South by Southwest is now well underway in Austin, and that means a number of New Orleans acts have gone to Texas for the annual gathering of music aficionados and industry stalwarts. They’ll be in town to perform at a variety of official and unofficial showcases associated with the conference, which takes place March 10-19.

One event that is set to return is is Papa Mali’s South by San Gabriel, an unofficial showcase that will take over Freedmen’s from 1-6pm on Friday, March 17. Now in its third year, the party will feature sets from New Orleans acts Dave Jordan & The NIA and The Iguanas, as well as Papa Mali himself. Texas-based artists Carolyn Wonderland and Paul Renna will also perform.

“It basically started two years ago as a record release show for my most  recent album,” explains Papa Mali. “We thought, ‘well, we’ve got some friends that will be in town anyway’ so we got them and have decided to just keep going.”

“For me what’s fun about [SXSW] is these things that are kind of outside the main event,” he adds. “The reason I go back is because it’s become a reunion of sorts. Not just with people from Austin or New Orleans, but with people that I’ve worked with from all over the place. Honestly, I think the event is still really relevant to the industry.”

Of course, Papa Mali’s South by San Gabriel gathering isn’t the only New Orleans-centric event taking place in Austin this week. The Crescent City’s Community Records label will host its own unofficial SXSW showcase at 2822 Salado Street from 1-7pm on Saturday, March 18. New Orleans indie rockers Pope, doom metal five-piece Thou and rock duo Caddywhompus are among the artists who will perform at that.

New Orleans-based artists booking and management firm Simple Play Presents will also host a showcase with bilingual indie outfit Sweet Crude, introspective rock ensemble Particle Devotion, psych-folk quartet Midriff, new wave-tinged duo Video Age, off-kilter blues group Blind Texas Marlin, alt-country four-piece McGregor and Caddywhompus. The event is scheduled to go down at Hole In The Wall from noon to 6pm on Thursday, March 16.

The South by San Gabriel, Community Records and Simple Play Presents showcases will all be free and open the public.

Other unofficial showcases will host multiple New Orleans acts, despite not being directly associated with the city’s musical scene. Hurray for the Riff Raff—hot off the release of their newest album, The Navigator—will perform at a variety of unofficial showcases, including a “South by San Jose” party at the San Jose Hotel on Friday March 17 that will also feature New Orleans americana band The Deslondes.

The Austin Chronicle’s not-entirely-comprehensive-but-still-helpful directory of unofficial SXSW showcases can be found here.

While countless New Orleans artists are scheduled to perform at these unofficial gatherings, 16 New Orleans-based acts will also appear at officially-sanctioned showcases that are only open to people with SXSW credentials. This list includes Lil Wayne & Friends, Sweet Crude, Pell, Maggie Koerner, Royal Teeth, The Deslondes, Boyfriend, Caddywhompus, 3d Na’tee, The Detail, The Iguanas, Don Flamingo, Ken Blvd, LG, and Trance Farmers and Coldcell. A full list of when and where they will be playing official showcases can be found via SXSW’s website, but most will only be doing one official showcase (many of them will perform at unofficial parties as well).