The SXSW Music opening keynote was delivered by First Lady Michelle Obama on March 16, 2016. Her appearance at a music conference and festival had me perplexed at first, but as the session unfolded, key themes relating to gender and racial equality set the stage for the five-day event. If the chatter around the 2016 Academy Awards revolved around the homogeneity of Hollywood, SXSW Music 2016 would highlight racial and gender diversity in a way that I have only seen in the last couple of years of coming to SXSW.

It was not quite a keynote in the traditional sense, with an individual speaker behind a podium, but more like a talk show where the First lady was joined by a panel of influential women. The session started with introductions from AOL Makers, the executive producers of the single “This is for My Girl,” a “We are the World”-like ensemble featuring Missy Elliott, Kelly Clarkson, and Janelle Monae, among others. The single is to support a cause dear to the First Lady’s heart, the Let Girls Learn initiative that helps raise money to educate the 62 million girls worldwide who are not in school. This was followed by a musical performance by young contributors to the single, Chloe & Halle, who performed some of their own material.

Queen Latifa, whose successful music and acting career has made her a venerable figure in the entertainment industry, was the first to take the stage as moderator of the keynote. She was then joined by the First Lady Michelle Obama, actress Sophia Bush, hip-hop artist Missy Elliott, and songwriter Diane Warren. The essence of the conversation was to share how each of the panelists overcame adversity to succeed in their respective careers. A nod to the music industry in the selection of panelists was furthered with a question regarding their most favorite albums — Queen Latifa and Stevie Wonder came up as panelist favorites. The conversation concluded with a few questions from the audience, followed by an epic photo op with the First Lady that had many a cellphone raised high in the air. The all women line-up at Tumblr’s 79¢ Party and the slew of hip-hop showcases throughout the week helped to reinforce the calls for gender and racial diversity that is becoming a hallmark of SXSW Music programming — a welcomed evolution.