Free Live Concert Podcast Downloads from 2010 SXSW (South by Southwest)

Above: Austin natives Spoon playing in their hometown earlier this year. Their March 17th showcase at SXSW is one of the free concert downloads available. Photo: Zachary Ground.  

Get a taste of some of the great live music taking place in Austin at the South by Southwest music festival with the free live concerts posted online by NPR Music. All are available for online streaming, and most can be downloaded as free podcasts as well. Many of the sets clock in at around 45 minutes, with the Spoon concert being more than an hour and others (sadly, that by one of my favorites, Visqueen) at only around 20 minutes. 

Sadly, SXSW is coming to an end today, but there are plenty of sets you can listen to at home. Here is the selection of free SXSW concerts you can download:

• Broken Bells
  
• Spoon
  
• Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
  
• Visqueen
  
• Quasi
  
• Sleigh Bells
  
• Surfer Blood
  
• Local Natives
  
• G-Side
  
• Brooklyn Rider
  
• Smith Westerns
  
• The Walkmen
  
• Title Tracks
  
• Best Coast (available for online streaming only)

It's a lot of free music, and I've only begun to scratch the surface. But it'll keep me busy with new music until the outdoor music season starts in a few weeks.

Free Song Downloads and Webcasts from the 2010 SXSW Music Fest

If you can't be in Austin, Texas for the 2010 SXSW music fest, you can download or stream plenty of free music to get the feel for the hundreds of bands that will be playing there. The music event runs from March 17th to the 21st.

* SXSW offers 5.43 gigabytes of free music downloads from SXSW showcasing bands. You can download the free songs from the official SXSW Web site, or go to the unofficial SXSW torrents site.

* For music videos, check out the SXSW music Youtube Channel and the SXSW Videos and Podcasts page. 

* NPR Music offers plenty of podcasts, streaming audio, and concert Webcasts from SXSW. Check out their SXSW preview show and their listing of free live streaming SXSW concerts (most of which will be archived for streaming or podcast download).

Enjoy!