mtvU Woodies (FREE)

Woodie Voting is Open! Vote for Your Favorites Here!

VIA MTVU

The mtvU Woodie Awards are heading back to South by Southwest, and this year, they're going to be bigger than ever.

That's because on Wednesday, mtvU announced that, in addition to the awards themselves, the Woodies will channel the SXSW spirit and become a daylong festival. It begins March 15 at 1 p.m. CT with a host of live performances — open to all SXSW badge holders (though, if you're not going to be down in Austin, you can watch the fest unfold live on Woodies.mtvU.com) — and culminates with the 2012 Woodie Awards.

The 2012 Woodie Nominees in photos.

The best moments from the awards will air on MTV and mtvU on March 18 at 8 p.m. ET, though music lovers can stay up-to-date on all Woodie-related mania — interviews, performances and SXSW updates — beginning on March 11, when Woodie Awards Week kicks off on MTV, mtvU and MTV.com.

Woodie performers will be announced in the coming weeks. Fans can vote for their favorite nominated artists beginning Wednesday at Woodies.mtvU.com. Kanye West and Jay-Z, the Black Keys, Skrillex, Mac Miller, Frank Ocean, J. Cole and others lead the field, vying for the coveted big hunks of wood in categories that include Woodie of the Year (given to the artist who left their mark on music in 2011) and the Performing Woodie (given to the year's best touring musician). And this year, the Woodies have unveiled a brand-new category to honor electronic dance music: the EDM Effect Woodie.

Voting in Woodies categories closes March 9, except for Breaking Woodie, which is open all the way until March 15.

Here's a look at all the nominees.

Woodie of the Year
» The Black Keys
» Foster the People
» Frank Ocean
» Mac Miller
» J. Cole
» Skrillex

Performing Woodie
» Alabama Shakes
» The Black Keys
» Kanye West and Jay-Z (The Throne)
» Mac Miller
» Skrillex
» Swedish House Mafia

Best Video
» Battles, "My Machines"
» Best Coast, "Our Deal"
» Duck Sauce, "Big Bad Wolf"
» Gotye, "Somebody That I Used to Know"
» M83, "Midnight City"
» Major Lazer, "Original Don"

EDM Effect Woodie
» Chris Brown and Benny Benassi, "Beautiful People"
» Flo Rida and Avicii, "Good Feeling"
» Flux Pavilion and the Throne, "Who Gon Stop Me"
» Martin Solveig featuring Kele, "Ready 2 Go"
» Laidback Luke and Steve Aoki, "Turbulence"
» Rihanna and Calvin Harris, "We Found Love"

Breaking Woodie
» A$AP Rocky
» Azealia Banks
» Charli XCX
» Childish Gambino
» Cloud Nothings
» Cults
» Electric Guest
» Fake Problems
» Fun.
» Future
» Iggy Azalea
» Kendrick Lamar
» Lana Del Rey
» Meek Mill
» Porter Robinson
» Machine Gun Kelly
» Sleeper Agent
» T. Mills
» Tune-Yards
» Walk the Moon
» Wallpaper
» The Weeknd

The 2012 mtvU Woodies invade SXSW on March 15 with the Woodies Festival. The best of the 2012 mtvU Woodies will air on MTV and mtvU on Sunday (March 18) at 8 p.m. ET.

1 p.m.: Ed Sheeran 
1:35 p.m.: Kimbra
2 p.m.: A$AP Rocky
2:35 p.m.: Gary Clark Jr.
3 p.m.: Machine Gun Kelly
3:30 p.m.: Of Verona
4 p.m.: Dev
4:35 p.m.: Wallpaper.
5 p.m.: Chiddy Bang 
5:45 p.m.: Imagine Dragons
6:15 p.m.: fun.
7 p.m.: Walk the Moon
8 p.m.: Childish Gambino, Santigold, Steve Aoki