How To Experience SXSW At Home

SXSW is nearly upon us. If you’re attending the Austin music festival, then it’s time to fortify your body and eardrums for a week of musical satisfaction. If you’re not actually going, chances are good you're probably scouring the web for ways to keep up on what happens at the music fest.

Fuse will be doing both, actually. Some of our staff is headed to SXSW to shoot and live stream performances from inside the famed Fader Fort, in fact. And then there are people like me stuck at a computer all week.

So here is a roundup of the online tools you can use to track the fest from the comfort of your abode. And for those lucky sons of guns who are actually Austin-bound, we listed the smartphone apps and must-use tools to make the most of the week.

Live Stream and Broadcast of the Shady 2.0 SXSW Showcase
50 Cent will perform his classic debut Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ live for the first time ever at midnight ET. And we’re broadcasting in on our cable channel. Hell yeah. Before 50 dominates the stage, Slaughterhouse, Big K.R.I.T., ScHoolboy Q and Action Bronson (plus others) will open the Shady showcase. You can watch that live stream at the Fuse YouTube channel (youtube.com/fuse) at 8PM ET.

Fuse’s Live Stream from The Fader Fort
From March 14-17, we’ll be live streaming performances from inside the famed Fader Fort. So you can watch one of the fest’s best showcases—including Santigold, The-Dream, SBTRKT, Zola Jesus, Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz—from the comfort of your laptop.

NPR Live Webcast
Live streaming performances including Fiona Apple, Dan Deacon, Sharon Van Etten and Bruce Springsteen's keynote speech.

Jay-Z’s Concert on YouTube
Hova’s March 12 concert will stream live on YouTube.

mtvU’s 2012 Woodie Awards
MTV’s college-centric network will film its annual awards show—featuring performances from Childish Gambino, Fun., A$AP Rocky, Kimbra and Chiddy Bang—at SXSW on Thursday and broadcast it on Sunday.

NPR’s 7-Hour SXSW Mix
Find out which bands are worth your time before you go with this 100 song playlist.

Fuse’s Spotify Playlist
If a seven-hour playlist is a bit too much for you, we made a much more manageable Spotify mix of up and coming artists at SXSW.

Austin Party Guide: SXSW Edition
An iPhone app that gives you updates on the locations and details of the local SXSW-related parties.

Highlight Smartphone App
Want to read about the strangers standing next to you? Highlight is an awesome but strange app that uses your GPS to connect you to SXSW attendees with similar interests.

Blendr App
A free app that allows users to see which SXSW spots are trending and chat in real-time with each other.

Spin SXSW Twitter
Spin magazine has a Twitter account specifically devoted to covering the Austin fest.

Spin’s Austin Party
The music mag is also hosting a showcase with Santigold, Big K.R.I.T., Chairlift, Best Coast and the Big Pink. There are five ways to win entry to the exclusive event, so get crackin’ on that.

Google Offers
Even Google has a SXSW hub, which is best used to find local deals in Austin’s restaurants and shops.

SXsocial
A straightforward online registration tool that allows you to connect to other attendees and book hotels.