For some of you, SXSW is an obsession. For others...not so much. While we're rather immersed in the whole SXSW experience at Austinist, we know that many of you just want to take in a free or cheap event or two during the festival to experience the thing. No problem. Here's a list of events featuring local merchants, community organizations, and radio stations that will allow you to casually dip a toe in the SX waters without waiting in wristband lines or staying out until 2am.

Waterloo Records: Waterloo again features an amazing lineup of free in-store performances coupled with free St. Arnold's beer. Thursday features Sparklehorse (2pm), Lily Allen (3pm), and Albert Hammond, Jr. (6pm). Friday's line-up includes Peter, Bjorn, and John (3pm), Get Cape.Wear Cape.Fly. (4pm), and The Stooges (6pm). Arrive early, because that Stooges showcase will be mobbed. Saturday's finale has Money Mark (2pm), Amy Winehouse (3pm), and Rosie Thomas (5pm). More acts and details can be found on Waterloo's site.

KGSR at the Four Seasons: From 3/12 to 3/16, KGSR will bring their morning show to the lobby of the Four Seasons from 6-10am. A $5 charity donation will get you a breakfast taco, a cup of coffee, and the chance to see bands such as Grupo Fantasma, What Made Milwaukee Famous, Mofro, and Get Cape.Wear Cape.Fly. play acoustic sets.

BookPeople: There's a genre approach at BookPeople this year. On 3/15, country singer Johnny Bush signs Whiskey River (1pm). Later that evening, punk photographer Suzie J. Horgan presents her new book Punk Love (7pm). Finally, there's some indie-rock Friday, as John Sellers showcases his Guided By Voices/indie scene memoir Perfect From Now On (7pm). All events are free.

SXSW at Auditorium Shores: The big freebie of the festival, SXSW presents some bigger names free to the public in an outdoor setting. Friday the 16th, Ozomatli (6:45pm) and Public Enemy (8pm) headline a bill that truly fights the power. On Saturday the 17th, a wildly eclectic line-up features children's bands like The Sippy Cups and Daddy A Go-Go from 11am to 2pm, then transitions to Japanese indie-rockers Boris (5pm), Austin punks The Riverboat Gamblers (6pm), folky-punk from Against Me! (7pm), and indie-metal icons Mastodon (8pm). These events are always crowded and quite fun.

Austin Rock 'n' Romp: A special SXSW edition of the monthly indie-parent event on Sunday, 3/11 features Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater, who made headlines recently by signing to Matador Records. Author Neal Pollack will also appear and read selections from his new book AlternaDad. It takes place on that patio at The Mohawk on Red River.

For more SXSW event information, visit Austinist's Interactive Guide to SXSW.