Columbus rapper to perform at South By Southwest on Sunday

A Columbus rapper will get his chance to perform in the “live music capital of the world” when he takes the stage at one of the biggest music festivals in the country.

Rapper Trek Manifest will perform in Austin, Texas, during South By Southwest on the Midwest House stage on Sunday. The festival runs from Friday to March 19.

He applied to perform at the showcase earlier this year, and to show the festival he had dedicated fans, he asked his followers to show their support on the entertainment and talent booking platform Opnr.

He said nearly 300 people entered their names and emails, and not too long later, Midwest House reached out congratulating him on securing a spot on the stage.

“It really just happened as a result of people submitting that link and just really just showing how much they will support me, and do support me,” he said.

The Midwest House stage will feature all acts from the Midwest for a showcase that challenges perceptions of the region by highlighting its artists, businesses and culture, according to the venue. The stage is just one of the offsite stages open to the public at the festival.

Last year, South By Southwest hosted 205,595 attendees in Austin, and the music festival hosted over 134,537 attendees online and in person, according to the event website.

Trek said he has never been to South By Southwest, which also features conferences, a film and TV festival, and a comedy festival. But he’s excited to network in Austin and meet fellow independent artists.

In 2022, Trek released the project Everything’s Personal and performed at 934 Gallery’s 934 Fest, Comfest and Natalie’s Grandview. In January, he released The One Day I Arrived, his fifth full-length album–in addition to EPS and other projects–which will get some love during his performance in Austin and other performances planned this spring.

His new music video for the track “God Help Me” will be released on Thursday. More information can be found on his website, trekmanifest.com.

As for South By Southwest, he’s hoping to provide fans in Columbus with a way to tune in and stream the performance. He also plans on vlogging the entire weekend.

For those who will be in Austin, the Midwest House stage will be at Half Step Bar, 75-1/2 Rainey St. Admission is free, open to the public and will not require a South By Southwest badge, which is necessary to get into many other venues during the festival.

Trek said it’s an honor to be chosen to represent Ohio and the Midwest at South By Southwest and potentially break a barrier for other local acts.

“I’m a born-and-raised kid of Columbus, Ohio, on the South Side,” said Trek. “I’m that guy. Anybody that’s from where I’m from, they can see where I’m at (and think), ‘Oh, man, I can do that.’”

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