SXSW near miss

February 5, 2018 1:04 PM

I'm going to be in Austin riiiight before SXSW- approximately March 4-7. How will the timing affect my trip? Are there any cool pregaming events? Conversely is there anything or any areas I should avoid as they will be too crazy or shut down? I'm staying in a central air bnb and will have a car. (By the time the festival starts on the 9th I hope to be in the middle of nowhere in Big Bend)
posted by genmonster to Travel & Transportation around Austin, TX (4 answers total)

It's been awhile, but I found the pre-SXSW week to be pretty mellow. Lots of bands in town doing informal shows which aren't hard to get into.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 2:48 PM on February 5, 2018

I stupidly booked myself into Austin one time DURING SXSW (and no, I wasn't going for SXSW) and the only effect was I had to look harder for lodgings. As mentioned, positive effect may be some shows you can find; should be no extra hassles.
posted by randomkeystrike at 4:40 PM on February 5, 2018

I’m not aware of any special early stuff. It’s pretty much an ordinary week, but being Austin there’s still plenty going on. The university is in session so traffic around there will be heavy. The Downtown Austin Alliance has a page listing all the street closures (doesn’t go out to March yet).
posted by mrcrow at 10:21 AM on February 6, 2018

As a former Ausitnite who worked SxSW a couple times... Traffic before that week may be a bit heavier or more congested downtown. Streets may be closed for stages or venues to be constructed. The airport traffic should be fine though. Nothing I can think of would be closed. If you want to check out pre-events maybe head down to the convention center and check around that area for unofficial pre Sx stuff.

Have a great time in Big Bend, its one of my favorite places on earth. I'm jelly.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 12:22 PM on February 6, 2018 [1 favorite]