went wrong there." — Hugh Forrest [19:18]
  • Detailed planning begins by June for the next March.
    • Tasks: theme identification, content curation (panel selection, band selection), logistical details.

• Building Flexibility for Last-Minute Opportunities

  • Critical to leave “room” in planning for surprise opportunities or late-breaking trends.
    • "If something amazing fell into our laps two weeks before the show [...] you would have the capability to make room for that." — Hugh Forrest [22:30]
  • Emphasizes the importance of details and long runway, acknowledging the audience usually only tunes in a few months before.

6. The Road Ahead: Hugh’s New Chapter

• Gather and Grow Experiences

  • After 35 years at SXSW, Hugh is now advising other organizations and events on community-building.
  • Goal: help others create impactful, community-driven, in-person experiences.
    • "I'm firmly, firmly, firm, firm, firm believer in the power of community. [...] There is something intrinsically special about people being together." — Hugh Forrest [23:36]

• Importance of Face-to-Face Connection

  • Post-pandemic world needs genuine in-person engagement more than ever.
    • "There is nothing more important in 2025 and 2026 than bringing people together face-to-face and helping them realize that we're much better when we're together." — Hugh Forrest [25:30]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Failures are just one step closer to a success. Right?" — Hugh Forrest [15:07]
• "Scale is kind of the enemy of community that you often have. You often have much better experiences in a much smaller setting." — Hugh Forrest [09:02]
• "Events, experiences are all about details. And the more details that you can have handled, the better the end product is going to be." — Hugh Forrest [21:48]
• "It's not like we're sitting together talking, because there is something intrinsically special about people being together." — Hugh Forrest [24:00]

Important Timestamps & Segments

• 01:31 — How Hugh Forrest joined SXSW due to having the only computer
• 04:01 — Adding new verticals based on what’s trending in Austin
• 06:36 — Philosophy: cross-industry creative inspiration
• 09:02 — Challenges of scale versus community
• 11:07 — Shift from events to crafting experiences
• 13:07 — The PanelPicker process and community-driven content
• 15:07 — Importance of learning from failures
• 19:18 — Feedback analysis and the beginning of next year’s planning
• 22:30 — Flexibility to accommodate late-breaking opportunities
• 23:36 — Hugh’s transition to consulting and community-building
• 25:30 — The irreplaceable value of face-to-face experiences

Tone and Style

Warm, candid, and insightful. Lara brings curiosity and industry perspective, while Hugh answers with humor, modesty, and deep reverence for community and creativity. Both emphasize learning by doing, honest reflection, and the evolving, organic nature of building great experiences.

Closing Coffee Moment

• Lara’s playful last question: "How do you drink your coffee?"
• Hugh’s answer: "My coffee black. Although I actually more prefer a skim milk latte as my morning drink." [26:20]

Conclusion

This episode is a masterclass on building, scaling, and continually reinventing major events—steeped in a philosophy that the secret ingredient is always community. Hugh Forrest’s journey offers entrepreneurs, creators, and event professionals a blueprint for combining open-minded adaptability with intentional, detail-oriented planning, all while keeping human connection at the heart of the experience.