So my original guarantee - that every big rapper in the state would come to SXSW again - kind of didn’t pan out, though our city’s finest will be out in force (more on that later). Still, sans Lil’ Keke, Matt Sonzala’s rap line-up for the official events is particularly strong, bolstered by a handful of legends and all sorts of regional stars. Here are my picks from the official showcases in no particular order (except that Bun is first): Bun B (Houston) Mike Jones will be telling his great grandkids about Bun’s first Houston show after Pimp C’s death. Bun will pay tribute again tonight at Fuze (or, to be more exact, early morning on Thursday). You’re probably already planning on going....

The wait for SXSW Music is almost over but the information overload will persist for another few days! Our writers combed through stacks of emails, tons of event listings, and pages and pages of our beloved "Party Flyers" slideshow to come up with a list of recommended happenings....

SXSW Music kicks off on Wednesday the 12th, as always with the Annual Austin Music Awards at Austin Music Hall, but it has become clear over the last few years that the music really starts the night before. Just thinking back to last year, we remember walking up and down Red River, watching bands like Golden Bear, White Denim and Broken Teeth at venues such as Beauty Bar, Emo’s and Red 7, and congratulating ourselves for getting started early....

The list is here....

This year's SXSW Music lineup seems to be taking shape a bit more quickly than last year, as bands have taken it upon themselves to announce showcases publicly before the official list release by SX organizers. This is a departure from prior years, but since festival officials aren't complaining, we assume they're happy to let the hype build as the acts trickle in. This week's top twelve additions:...

It's official: Lou Reed is the keynote for SXSW music 2008. His speech will be held in conjunction with Julian Schnabel’s film Lou Reed’s ‘Berlin,’ which documents a recent performance of the landmark 1973 album. ...

US bands have less than two months to apply for a showcase slot at SXSW Music. Turn in your application before next Friday and you'll save yourself a little beer money. There are two ways to apply: through SXSW's site, or using Sonicbids. The latter is a great option for bands who already have an electronic press kit (EPK), as they'll just use this to evaluate the application. If you opt for the former,......

The following is a letter written by Le and Thomas Popov, owners of South Congress boutique FactoryPeople. As life-long independent music lovers and long-time Austinites (at least one of has lived here since 1989), we have come to love mid-March when the SXSW Music Festival brings Austin to life. After the events of this year's fest, it’s unlikely we’ll ever feel the same affection for SXSW. On Thursday, March 15th, an inspector of the City......

Our favorite posts this week: Kristin posts on her SxSW so far. Norbizness gives his SxSW Music recommendations. Sort of related, we hear that one drunk woman offered someone $5 to sneak her in to see Donovan. Steve at Austin Real Estate Blog assures a SxSW visitor that it is faster to walk to 6th street from 15th and Guadalupe than to try to hitch a ride from someone. La Dilettante says, "Whistling is......

FRIDAY [16] art • Artist's Reception: Joan Winter: From Marfa to Sudari at Flatbed Press and Gallery (6-8pm) art • Flatstock 12 Poster Convention at Austin Convention Center (11am-6pm) books • Jack Pendarvis preseents The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure at BookPeople (3:00pm) books • John Sellers presents Perfect From Now On at BookPeople (7:00pm) sxsw • SXSW Film Festival at Everywhere sxsw • SXSW Music Festival at Everywhere theatre • Austin Shakespeare......

We'll be publishing photos from each day of SXSW Music, and we'd love to include your snapshots from day parties, showcases, in-stores, and afterparties! Simply send 'em over (in JPG or GIF format) to photos@austinist.com, with a brief description and any photo credits, and we'll do our best to include them in our new slideshow feature.......

Austinist and Gothamist's second annual SXSW day party (co-hosted this year with Gorilla Vs Bear) was a resounding success, drawing a capacity crowd by the early afternoon. Austin Mayor Will Wynn made a surprise visit during Earl Greyhound's set, articulating the importance of cornerstone venues like The Mohawk on our city's live music scene and suggesting that Austin musicians need better access to healthcare. His speech garnered tremendous applause from the audience, which consisted......

SXSW co-creator Louis Black (left) looks on as folks wait anxiously in line at Waterloo Records for SXSW Music wristbands earlier this afternoon. First 2,000 are $130 and the next 2,000 shoot up to $160--nearly twice as much as they were five years ago, when the first round of wristbands were $85. Lines stretched around the block, with eager Austinites showing up in increasing numbers even as we left at 1:30pm. In '05, the......

Here's a situation that's all too common: it's mid-March and SXSW has taken over Austin, but you've been so busy with work and managed to ignore most of the party announcements buzzing around the internet for the past month. So you're stuck at the last minute, painfully hungover, digging through your inbox and a handful of websites to figure out just what parties to go to. "Why can't someone just tell us what the......

We'd heard rumors of a big blogger bonanza taking place during SXSW Music, and today finally got a glimpse of their awesome setup: two days, three stages, and 32 bands divided between Club Deville and The Mohawk. But then again, what else would you expect from music bloggers like Chromewaves, Gorilla vs Bear, Largehearted Boy, My Old Kentucky Blog, rock insider, and You Ain't No Picasso? Friday Catfish Haven, Thunderbirds Are Now!, Apostle of......

Consider this your last reminder to turn in those SXSW Music Festival showcase applications: all are due this Friday, November 10th. All materials should be submitted online, including press kits and mp3s. They've also decided to extend the deadline for international acts. [SXSW Music Showcase App] [SXSW Showcase FAQ] SXSW 2007 Interactive: March 9-13 Film: March 9-17 Music: March 14-18......

Early applications for bands hoping to showcase at SXSW 2007 are due this Friday. The current entrance fee of $20 will be increased to $30, with regular applications due by November 10th (US bands) -- international applicants must submit theirs by October 27th. Everything's being done online this year, including submission of music and press kits. Check their FAQ for details. [SXSW 2007 Music Festival Applications] [Application FAQ] Confirmed panelists for the conference portion thus......

South by Southwest (SXSW) has begun accepting applications for the 2007 music and film festivals. This year, all applications must be submitted electronically, including music and press kits. Here's the summary: SXSW Music Early Application: $20, Due October 6, 2006 Regular Deadline: $30, Due November 10 (US artists) or October 27 (international artists) Showcase Notification Deadline: February 9, 2007 Things you'll need to apply: name, address, phone, and email of the applying act's label representative......

As sort of a behind-the-scenes-of-SXSW Music, the International Music Products Association (NAMM) Summer Session kicks off today at the Austin Convention Center. Over 20,000 professionals from the music products industry -- representing over 500 companies and 60 countries -- are converging upon the city for a three-day blitz of business, networking, education, and entertainment. The latter will be comes in the form of "An Evening with Jimmie Vaughan & Special Guests," tonight in the convention......

The highlight of SXSW Interactive Day Two, apart from a confounding mock cosplay battle outside the front entrance to the Convention Center (promotion for a documentary screening at SXSW Film), was the morning's Tagging 2.0 discussion. With all this buzz surrounding the so-called Web 2.0 -- which, we're loath to admit, we still don't actually understand -- moderator Don Turnbull thought it prudent to use a similar catch-phrase, as both emerging technologies (or concepts)......

Diabolical DJ Ceeplus and company are taking over The Peacock tonight for an unofficial kick-off party in anticipation of SXSW Music, which, in case you haven't been paying attention, starts tomorrow. Sets by Ceeplus and the House of Bad Knives, Richard Henry, Starsign, Free the Robots (LA), Nathan, and a "special surprise guest." Plus, tons of giveaways! SXSW Get Down Tuesday, March 14th The Peacock 9pm, Free!......

A while back, we met with two members of Shadows, a "social bookmarking service" that integrates tags, blogs and an community-driven ratings system -- all in the name of helping us to "discover, share and manage information on the web." Case in point: if you clicked through an Austinist tag, you'll find other related tags (sxsw2006 blooging ist   austin blogs -- yes, blooging) that people associate us with, among other nifty things. But, more to the......

One of our favorite parts of SXSW Music last year was only tangentially related to the thousand-plus bands in town -- it was Flatstock 6, a three-day gigposter show over at the Austin Convention Center that featured some of the world's most talented screen printers (we snagged a limited-edition print of the cover of Michael Chabon's The Final Solution, as well as some classic Flaming Lips show posters). And this South by, they're coming......

As of 5:43pm today, SXSW Music wristbands are sold out. Organizers say they may release more wristies for sale on March 9th, depending on what we're not exactly sure. People on Craigslist and Ebay are already searching for tickets and hawking them for as much as $300 per wristband. Expect those prices to go up. With around 4,000-5,000 wristbands available, it seems to be the nature of the beast. Of course, we'll be hitting......

We just got back from Waterloo Records where we purchased two wristbands for SXSW Music. How on earth did we get them ahead of time? Our charming smile? Our heady blogger street-cred? Sleeping with Mr./Mrs. SX? The answer is D) None of the Above. The real reason we got the early jump is because we signed up for SXSW's SMS Service, which sends you text message updates with the latest buzz around the festival,......

AngryRobot was kind enough to point out that the SXSW Music roster has now grown to over 1,200 bands. We're no longer able to keep track of who's new and who's already been listed, but festival organizers will have notified all qualifying bands by sometime tomorrow. Check out our list after the expandotron, or for much prettier versions we invite you to surf over to AngryRobot's: SXSW 2006 Band List, Parsed v4.0 Meanwhile, stay......

Austin is Taradise! And Lance and Sheryl split Congrats to Adlai McMahon, winner of our giveaway contest for Bloc Party's documentary/concert DVD, God Bless Bloc Party! The SXSW Music Festival roster expanded to over 1,100 this week, including such esteemed acts as Morrissey and The Flaming Lips Austinist photographer Matt Wright captures yet another amazing night shot in Austin, as well as some sexy shots of last week's Box Magazine issue release party. The......

The roster of bands scheduled to perform at this year's South by Southwest Music Festival has grown to over one thousand, with several hundred still unannounced. If you're not on this, don't fret -- just yet. SXSW coordinators are promising to contact all selected bands by February 7. Meanwhile: The housing market during the festival is looking rather healthy. SXSW is still looking for volunteers Registration rates are at their penultimate price points before......

Vince Young goes pro after a spectacular performance ... or does he? Either way, party with UT this weekend ColumnISTs: Dipsomania 101, Truesdays, Candy and Flowers, Watching It, Watching Me The Austin Chronicle wants to know your favorite local bands Are Sheryl and Lance on the outs? Whole Foods makes us proud; AMD? Not so much The daughter of the former guvn'r takes over planned parenthood Austinist eats: Suzi's China Grill, Siena Ristorante Toscana......

SXSW.com released an updated lineup for this year's SXSW Music Festival earlier today, and it's one hell of a list. The SXSW committee hastens to note that "This is a partial list of performers confirmed to appear at the 2006 SXSW Music Festival. This list is current as of 1/13/06. All of this information is subject to change." International acts include: Masahiro Nitta, DMBQ, Ellegarden, Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re, PE'Z, The Emeralds (Japan)......