NPR AUSTIN 100: FREEBIE OF THE YEAR

Field Mouse

Once again this year, NPR is offering a treasure trove of the best new music—a “curated” list of 100 tracks from acts playing at SXSW next week that can be downloaded individually or altogether as a 795 MB .zip file folder containing more than six hours of music. For free. The whole enchilada is available until April 2. Get it here.

“Thousands of acts play SXSW each year, enough that winnowing them down to 100 required months of seeking, listening, culling and decision-making,” reads the intro. “What remains are some of SXSW 2015's most thrilling discoveries and highlights.

“But this page is the bare-bones way to listen. We've also got a full, interactive multimedia experience — not to mention a way to stream these songs all the way through SXSW 2016. And, as always, come back to NPR.org/SXSW for live concerts, photos, videos and dispatches from this year's festival.”

We pulled a couple dozen really good cuts out of the 2014 Austin 100. This is an offer no adventurous music lover can afford to pass up.