2018 March festivals:SXSW, Sonar, Dekmantel, Splashy Fen

A fusion of conferences and festivals across music, film and interactive media, SXSW (9-18 March) is an expansive event that takes over the city of Austin, Texas, with an overwhelming amount to see, do and learn about. Another festival on similar lines is Sonar, which fuses music, creativity and technology and celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Though Sonar was born in Barcelona, in March the more intimate spin-off event Sonar Reykjavik (16-17 March) has a lineup including the names of famous singers and musicians. There’s more dance music fun in Brazil with another spin-off festival, Dekmantel Sao Paulo (3-4 March), back for a second year with a programme of popular underground DJs. The month ends with one of South Africa’s longest-running music festivals, Splashy Fen (29 March-1 Apr).