Image courtesy of Nacional RecordsThe first annual Ground Zero Texas fest kicks off their weekend schedule of events on Thursday, with the opening ceremony at Sound On Sound Records at 6 p.m. (featuring a performance by the official GZT mascot NOBUNNY), followed by opening night action at Beerland with music from The Spits, The Wax Museums, and The Hibachi Stranglers. Denton’s The Reds will also re-unite and rock this special evening. The plethora of local......

Believe it or not, there's still a bunch of activities going on around town this week other than SXSW. This week's IST List won't include our usual bevy of music and film events; for those, we recommend that you check out our Interactive Guide to SXSW Parties and the Other Side Guide, respectively. Meanwhile, if you'd like to share your SXSW photos with the Austinist community, simply tag 'em "sxswaustinist" -- we'll be featuring......

F R I D A Y [ 2 7 ] [music] Explosions in the Sky, Octopus Project and A Hawk and a Hacksaw at Emo's (Sold Out!) [music] Brandi Carlile at Cactus Cafe (9pm) [music] Zilla featuring Michael Travis (String Cheese Incident) at Stubb's [music] Shake Your Ass Record Release Party with Chili Cold Blood, This Damn Town, Possessed By Paul James, Black Joe Lewis & Cool Breeze at Beerland [music] Chant, Exit, and......