First-timers Guide to Sxsw

GRAPHIC BY MADELINE ROSEMURGY

Whether I feel it or not, this will be my fourth time down to Austin for SXSW. As you’d probably expect, I’ve learned new things about the festival each and every time — things that have become essential to my surviving the week-long music extravaganza. It occurred to me the other day that not everyone who takes part in the festival knows what to expect, so I decided that we’d lend a hand and share some tips on how to survive the festival and enjoy the amazing adventure that is SXSW.

SXSW put together their own first-timers guide, which you can browse here. Here are some other good guides as well from TechCrunch, CNN, and Line of Best Fit. Big thank you to Grace Heinig, our Austin local, for the help with food truck and bar recommendations.

CHECK OUT OUR FULL LIST OF FREE PARTIES (AND RSVP TO THEM ALL)

What is SXSW?

For those of you that have been to SXSW before, the answer to this question should be fairly simple. But I, for one, had no idea what was in store for me when I was getting ready for my first SXSW. Long story short, SXSW is an annual music festival and conference (interactive/technology and film too) that brings thousands of music fans, musicians, and nearly everyone in the music industry to Austin, Texas for five days each March. The festival portion is split between unofficial parties and official showcases organized by labels, PR companies, publishers, blogs, and promoters. The conference is more or less just panels that focus on the various sectors of music. While it’s really interesting and features some amazing speakers, it’s really hard to make it to them with all the live music going on.

If you’re looking for the official answer, SXSW states, “By day, conference registrants do business in the SXSW Trade Show at the Austin Convention Center and partake in a full agenda of informative, provocative panel discussions featuring hundreds of speakers of international stature. At night, the SXSW Music and Media Conference showcases hundreds of musical acts from around the globe on over one hundred stages in downtown Austin.”

Difference between the parties and showcases?

This one, for the most part, follows a few pretty simple rules. The free parties are during the day, and the showcases, which require a SXSW badge, are at night. There are a few (very few) exceptions to this rule. For any of the free parties that go past 7 pm, none of the artists playing can be official showcasing artists. While having a badge is an amazing thing and well worth the money, the parties are an absolute blast and reason enough to go to SXSW. A ton have free booze, food, and other amazing activities to lure in fans who might otherwise head to one of the other 50+ parties going on at the same exact time.

What are “showcasing artists”?

In order to play the official showcases, an artist must apply to be a showcasing artist with SXSW. Once approved, they can choose one official showcase to play (this rule can be broken, but the norm is that an artist just plays one). These are typically hosted by labels, publishing companies, and PR firms.

Make sure you bring:

• Phone charger (or, even better, one of these killer battery packs from Mophie)
• Ear plugs
• Excedrin
• Your cell phone isn’t going to work like it usually does. Bring a printed-out map of Austin in case technology fails you as it has me in the past.
• Make sure you eat/drink before the bars and trucks close at 2 am.
• Plenty of cash. The ATM fees are terribly high!
• Your Foursquare game face — if you’re going to use Foursquare one week each year, it should be during SXSW. There are a ton of great/fun badges, including “Welcome to Austin,” “What Doesn’t Kill You,” and “Checked Out.”  For a complete list, click here.
• But not too much cash, because you’re going to be drunk all week, and losing a lot of cash isn’t fun at all.
• The best, most comfortable sneakers ever
• A pair of snazzy-looking shoes that are also comfortable
• A thin but warm jacket (it can get pretty chilly at night)
• Sunscreen (it’s going to be gorgeous in Austin during SXSW!)
• A flask (might as well take advantage of the free alcohol at some of these parties and stash it away)
• A printed out copy of our free parties list

Make sure you eat at:

• Holy shit you need to go to Bacon.
  
• The fried chicken and waffle taco truck is pretty awesome.
• Stubb’s lives up to their name and serves some bangin’ BBQ.
• Amazing sandwiches at the food truck Luke’s Inside Out
• Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (Great movies and amazing food, what could be better?)
• East Side King! It’s super good and run by Top Chef Paul Qui. Asian stuff!
• The Halal Guys has the best kababs in Austin.
• No trip to Austin is complete without Torchy’s Tacos.
• Looking for the best Indian in town? Go to G’Raj Mahal.
• Head over to Sputnik for burgers, hot dogs, a bar, and pin-up girls.
• Because pizza is always the best option late at night, there’s Home Slice and More Home Slice.
• If this doesn’t sound good, you’re crazy: Gourdough’s has beer and giant gourmet donuts with toppings like fried chicken and honey mustard, bacon maple, fruit, and more.
• If you want the best BBQ in town, you need to leave Austin and go to The Salt Lick.
• But you’re probably going to be lazy and not go, so you’ll have this instead. And that’s okay for now.
• And then there’s Franklin’s which is so incredible that it sells out of meats by noon because they’re allegedly the best BBQ place in the world.
• Iron Works gives you a tray of meat, beans, white bread, and potato salad. Eat it on the porch.
• Mickelthwait is a new BBQ trailer. Nice out-of-the-way location without being too far from downtown.
• Tacos at the Hype Hotel presented by Taco Bell (they’re so bad they’re good — what amazing surprise do they have in store for this year?)
• Check Yelp, too, though.
• Foursquare is very helpful as well.

Make sure you drink at:

• A beer connoisseur’s kingdom, The Ginger Man.  There’s over a hundred beers on tap and a big outdoor patio.
• An Irish pub on Sunday (because it’ll be St. Patrick’s Day). Bull McCabes will be your best bet.
• Midnight Cowboy. Might not be the best option during SXSW, but the brothel-turned-bar is pretty cool. You have to ring a buzzer (the correct buzzer) to get in. We highly recommend reservations because, well, that’s the only way you can get in.
• Brand new Austin establishment, Bangers! We tried to have our party here last year, but it wasn’t ready yet. It has lots of really good beers and a huge outdoor area with long tables and benches.
• Rio Rita. This place is filled with mismatched furniture and makes their drinks with a wide variety of infused liquors. They also serve East Side Pies and have a bartender that looks like Frank Zappa.
• The White Horse has a weird combo of hipsters, bikers, and cowboys. Good for a Lonestar and some two-steppin’. They have a food truck out back — tacos, I think — and they have pool tables.
• Yellow Jacket Social Club is off the beaten path. Maybe for the slightly older rocker crowd (around 25-35). There’s nice patio with trees, lots of reclaimed wood, good sandwiches, and sweet sweet potatoes.
• Hotel Vegas. It’s dark and awesome with old arcade games out back — though I’ve never seen anyone play them — and a big back patio. They have the best whiskey gingers in town.
• Check out this Pinterest board for more.

Make sure you catch a show at:

• Cheer Up Charlie’s is an amazing spot on the East side of Austin. When it’s not SXSW, it’s sort of gay bar, but not really? I think the best way of saying it is “super gay-friendly with plenty of straight people.”  This year, Darwin Deez, Poolside, NO, PAPA, Francisco The Man, Lucius, Dan Croll, Duologue, Night Panther, Hindu Pirates, So Many Wizards, SW/MM/NG, and more are hitting the two stages they’ll set up.
• Wherever alt-J is playing?
• The gritty, grungy rock bar, Red 7. There are stages inside and out, and it’s right near everything.
• Lustre Pearl, because some of the best parties every year go on here. It’s a cool old house (like many bars on Rainey), with a big back patio and small front patio good for people-watching during SXSW.
• If you don’t see a showcase at St. David’s Episcopal Church, you will regret it for the rest of your life. The best sets I’ve seen at SXSW over the past three years have all been here.
• Uncorked, where our party, The Beehive (RSVP here), is happening on Friday, March 15.
• Stubb’s during Rachel Ray’s party (so much free, slightly above average food!)
• Emo’s is great!
• The gritty Jackalope. There’s a huge jackalope you can sit on, lots of pictures of busty ladies, weird horror movies always playing, an outdoor patio with 2 bars, plus an inside bar and food.
• The Parish has some of the best showcases and parties.
• Maggie Mae’s is two floors of amazing-ness. You need to be here at least once during SXSW.
• Fader Fort is a must, but if you haven’t RSVP’d yet, you likely won’t get in.
• I think the Mohawk was the first SXSW venue I ever went to. It’s pretty amazing, and hosts some of the very best parties year in and year out.
• Hype Machine’s Hype Hotel (presented by Taco Bell) is hands down one of the best parties each year.  Don’t miss it!

Hotels:

Well, here’s the shitty thing about how popular SXSW has gotten. The hotels are impossible to book unless you get them in September or have some money to spend. Or, use Airbnb, but don’t get me started there. All I have to say is that while Airbnb is fucking amazing, they have some strange cancellation policies that can leave you out 50% of the money you spent if you’re in a bind. So, just read carefully, and make sure the place you’re trying to book doesn’t have a “strict” cancellation policy. You can couch surf if you want, I guess?  But I think that entails having a membership and background checks.

Transportation:

As for getting around, your best bet is just to stay downtown. Book early and avoid an “uncomfortable situation” at 2 am. when you so desperately need your bed for some good ol’ fashioned loving. If you can’t stay downtown, there are plenty of taxis, but, as you’ll soon find out, they won’t pick you up, because they’ll undoubtedly already have someone else in the backseat, at which point you’ll wait 45 minutes and could have walked to your destination.  Skip the cabs unless you’re a very lucky soul.  You can hop on one of the pedicabs, which are fun, romantic, and faster than walking on foot, but those aren’t cheap. If you have the money, though, just do it.  Whatever you do, don’t rent a car.  You’ll hate yourself for it. You can rent a bike, but make sure it doesn’t get stolen. I’ll be doing that — renting a bike, not stealing them. Your best transportation option, apart from a motorized scooter than folds into a fist-sized baseball, would be to have a sober friend from Austin who can pick you up wherever you need. I’ve never had that luxury, but I’d assume it’s great.

If you need a break from SXSW:

• Go to Barton Springs. It’s cold to swim in right now, but you can hang out outside the swimming area for free and watch people with their dogs and dip your feet.

• Get active on the hike and bike trail along the river.

• Check out the bats! Watch the largest urban bat colony go out to hunt from their home under the Congress Street Bridge at sunset.