The following is a letter written by Le and Thomas Popov, owners of South Congress boutique FactoryPeople. As life-long independent music lovers and long-time Austinites (at least one of has lived here since 1989), we have come to love mid-March when the SXSW Music Festival brings Austin to life. After the events of this year's fest, it’s unlikely we’ll ever feel the same affection for SXSW. On Thursday, March 15th, an inspector of the City......

FRIDAY [16] art • Artist's Reception: Joan Winter: From Marfa to Sudari at Flatbed Press and Gallery (6-8pm) art • Flatstock 12 Poster Convention at Austin Convention Center (11am-6pm) books • Jack Pendarvis preseents The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure at BookPeople (3:00pm) books • John Sellers presents Perfect From Now On at BookPeople (7:00pm) sxsw • SXSW Film Festival at Everywhere sxsw • SXSW Music Festival at Everywhere theatre • Austin Shakespeare......

Austinist and Gothamist's second annual SXSW day party (co-hosted this year with Gorilla Vs Bear) was a resounding success, drawing a capacity crowd by the early afternoon. Austin Mayor Will Wynn made a surprise visit during Earl Greyhound's set, articulating the importance of cornerstone venues like The Mohawk on our city's live music scene and suggesting that Austin musicians need better access to healthcare. His speech garnered tremendous applause from the audience, which consisted......

Consider this your last reminder to turn in those SXSW Music Festival showcase applications: all are due this Friday, November 10th. All materials should be submitted online, including press kits and mp3s. They've also decided to extend the deadline for international acts. [SXSW Music Showcase App] [SXSW Showcase FAQ] SXSW 2007 Interactive: March 9-13 Film: March 9-17 Music: March 14-18......

A while back, we met with two members of Shadows, a "social bookmarking service" that integrates tags, blogs and an community-driven ratings system -- all in the name of helping us to "discover, share and manage information on the web." Case in point: if you clicked through an Austinist tag, you'll find other related tags (sxsw2006 blooging ist   austin blogs -- yes, blooging) that people associate us with, among other nifty things. But, more to the......

Austin is Taradise! And Lance and Sheryl split Congrats to Adlai McMahon, winner of our giveaway contest for Bloc Party's documentary/concert DVD, God Bless Bloc Party! The SXSW Music Festival roster expanded to over 1,100 this week, including such esteemed acts as Morrissey and The Flaming Lips Austinist photographer Matt Wright captures yet another amazing night shot in Austin, as well as some sexy shots of last week's Box Magazine issue release party. The......

The roster of bands scheduled to perform at this year's South by Southwest Music Festival has grown to over one thousand, with several hundred still unannounced. If you're not on this, don't fret -- just yet. SXSW coordinators are promising to contact all selected bands by February 7. Meanwhile: The housing market during the festival is looking rather healthy. SXSW is still looking for volunteers Registration rates are at their penultimate price points before......

Vince Young goes pro after a spectacular performance ... or does he? Either way, party with UT this weekend ColumnISTs: Dipsomania 101, Truesdays, Candy and Flowers, Watching It, Watching Me The Austin Chronicle wants to know your favorite local bands Are Sheryl and Lance on the outs? Whole Foods makes us proud; AMD? Not so much The daughter of the former guvn'r takes over planned parenthood Austinist eats: Suzi's China Grill, Siena Ristorante Toscana......

SXSW.com released an updated lineup for this year's SXSW Music Festival earlier today, and it's one hell of a list. The SXSW committee hastens to note that "This is a partial list of performers confirmed to appear at the 2006 SXSW Music Festival. This list is current as of 1/13/06. All of this information is subject to change." International acts include: Masahiro Nitta, DMBQ, Ellegarden, Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re, PE'Z, The Emeralds (Japan)......