"South by Southwest-Austin, Texas" a Austin Travel Page by msbrandysue

Trip number 846 of 1000 Places To See Before You Die is South by Southwest (page 714). It lined up perfectly with my spring break. Since I graduated in December and started teaching in the middle of year I needed to get away for a few days!

I love music and was once a professional musician. Whenever I see live music it brings back such old memories. Performing in front of people is definitely one of the best feelings I've ever had. Because of my past I knew I would love this trip. I also had never been on 6th St. and have heard great things about it. I made sure to get some FUN friends of mine and off we headed in my car.

There are no words to describe Austin except....Austin. What a unique and accepting city. No matter what you're style you will find a niche here. When you say the word Austin it's synnmomous with 6th St. What a party!

Austin is known as the Live Music Capitol of the Earth! The build up of the music scene and party scene is during Spring Break for the South by Southwest Music Festival. Bands come from around the world for an unending array of music, film, and multimedia showcase. On every corner was a new accent. It was lovely! :) I made sure to go with some fun, party-going friends to help keep the mood light and moving!

Now, you have to remember, my friends and I are either IN college or just fresh out. We didn't have the money (or know anyone) to get the $500 badges or $200 wristbands. We decided to walk around and enjoy the festival without getting into the exclusive venues. HOWEVER, I knew that the one person I wanted to hear would be at Stubb's on Thursday night. Stubb's has a music venue in the back but the front is still a very famous BBQ restaurant. Therefore, my friends and I went to eat there and got to listen to the music. While we were waiting for a table (only 3 minutes tops) we were down at the bottom floor bar. I heard my favorite song come on!! I was so excited. I flirted with the security guy at the door and got to watch him sing this one song and I was set for the trip, walking on air!

*Thousands of bands are playing here. You have to do your homework to find the bands you want to hear. The bands are listed late February (if I remember correctly) on the website www.sxsw.com Do not print them out!! I accidentally hit print and walked away and it printed more than 80 pages! While working from home I would find their music at myspace.com and see if I liked their sound or not. Just a suggestion if you are a music lover like me and don't like wasting time on mediocre bands!

Well, 6th St. (unfortunately) is not going 24 hours a day. So, what do you do if not sleeping the day away?? Austin is a beautiful city! There is a lake right outside of downtown. It has a great walking track for those who like to burn the beer calories off. We found a Joe's Crabshack on the lake and it made for a great lunch!