It's that time of year again, when music obsessives and music-industry people whose obsession was beaten out of them gather in Austin for four days and nights of music saturation, a.k.a. South By Southwest Music. If you've never been, it's madness: Thousands descend on the streets to witness thousands of bands. Behind every door there's something going on from noon until, in some cases, sunrise. And everybody shows, from tiny indie labels playing showcases in dive bars, to huge names like R.E.M.–playing at Stubb's this year–and Lou Reed, who'll act as keynote speaker at the conference and participate in a tribute to himself.
It's an incredible, exhausting place to be a music fan, and four of your A.V. Club pals–Josh Modell, Kyle Ryan, Marc Hawthorne, and Sean O'Neal–will be on hand to give you the blow-by-blow. Also, we're having a party on Thursday at Emo's and Emo's Jr, so if you're in Austin, please stop by to see a bunch of great bands for free (no badge or wristband necessary) and drink some free beer. Click here to see the flyer. And watch this space starting Thursday morning for daily reports.