Has anyone here ever been?

Looking at their website, it's about $600/person for a "music" badge all week. Can you get single-day passes? Holy F*ck that's expensive.

no single days passes

SXSW was never meant intended to be a music festival that just the average person goes to, it was started as a conference for music industry folks to get together, thus the high costs.

you can buy a wristband for $150-180 that gets you into all of the official shows, but you wait in a longer line if shows are at capacity, whereas badgeholders can usually walk right in.

wristbands are a bit tougher to come by these days, as they're usually only sold in person to Austin residents, but i've not had trouble buying one the years i've gone.

and then nowadays there's just as much if not more free shows during the day that anyone can attend.

I am not sure if I would go... I lived in Austin for 4 or 5 months. I think that was enough. I mean I think you really have to be in the know to know whats going on there, but if your willing to go around town with an open mind, you may just run into a big name act on any given night, or just something cool.

I have heard the unofficial show scene is growing every year to make up for the fact that it costs so much to go to the festival.

free shows are your best bet. and always always have a plan B, C, D. i had a music badge last year and literally stood in line outside the mohawk for a good 3 hours trying to get inside for the black keys. i think the line moved... 50 feet. so even a badge doesnt mean you can just walk right in.

when the time comes... do512.com

thats too bad. Mohawk is kinda lame and run by a bunch of hipster dickwads. I mean the venue itself is cool, just a very 'we are too good for you, so pay us $12' kinda vibe.