Trail of Dead, Brownout, Ume, Lemurs, and many more throw their own three-day fest. more at www.austinchronicle.com

Unicorns are totally extinct, but in their place grew Montreal sixpiece Islands, which dropped the calypso beats heard on debut Return to the Sea (Equator), as well as Unicorn drummer Jamie Thompson, and under the guidance of alpha Nick Diamonds, recorded epic follow-up Arm’s Way (Anti-). Death From Above 1979 drummer/vocalist Sebastien Grainger shocks and awes with elusive and diverse new endeavor the Mountains. more at austinchronicle.com

Yes, these shows are separate tickets, but it’s clearly a good night to be at Emo’s. Inside you have the Dirtbombs, perhaps the very embodiment of smart, forward-thinking garage rock, playing with Kelley Stoltz and Black Joe Lewis. Outside, you have the Hold Steady, who simply can’t stay off the road with their brainy bar rock. The inside show is $14; the outside show is $18.

Priming the pump for a week’s worth of debauchery, Beauty Bar gets the buzz started for early SXSW arrivals with a crash course on some of the best bands Austin has to offer. On the outside stage, Belaire lets the sun shine in with infectious indie-tronica and huggable harmonies from last year’s Exploding, Impacting along with desert-folk troubadours Brothers And Sisters and funky art-school aces The Black And White Years. Inside, garage wunderkinds The Strange Boys headline a retro revival that includes souped-up rawk from Those Peabodys and swaggering Southern steez from Scorpion Child. Around 1 a.m., DJs from Austin, London, and Glasgow (and special guests like Yo Majesty’s Shunda K.) kick off a late-night dance party that will ensure you never make it to any of those Wednesday panels. They sounded boring anyway. Also playing: Golden Bear, AM Syndicate, {{{Sunset}}}, Murdocks, Sleeping In The Aviary, Future Clouds And Radar.
To win tickets to this show, email austinpromo@theonion.com with ‘Art Disaster’ in your subject line.