The complete mayhem that is South By Southwest is already in full swing here in Austin, with the Interactive and Film portions of the festival beginning as early as this past Friday. Being that this will be my first year attending the whole SXSW festival I am going in completely naked with out a wristband or badge. Now being that Austin is the live music capital, I figured I would still be able to see some great live music, even without a badge or wristband – I was right.

Here is my list of top picks for free SXSW artist showcases which do not need a wristband or badge for entry.

Monday:

Reload Showcase at Mohawk – Doors at 4:30PM

The Hold Steady, Cymbals, and Together Pangea are three bands that I believe make this showcase worth checking out. These artists offer diverse music styles and are incredibly talented at their craft.

The Hold Steady is a Brooklyn band that has been described as “heartland rock” and have been associate with artists such as, Lucero, Against Me! and Franz Nicolay. The band’s sixth full-length album entitled, “Teeth Dreams” will be released on March 25, 2014.

Cymbals is a London dance-pop band which listeners may have trouble trying to figure out if they are listening to The Cure or Passion Pit. One thing is for sure, their music is catchy enough to get you dancing, but it won’t make you call Gallagher to smash your head like a watermelon.

Together Pangea is a surfy, garage rock band from right here in Austin, Texas. William Keegan’s piercing vocals and jangly single-coil guitar cut through mix like a battle axe through a warm stick of butter – leaving me with nothing but a beautiful buttery mess on my hands. Their newest full-length, “Badillac” can be purchased through Burger Records.