Sometimes, the best festivals take over a city completely. To the point where you can’t walk anywhere in town without being IN the festival. This is SXSW from Downtown Austin to the East Side. It’s the over-saturated dive bar meets DIY shitshow on 6th Street. It’s taking a pedi-cab to Rainey Street with its converted houses and throwback decks. It’s BBQ and breakfast tacos on every corner.

In Austin and at SXSW, there is no default festival-goer, cause it’s everyone. It’s young people hanging on hip-hop’s every beat, it’s middle-aged dudes watching indie rock bands, it’s hipsters laying low. It’s people with money rocking their platinum badges and it’s also free-loaders looking for no cover entry and free sponsored drinks.

Everyone from every walk of life and every single corner of the country is here. It’s techies hanging around after interactive ends, it’s hopefuls handing out their mixtape or playing as many showcases as their body allows. It’s everyone talking about how things have changed over the years, but in reality it’s still the same; your experience is what you make of it and no two groups of people do the same thing. We’re all snowflakes and it’s the next big thing. THAT is the common ground. Everyone wants to know what’s up next and Austin is the place to find it.

Enjoy photographs from the front lines of all the SXSW madness below.

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Downtown

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Musicians gotta hustle at SXSW!

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Marketing activations are everywhere. 

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Hangin' outside at The Sidewinder.

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Speedy Ortiz enjoyed by all.

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Preach!

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Duckwrth at The Scoot Inn.

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Our kind of souvenirs! 

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - East Austin dives. 

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - 6th St balcony bars.

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Liza Anne at Pandora's showcase at The Gatsby.

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - When the people become the marketing. 

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Austin's got jokes. 

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - U.S. Girls. 

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - The Batmobile?!

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Demo Taped. 

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Common performing with August Greene.

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - At SXSW, pedicabs are a way of life.

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - 6th St crawl...

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Pitmaster Lamar at Cooper's BBQ

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Tacos are everywhere!

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - The Red River blues...

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Tank & The Bangas

Photo by: Adrian Spinelli - Bully on stage and that seminal view from the Mohawk.