SXSW Festival

I attended SXSW for the first time this year, and the festival exceeded my already high expectations. I was there for a few days (I think that is as much sensory overload as I can handle), and had a fantastic time. Every major company and brand seem to have a presence. It is a fantastic way to learn about marketing and experiential branding. You don’t even need a wristband, as there are so many free events (and you can register for a free SXSW guest pass to attend some of the sessions).

4.75 stars. To an extent, SxSw is a microcosm of the city of Austin and how it has changed. Before Austin was a food truck mecca with outlandish overpriced clothing stores and neighborhoods with shortened names, it was just a town full of artists and innovators who moved to a city that encouraged the idea of their free expression. Similarly, SxSw morphed from a creative outlet for undiscovered bands into its present state where those bands are still present, but they are overshadowed by a horde of major performances so vast in number that entire blocks of the city are essentially shut down for the festival.
None of this necessarily makes SxSw a bad thing. It only means that it has evolved.
You’ll see that the majority of negative reviews are from people who currently reside in Austin. This is to be expected. If you don’t live there, the very existence of this festival won’t interrupt your life for a period of two weeks. And there are other perceived slights, such as the difficulty and expense for procuring badges and wristbands (which is actually far worse for those of us who no longer live in Austin), the long wait times for certain shows, and, of course, the numerous corporate sponsors who certain folks believe shake the very authenticity of the art to its knees.
Here is what I think: it’s all worth it and i wish SxSw was in my current city. SouthBites brought food trucks and chefs from across the country to your town, you have over a thousand artists coming to your city who perform on multiple nights, and for many day shows, you are able to get in for free or for a nominal charge. There are numerous unofficial parties where you can win a bunch of awesome items (a friend of mine won so much free stuff he essentially paid for his wrist band). You can make friends and get into some great shows. In my case, I was able to attend a couple of conferences and complete some required training for free within my profession which usually costs hundreds of dollars. There are an extraordinary amount of surprise artists and guests throughout the week. The city that I used to call home for many years is showered with love and attention.
In short, I’m all for SxSw. In my mind, it’s a unique event showcasing all the best elements of the city of Austin (innovation, culinary, musical). While there will always be detractors from anything that reaches a critical mass of popularity, this is an exceptionally well-​run event especially considering its enormous scope.

There are two sides to this review: the side that enjoys the music, movies, celebrities, and all around celebration of expressive mediums. That side loves SXSW for everything that it is and ever will be…
… but then there’s the side that lives in Austin and has to deal with the insane traffic and several extra thousand individuals that cruise in but leave their driving abilities at home.
Let’s begin with the Smeagol (yep I totally just went there) side:
I LOVE SXSW and what it does for the city of Austin. They call us the Third Coast, and that is because alongside Los Angeles and New York City, we are the next up-​and-​coming location for film and music growth. For someone like myself who has always had a hankering to work within the film industry, this is huge and an awesome opportunity. (Not all of us can pack up everything and go to L.A.) And so, every spring, South by Southwest rolls in — along with countless movie directors, producers, music artists, actors, editors, designers, you name it – and they celebrate film and music with a bang.
I used to work downtown RIGHT next to the Paramount theater, and so I was always antsy to see who would roll up for the next première. I had the privilege of seeing Brian Wilson (yep, THE Beach Boy), Robert Duvall, John Cusack, and Elijah Wood (who is quite possibly one of the most wonderful people that I have ever had the pleasure to meet). Badges to get into the screenings are expensive, but sometimes just the energy itself is enough to enjoy. One day I’ll get a badge, dang it!
Okay. the Gollum side:
SXSW hurts us. It hurts Austin something fierce, only because we simply do not have the road space to accommodate all of the guests. This past year the city mayor actually told private businesses to consider allowing employees to either: A) work from home on South By’s opening day, or B) just not work that day at all and stay home and off the highways so that we all don’t crumble on top of each other.
I say wow. I unfortunately didn’t get to stay home. I traveled into the Austin-​area ground zero. I got a little dusty, kinda scuffed up, but I emerged victorious in the end.
But, honestly and seriously, the only negative thing that I can think of is just the road conditions. It really is a GREAT festival, and I always look forward to not only seeing which guests will arrive each year, but watching my fellow Austinites kick back and rub shoulders with people from all over, uniting over good times, great music, and wonderful films.

The festival is interesting. Meaning with the choices of what badge level you choose and what is on your must see list of activities during the week long event. It can be enjoyable for those who do not buy badges. There is free activities and parties. Good place to people watch too.

This «fest» has it all: distro, promo, labels, bookers, tech, agents, managers… you get the picture. Your one stop shop for music industry insiders with money to spend on themselves. Trying to get looped in with the biz? SX is the place for you! The good news is that it only costs 700 $ to get a badge!
Which brings me to the bad news: this «fest» is full of artists. While your badge will let you bypass all of these musicians waiting in line, they still have a pesky habit of turning up on stages and playing their hardest all over this «fest»…yuck right? Like, c’mon. Your boss didn’t spend 700 $ on a badge for you so that you’d have to shout and take pictures over the din of a bunch of hard working artists! You came to Austin to charge things to the corporate card, get day drunk, trade business cards and revel in the industry self congratulation that is the heart of this «fest!»
I don’t even get why SX lets all of these artists in anyway. All they do is make noise, make it hard to park with their loading and unloading all over the place, and clog the lines to get the food and drink that you get to write off as a work expense! You’d think if these so called artists cared about the festival, they would shell out 700 $ to get the badge for themselves.
I hope SXSW takes the hint and makes it even harder for these musicians in years to come. Music Industry insiders have earned the right to stroke their own egos without having to listen to the life works of thousands of artists, am I right?

Lots to see and do, slightly overwhelming. I got a wristband to screen but next year I’m gonna bite the bullet and purchase a film badge that 95 buck wristband is for suckas! You are lucky to see something left over from the badge seats… yeh I could have kept my money or rolled into a film badge Ill buy early later this year. The paramount is your best bet to see an interesting film because it seats 1000… the other theatres… good luck

We didn’t have badges so we just went to see the human parade of interesting people. We were not disappointed in the least. There were interesting things and people everywhere we looked. The event was well coordinated and even with the large volume of people it felt like things were under control at all times. We really enjoyed it and plan on going back later this week.

I love SXSW. I have been lucky enough to get out and about during the festival at some time every year I have been here.
Some people complain about the amount of people that is brings to the city and other complain about parking, but I say who cares and don’t do it. You have to learn to embrace the festival and how get around in it. So no personal cars — don’t do it. Leave your car at home or walk or Über or Lyft or ride the bus! I love meeting and seeing people from all over the globe and they get to come to my city and experience the awesomeness of it.
Now there are so many parts of SXSW too and they are all great. The main pieces are the film, interactive and music. Here is another secret I will share … I have never bought a badge. I usually do not plan where I am going either. During the day there is so much free stuff to go see and do! Literally every place in a 2 mile radius of downtown turns into a venue, something cool to see or somewhere to hang our during the festival.
If you have a chance to experience SXSW — I totally recommend it! I will continue to embrace it as long as we have it in our city.

Sx2015 vs Sx2014
SESSIONS
– The sessions were a hot mess. Topics in my field are super hot right now (get off my lawn you damn kids) and if I wanted to get into a panel I had to camp out for a good 1.5 hours to get a seat. That’s ridiculous. This may have been due partly to the smaller rooms at the JW Marriott which created a more intimate space to be pissed off in while you waited.
– Do your research. Sometimes it sounds like a really great solo or duo panel, but it turns out that these people haven’t prepared any materials and actually plan to sit around waiting for you to ask questions rather than supplying you with information. I also can sit around and talk to people to obtain a Platinum Speaker badge. I can talk all day.
– Some sessions now require an RSVP. Just RSVP to all of them because guess what? The session you really wanted is probably going to hit capacity and you need a back-​up to the back-​up to the back-​up plan.
Sx Session System: ³⁄₁₀ stars
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FREE MUSIC SHOWS
– The $ 180 music wristband is for fools. As Mr. Smidgens pointed out, this thing was useless to me last year. Badges get priority and since they oversell those there are way too many people who trump wristbands, preventing you from getting into a musical performance.
– RSVP to everything. Get involved in some calendar-​creating and RSVP emailing system with your network of friends. Also network all year. Also always network, network, network.
– Get a purse with a maze of zippers. If you don’t have a purse wear something with lots of pockets. You need to hide a Kind bar or something for times when you’re stuck in a foodless venue waiting for a band for 3 hours and just can’t say no to that open bar. You also need that super-​hidden pocket for back-​up monies, keys, and things you shouldn’t touch for a few hours. You know you can’t trust you with things.
– Stay in one place. Look at your crazy Sx Google calendar and deduce which single event has the largest number of artists you want to see. Then stay there, because you don’t want to be the person who says «the line’s moving pretty fast to get in here so I’m going to go across the street to see some friends real quick then come back.» You’re not coming back honey. Your person will find someone else to love inside the venue if you’re dumb enough to leave.
– Social Media helps. Check #SxLines to see how long waits are and determine if you need to change your plan.
– Be a grown adult. Is it raining? Was your umbrella confiscated at the entrance so you don’t poke someone’s eye out? (True of most outdoor venues) Is there no free food? Did they close down the bar? Are the port-​a-​potty lines 45 minutes long? Are you freezing and/​or tired? Leave. Go home or find a happy hour nearby, charge your phone, and reexamine your plan. There is no point standing around being miserable when Austin happy hours and cheap food abound. It’s likely that the artist (s) you want to see are performing another show elsewhere. Refresh and go to that venue early so you definitely have a chance to see them.
Sx Free Music RSVP Events: ⁶⁄₁₀ stars
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Mother Nature Raining out the Tourists: ¹⁰⁄₁₀ stars
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You’re alright, Sx. You can do better.

Where are the free shows this year please? Or where is the best place to go to soak up the atmosphere?

It hilarious reading some of the views from 2008, people hating on skinny jeans and horned rim glasses? You may wanna do a wardrobe check because that now has become the ‘basic look’ in just about every city. Are you still rocking cargo pants and tie died shirts? Haha, i see you people every day in South Austin and most of you are nice, but pretty sad and judgmental too.
SXSW is actually a semi fun thing to experience here, much better than ACL. There’s tons of free shows and free booze just about every day and night of the week.

every time i’m at the fader fort, i feel like i’ve walked right into that «go forth» ad campaign that levi’s had. Its a really fun interactive venue, and i love that its outside. I run into a lot of pretentious people here, thats the only negative. It seems to draw all the douchiest hipsters together.

I’d give 10 stars if I could. THIS is what living in Austin is all about. I usually take a few days off work & do several of the day «rsvp» parties for free — no need to spend tons of cash on a wristband. Also, several of the bands playing at the badge only events are performing during the day at some official/​unofficial showcase. There are usually 4 or 5 parties that have good acts, and I tend to always go back to them — but I also wander around.
I suggest you skip the lines where the fu – tards are standing for hours to MAYBE see Kanye, Snoop Dog and crap like that. Why waste your whole day trying to get into a party that you may or may not get into and miss all these great acts!!! Lame… and IMHO not what SXSW is about. It’s about discovering new acts you never heard of or smaller bands you may like trying to break through to the next level… not seeing some big name that you could see anytime.

Organization and an external phone charger is key for SX goers! I’ve never been one to splurge on a badge, here are my pro-​tips on how to do SX with minimal monetary funds:
Sign up for RSVPster! You will be flooded with e-​mails with this system RSVPing you to all the free events. Go through the slew of e-​mails at least every 5 days to avoid being overwhelmed. Find your favorite venue and go more than once! If you love the space and style, make it a homebase. Don’t want to pay for food or drink all week while being cultured in SX? With a little extra planning, you can totally pull this off… trust me.
Be prepared to splurge on parking (had to pay 40 bones one day) but I URGE all friends to use cabs!
The hub of the festival is at the Convention Center. Come, meet extremely passionate and cool people from all over the world! I’m partial to the Buffalo Lounge that showcases all of Oklahoma’s greatest film, interactive and musical geniuses. RSVP for their showcases and I’ll see you there!

It’s worth coming to SXSW. That’s the bottom line.
You’ll see people hating on it because it’s changed but I bet they are the same people that are starting to dislike Austin because it’s growing and changing. And to their point both SXSW and Austin have changed. But I like it.
I’ve lived in Austin my whole life and I have seen both Austin and SXSW grow and change and I have no problem with it.
Back to SXSW. If you really want to go then you have to do your homework. You have to RSVP for everything free. And there are tons. Seriously you’ll be working on this from 5 weeks out all the way up until it’s done. Don’t try to go to everything but see as much as you can. Also pace yourself if you start during the day. Seriously there’s so much free booze out there it can get you in trouble.
Now if you get a badge get it early. The prices for the badges go up and up the closer to SXSW so make your decision early.
The weather is usually around 70 during the day and 50 at night. Sometimes it rains but usually it’s sunny.
Bring it your game face for this week and a half of fun.

So, it’s about to be SXSW time again, which means it’s time to prepare not for the music festival, but for the free parties. Ready? Go.
1. RSVP for everything free
2. Show up early to get a wristband if you need one
3. Put all your RSVPs in a spreadsheet, organized by day
4. Highlight your spreadsheet, organized by priority/​availability of free food
5. Print out your spreadsheet (your phone is going to die at some point)
6. Take time off from work and go to the SXSW day parties like a champ.
7. Get lots of sleep. Pace yourself. Be nice.
8. That’s it. Have fun!
This works for the music parties, less so for everything else. Get a badge if you can!

You know, 3 or 4 yrs ago, I’d rate this festival a 5. Now, it only gets a 3. It’s grown too large and is getting more corporate now. When I first came to SXSW in 2009, it was still large but relatively small. The interactive/​digital portion of the festival was fun and I got to meet a bunch of great people at the parties afterward.
Fast forward to today. Sessions are jam packed. Parties are difficult to get into. Clubs/​bars are stuffed like sardines and you can’t really get to know anyone. It’s changed a lot. Everyone is out for the money grab and it’s kind of lost it’s intimacy for me… it’s becoming more like a standard corporate conference.
Of course the film and music portion of the conference is still solid and if I could give 3.5 Stars, I would because of those portions.
I’d come back again for the music & film portions, but will probably pass on the interactive/​digital part of the festival.
Return Factor — 65%

2013 Update:
20×2 show was, as usual, a blast. Almost fell on my head by missing a step at Elysium. but in my defense I had started drinking bloody mary’s at about 11 a.m. at The Bungalow, and by the time the 7 pm 20×2 show began, I was well into my cups.
Watched fellow Unilocaler Steve B do a fantastic job moderating a discussion with Nate Silver, and marveled at the fanboys
On a day of threatening rain, I hung out at The Bungalow, Backspace, BD Rileys, Bull McCabe’s and Elysium. Not too shabby for a geriatric.
The following weekend we went our annual Tx Music Magazine party at Scholz Garten on a beautiful Friday afternoon listening to The Trishas, El Tule and more; then hung out on South Congress on Saturday. Drinks with friends for awhile at the Guero’s garden, then over to SXSJ to listen to Phosphorescent (great) and The Heartless Bastards (awesome).
Great festival, yeah its huge and a pain to park, but its one of the great things about Austin.

Ahh the one time a year I envy the unemployed. Unfortunately (Fortunately???) I have never found myself without a job when South by comes to town so I have to pick my battles and try to plan ahead so that I can maintain some semblance of adulthood.
SXSW is great for a non-​member of a band who doesn’t give a damn about commercialization. All I want is free music and free booze and that is still flowing freely.
Yes SXSW has commercialized and there isn’t as much free schwag, and yes it brings a ton of douchey Californians who will eventually move here and ruin everything but it is a wild ride that everyone should experience at least once.
Every year I bitch like a local and party like a tourist. See you in 2014.

First, I ate from Kabobalicious, and it was fantastic! I lived in Turkey for 2 years and while this is not «authentic», who cares!?! It’s better than what I had there!
Second, Robert Randolph and the Family Band was amazing! I knew nothing about them, not even who they were, until today. They kicked ass! He is such an amazing guitarist! His cousin, on the bass, is pretty kick ass too! Slappin’ that thing like… well, you know… something that begs to be slapped!
All in all… a fantastic time at SXSW.

People pay over a thousand dollars to stand in line at LEAST a hour at every event. Those who rsvp stand in lines 2 – 5 hours per event or do not get in at all. The conference portion I went to had programs that lacked substance. The speakers seemed to rush through to get back to partying.

Hey SXSW,
You make me feel like I have Morgellons Disease.
You’re a dick.
Thanks?

Helllllllll yeeeeeeaaaah!
This is one of my favorite annual events. If you’re a creative of some sort thats in the software/​internet industry, the film industry, or the music industry (or a little combination) — you should get yo ass down here STAT.
It’s got more than enough «work» content through sessions to make this an expense claim to keep your boss/​accountant happy, the ability to bump into one of your industry’s celebrities (and maybe connect /​fraternize and do business with), and lots of free stuff (schwag, delicious BBQ food, and drinks) given here.
Tips:
— Carry ID if you plan on drinking/​partying
— Install foursquare (sorry Unilocal but theres no equivalent features for it yet) on your phone and use it (share and you shall receive)
— Bring an almost empty suitcase (trust me on this — you’ll be bringing back stuff)
— Bring a spare phone battery (or battery pack) and carry your charger. Bring a power board or extra power and you also get to make lots of new friends ;)
— Sleep on the plane (you’re not gonna get too much sleep here)
— 9am sessions are a myth (unless you are staying downtown. even then don’t count on them)
— Book your accommodation early (as in a year in advance. seriously)
— Stay healthy as possible. Drink in moderation (1 glass of water per alcoholic drink rule). Make sure you don’t eat too much junk.
— What happens at SXSW doesn’t stay at SXSW. It will be on the interwebz.

SXSW has to be one of my all time favorite events. And I only go for the free shows. My friend and I usually spend a long weekend in town bouncing around catching as many bands as we can. Drinking beers all along the way. I’m not from Austin, but every time I visit I wish I was. One year I’m going to actually buy tickets and spend the entire week there. Until then hope to see you guys in March!

SXSW attempts to be all things to all people and succeeds at none of them. It is a film fest, it is a music fest, it is an interactive fest, it is unlike any other fest anywhere… and that’s because it really isn’t a fest at all. I’ve gone to lots of festivals and my friends in bands have played at lots of festivals. We all agree this is the worst «festival» we’ve ever been to! This is just a huge cluster frappé with all sorts of lame hipsters running all over the place like chickens with their heads cut off.
Yeah, yeah, yeah I know there are some free shows and other «free» stuff but the cost in time WAITING in line and dealing with the hipsters or having to engage in some type of flash mob is way too high a cost to enjoy any of them. Private events for invite only or badge holders take up lots of venues making it really challenging to know where you can and can’t do things. FYI most bands have to PAY to come to this festival so you end up with a lot of really crappy bands. If this is what is «cool» these days than I’m real glad to not be trendy, hip, and cool!
No thanks SXSW we just aren’t compatible and I will stick with French Quarter Fest if I need an awesome FREE festival.

Interactive 2010, where to begin. Maybe with the fact that I left most panels thinking «that was really unorganized, boring, chaotic and left me with little to no takeaway. Tell me something I didn’t know!»
Take a talk today I went to entitled «Social Media Strategy Oh Wait What Now». The description listed that we’ll be talking about social media strategy and how they can apply to businesses. The room filled up quickly, three nerdy dudes sat up front and bored me for an hour. They talked about their half baked idea to launch their Twitter app and one of the three didn’t say a word the entire time. They didn’t create a novel concept, they had no concept!
I left the entire process with what I came for — a deeper understanding of strategically what I am going to do – but for as vaunted as it as of a conference you’d think every talk would be a conversation of Yoda proportions.
A couple key learnings:
— Arrive early to every talk you want to go to.
— Have back ups.
— Know who is presenting and go to the speakers you know and want to see. The speaker makes or breaks the talk.
— Read the big 100 page book they give you. Go to the category of talks that apply to you. The rest will waste your time.
— Take naps. Your liver and general being will thank you.

Going along with the SXSW 2008 review, here is my SXSW 2009 recap:
Monday:
Woke up at 7:45 am to go wait in line at Waterloo Records to snag tickets to the IFC/​Crossroads Party at Pangaea featuring The Decemberists and Gomez. Arrive at 8:15 am to see a ridiculously long line snaking around the back of the store. Some bastards with badges kept on cutting in front of us so we verbally berated them for awhile. Luckily we were just under the 215 person mark and got tickets. =)
Tuesday:
Happy Hour at 219 West
IFC/​Crossroads Party at Pangaea w/​The Decemberists and Gomez. Open Bar too! One of our friends fainted in line! No Joke!
Wednesday:
Caught Fol Chen, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, & Vivian Girls at Red Seven (Terrorbird Day Party)
Waited for two hours at the Central Presbyterian Church and didn’t get in because the inept cuntwads organizing the event didn’t let people in until TEN minutes before start time. By then every badge/​wristband in town was in line for a 300 spot venue. (Note: During this two hour wait they reassured us about 20 times that everyone was getting in.)
So instead we walked over to Cedar St and had a blast with the Spazmatics. =)
Thursday:
Didn’t get to 6^th St until 3 PM and saw the murderous lines at the Radio Room and NPR day shows. Intimidated, we walked over to the Mohawk and made it in to the dayshow there for Glasvegas and Trail of the Dead. Open Bar too!
After chugging down as many free beers as possible, we had us some Mamboberry frozen yogurt. yum.
Waited in line for two hours at Stubb’s to snag front row center spots for 3oh3, Gomez, Andrew Bird, and Ben Harper. it was quite the religious experience.
This night was only made possible by 5 HR Energy Drink.
Friday:
As usual going on three hours of sleep, showed up at Emo’s for their dayshow featuring Little Boots, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, School of Seven Bells, Dirty Projects, and A-​Trak/​Diplo.
Grabbed a bite at Jackalope (don’t ever go here unless you want snot from the cook all over your burger and fries)
Headed over to Cedar St to catch White Lies and grab some free Onitsuka Tiger merch.
Was planning on waiting in line to catch the BlackBerry sponsored show of Peter Bjorn, Dinosaur Jr and Grizzly Bear but space was so limited it turned into a badge only event.
Went home to catch some zzz’s.
Woke up at 11 pm, caught the bus back downtown just in time for the night show at Maggie Mae’s featuring Esser and Au Revoir Simone.
Saturday:
Woke up to see an invite to the secretive Perez Hilton Party!
Danced a little jig around the apt.
Took a taxi to the abandoned Safeway off of I-​35 and 12^th housing the party. (the Playboy party was here on Thursday night)
Realizing we arrived too early, we snagged some drinks at Primizie Osteria for 30 mins.
Entrance into the party. Open Bar with Tito’s Vodka.
Lineup for the party — Margaret Cho, Indigo Girls, Ladyhawke (wow), Thunderheist, Natalie Portmans Shaved Head (energetic), Solange (polished), Little Boots (amazing), Rye Rye
AND then Kid Cudi shows up and sings Day & Night with Little Boots. (!!)
AND then fuckin Kanye West shows up and does a 30 minute set. (!!!)
At this point I could die happy but the show is finished off by Yelle, who was amazing.
The show lasted from 7 pm to 4 am. One of the most epic shows I’ve ever been to.
Somehow, some way, this SXSW managed to outdo 2008. Can’t wait for ACL and then SXSW 2010! =)