Although it may be known for launching the careers of several of the music industry's biggest stars, the South by Southwest festival, or SXSW as it is affectionately known by industry buffs, is much more than your typical run-of-the-mill music festival. The 10 day event is more of a cultural experience then a concert series and also features a film festival and one of the country's most innovative interactive festivals. The interactive festival is every technology lover's dream, as it boasts five days of presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology, scores of exciting networking events hosted by industry leaders, a groundbreaking SXSW Trade Show, and a lineup of special programs showcasing the best new digital works, video games, and innovative ideas the international community has to offer.

 

The Festival's Beginnings

South by Southwest is now one of the largest music festivals in the United States and features over 2,000 performers performing at over 90 venues in downtown Austin, Texas, over a five day period. This year, the interactive festival runs March 11-15, the music festival runs March 15-20, and the film festival runs March 11-19. It also happens to be a landmark year for the festival as it is celebrating its 25 years of music, networking, and groundbreaking media events. SXSW launched as a music festival with humble beginnings in 1987. Four men who were working at The Austin Chronicle, one of Austin's alternative weekly newspapers, organized the inaugural event that had just 700 registrants all housed in one downtown hotel and 172 bands at 13 venues. To see just how small scale this was in comparison to today's festival, one only needs to look at the numbers. This year's SXSW Music Festival will attract nearly 12,000 registrants and the conference will take over the 881,000-square-foot Austin Convention Center for five days. The official 2011 roster includes 2,000 acts that will perform in 90 venues, with hundreds of other "unofficial" shows taking place around the city. It's safe to say that every hotel in the area will be booked solid, so late planning festival goers may have to venture out to nearby suburbs to find a room.

 

Groundbreaking Music and Film

For fans of similar music festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella, this year's South by Southwest is ready to be a contender for national recognition. Headliners include Duran Duran, B.o.B., the Wu-Tang Clan, Bright Eyes, Cee Lo Green and Queens of the Stone Age. While music takes over the night, during the day visitors can attend conferences and network with some of the music industry's biggest players or even attend panel discussions with their favorite artists. Take a break from the music and head to the SXSW Film Festival and Conference, which has become known as one of the country's preeminent film festivals for new emerging talent. Listen as world-class speakers tackle the latest filmmaking trends and meet thousands of like-minded movie buffs. Simultaneously, the nine day festival features a truly diverse program that includes provocative documentaries, subversive comedies, short films, genre standouts and more. Past films have included indie favorite Elvis and Annabelle and academy award winner The Hurt Locker, while this year's headliner is the world premiere of the film "The King Of Luck." The film is a documentary about legendary country musician Willie Nelson and was directed by actor Billy bob Thornton.

 

The Technology Lover's Dream

Festival goers can round out their experience with a trip to the Interactive Festival that has featured numerous technology breakthroughs in the past, including a panel about social networking juggernaut Twitter and a now infamous interview with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. This year's keynote speaker is Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes, and sessions about topics for every media junkie, like fashion and travel blogging, getting the most out of your tweet on Twitter, and "expressing yourself musically with mobile technology."

 Tickets for the festival can be purchased online in advance for lower rates at the official SXSW website and range from $450 to $1250 depending on the package you select. A master schedule of all events and their venue locations, as well as band, speaker, and film bios can also be found on the site so that you can narrow your choices down. Grab your favorite band t-shirt and head down to Austin for a true cultural experience that has been attracting people from all over the world for 25 years.If it's your first time at the festival, check out these pointers for SXSW newcomers.

Have you ever experienced anything like SXSW?

by Amanda Miller, Contributing Editor