San Francisco, the city that prides itself in creating a place of refuge for the country's oddballs, is sending more than 40 of its bands to the state of large cacti and miniscule marijuana tolerance: Texas.

Two of the dispatched bands held a benefit concert on a recent Friday night. They left the next morning.

"We kind of vowed never to go to Texas ever again unless it was for South by Southwest," Andrew Kerwin, a guitar player in both bands playing that night, said.

He was arrested and hit by a drunk driver during previous trips to the Lone Star state.

"We were suckered into going back."

Kerwin, along with his bands Trainwreck Riders and OVENS, is headed to Austin -- this capitol city is once again hosting its annual South by Southwest music, film and media festival.

The festival is a mecca for up-and-coming bands, proving to be a sans-Ryan Seacrest-hosted talent show that acts from around the world come to perform at, all in hopes of obtaining record and professional contacts in the industry.

"It's a sort of right-of-passage for any band," Attiss Ngoval, Triple Cobra singer and guitarist, said of the festival that claims to have 1,800 visiting musicians this year. "You kind of have to do this before anything else."

Most of Ngoval's fellow San Francisco-based band members are making the 25-hour drive in a big white van with tinted windows. It will be, unlike the Trainwreck Riders, the band's first appearance at South by Southwest. The Austin festival was created in 1987 to help promote local bands. The film and interactive components were added a few years later. The music side remains the largest part of the gathering. More than 80 clubs and bars in downtown Austin act as stages for the festival and concert-goers are allowed to cruise around between them, whether it be to check out Fastball at Aces Lounge, Codebreaker at Rusty Spurs or Cut Off Your Hands at Vice.

Bands from as far away as Iran, Iceland and Nigeria are scheduled to play in Texas this year.

The cinema and digital technology are not, however, to be overlooked. Screenings of 108 films will take place, of which several will be premieres ("I Love You, Man", "Women in Trouble").

An award show and a trade show take place as well.

The interactive portion of South by Southwest is by far the nerdiest part and consists of mostly talks and panels about all things digital. During the days, discussions about everything from building online communities to escaping Internet mediocrity fill the conferences, according to the festival's website.

Unlike the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which typically hosts established musical groups, South by Southwest enables undiscovered acts to perform before industry scouts looking to sign the next big thing. Performing musicians also travel to the festival hoping to network.

"I'm hoping to meet people that we can tour with in the future and make connections in other cities," Ngoval said during a break from a recent Triple Cobra practice in Potrero Hill. The tall singer with shoulder-length hair will be playing six shows in five days.

"It's the about the networking," Triple Cobra backup singer and dancer Daria Rose added.

Austin hosts scores of unofficial, private parties leading up to, during and after the official South by Southwest festivities where networking occurs.

But despite drawing poor artists and programers from around the world, South by Southwest isn't a budget festival.

An all-access pass for the nine days will, if bought at the door, set one back $1145. Luckily, performing band members are each given all-access wristbands, enabling them to catch up on and be inspired by current music scenes.

Most musicians performing in Austin this year are just excited to be a part of it.

"I got carried away with this," Attiss Ngoval said after finishing a practice song in preparation for his band's South by Southwest debut. "It's way too loud."

[Contributing reporting by Jayne Liu.]