Sunset in Austin, Texas: crowds fill the streets, the rich scent of southern cooking fills the air, and music can be heard on almost every corner of the city's 6th street. This looks and sounds a little like every other night in this section of town but it's not.
This is the epicenter of the 2010 SXSW music festival - now in it's twenty-second year of existence.
Musicians come here from all backgrounds. Some are giant touring acts, others are new performers who have just now learned how to hit the road. There are acts from all over the world: from the U.K. to Cambodia, and there is at least one that is fronted by a Bay Area billionaire who puts on his own festival in San Francisco.
With around 1,800 officially registered to play the event it's difficult to cover them all. AOL touts sending nearly one journalist to cover each band.
These are the musical acts of SXSW 2010. Enjoy the pictorials!
Robert Wellington is a an NBC Bay Area photojournalist who hails from Texas. He's gone to SXSW every year since the festival's inception in 1987.
