Shawn Ullman and Rabbi Daniel A. Septimus at Shabbat event during SXSW 2024.  Credit: Allison Teegardin

By Allison Teegardin 

As SXSW 2024 began on Friday, May 8, Shawn Ullman, owner of FLEXDEF and TLV-ATX Founders Club’s premiered his first-ever SXSW Shabbat. 

The SXSW Shabbat experience which drew in more than 300 people of various backgrounds and cultures, included live music by Elior Amar and Noar Ventura, challah from Matok Bakery, Jewish jewelry from Michele Rootstein of Stitch and Stone, a blessing by Shalom Austin CEO Rabbi Daniel A. Septimus and the opportunity for reflection, community and connection with global creatives, entrepreneurs and artists. “To see hundreds of Jewish adults from all over the world join together at such a vulnerable time for our Jewish community was inspiring.  I am proud of my long-time friend Shawn Ullman and his team for putting together such an important event,” Septimus said.  

As the owner of a live event company with a client list suitable for the red carpet, Ullman wanted to leverage his expertise in this area and bring people together to create an experience that celebrates Jewish heritage and traditions in a fun, vibrant, memorable and beautiful setting. “After putting on the first-ever city-wide Hanukkah event called Hanukkah 512 and having it sell out in less than three days, I knew there was an opportunity to bring the same vibe to SXSW and create a space for Jews and non-Jews from all over the world to come together and celebrate Shabbat,” Ullman said. “We teamed up with Tal Shmueli from TLV-ATX Founders Club and the goal was to create a Shabbat event that felt like TLV meets Miami/Tulum meets Austin. I think we accomplished our goal.” 

Reflecting on the experience, Septimus said that when everyone sang Shalom Aleichem together, welcoming Shabbat, he challenged the attendees to “light up Congress Avenue with our voices and proudly proclaim that we are proud to be in the heart of SXSW at this moment. The challenge was accepted, and it was a strong chorus of voices from all over the world.  It was deeply inspiring.” 

For those who either missed the event this year or can’t wait for 2025, Ullman says they plan to be back next year and it will be even bigger. “We are tapping into a whole new audience. Outside of people from different cultures, there were Jews from Brazil, Russia, Africa, and Italy,” Ullman said. “To be able to create an event during the largest music festival in the world and get people to come from all different ethnicities to celebrate Judaism is very special. Half the room was filled with people who this was their first-ever Shabbat.”  

Septimus also sees more opportunities in the future. “I think there are more opportunities to leverage and teach about Jewish culture and tradition at SXSW festivals. I would love to work with our partners at SXSW and locally to enhance what is already being done into future events.”