Since its inception in 1987, South by Southwest (SXSW) has rapidly grown into one of the biggest multimedia events in the world. People from far corners of the world flock to SXSW in greater numbers each year to share in the excitement. In March, Audio-Technica was fortunate to have a booth during the festival. We brought some A-T gear along with us and we also worked with the Austin Music Foundation (AMF) to spread the word about local music. We dove headlong into Austin’s dizzying, amorphous SXSW culture. In short, we had a blast. What follows is a roundup of our favorite moments at this year’s SXSW. The A-T Street Team at SXSW 2014 The Interactive portion of SXSW exists to spread awareness about the most exciting, newly emergent technologies. This year, a list of panels and vendors too long to fit here rolled out their latest ideas and products to tens of thousands of eager people. Industry experts and mega-celebrities, including Star Trek’s George Takei and Shaquille O’Neal, spoke on a wide range of tech-related topics, and Audio-Technica set up shop with a booth full of our innovative sound equipment. Audio-Technica gave SXSW attendees a number of ways to get involved with SXSW, the Austin music scene, and with A-T gear, too. Community is what SXSW is all about. Here are the ways we helped build a community at this year’s South by Southwest. Audio-Technica partnered with AMF to raise funds and awareness for the Austin music scene. Austin is regarded as the live music capital of the world and AMF exists to help local musicians find the proper channels for making and propagating music. We deployed local musicians Silas Lowe, Bethany Galloway, Daisy, and Saul Paul to 6th St. in Austin and asked SXSW attendees to snap a picture with them and hashtag it with #ATlovesSXSW. A donation was made to AMF for each photo we received. Also, we gave away free A-T swag bags to a few lucky winners.. Here are some shots from the street:

Saul Paul

#saulpaul entertaining the crowds on 6th at #sxsw #atlovessxsw #austinmusicfoundation

A photo posted by Audio-Technica USA (@audiotechnicausa) on

Silas Lowe and Andy Lentz

Silas Lowe and Andy Lentz performing on 6th for A-T and the Austin Music Foundation. #ATlovesSXSW #sxsw

A photo posted by Audio-Technica USA (@audiotechnicausa) on

Another way SXSWesterners participated in the #ATlovesSXSW giveaway was to swing by 6th St. and find Brook the Balloon Artist, a talented friend of ours who created A-T balloon headphones. Here are a couple of entries where people rocked the rubber headsets:

This guy! #ATlovesSXSW

A photo posted by Lamar Fite (@itsafitelife) on

My Jeezy #SXSW#ATLovesSXSW#Austin#Texas

A photo posted by B.Retana (@blancaretana35) on

Finally, the A-T team (Gary, Crystal and Corey) hooked people up directly from the booth and the street with A-T shirts and other swag.

We had a great time at the SXSW Interactive Festival this year and we hope you did, too. Amid the throngs of people from all over the world, the delicious food, and the music that filled Austin’s crowd-flooded streets, we see an image of what the “Live Music Capital of the World” designation really means. We’ll see you next year! What was your favorite part of SXSW? Let’s trade stories on Facebook and Twitter! Keep checking the blog for more updates.