SCHED.org's
SXSW 2012 Blog

My favorite parties at SXSW 2011

PureVolume House (also where we threw The Hype Machine party)
Josh, Brittany, Dave, Mitchell and the rest of the Purevolume/Buzzmedia crew consistently throw the most reliably awesome experience during SXSW. The drinks flow freely and the quality of the bands mean you can see everything you need to just by staying put. So pro.

CNN Grill
CNN bought out Max’s Wine Dive for a week, completely rebranded it as only CNN (what party do you ever remember only having ONE sponsor?) and brought in Danny Meyer’s team from NYC to create a killer, all-free menu. This was a twice a day stop for us to refuel and relax. (read more on CNN’s press blog)

508 House sponsored by Virgin Mobile
One of my favorite getaways because it’s rarely packed during the early evening. It’s literally a house turned venue and they have floor-beds in one of the rooms, perfect to escape for a bit and a killer DJ setup in the other. I saw The Knocks DJ here and a 16 piece marching band all in the same hour.

Rachel Ray’s Green House
A bit of a hike to the east side but a gorgeous garden-y space at the old Big Red Sun. Plenty of places to lounge and enjoy bands all day. Why aren’t there parties here during interactive?

#GetSauced Pool Party & BBQ sponsored by Conduit
Felt a little too like Miami but I still loved it. Gorgeous roof deck pool on top of the Ashton apartments and a great crowd of people.

XO Cafe Noir sponsored by Patron
Wins most creative experience. You had to meet at a non descript coffee truck on 4th and Brazos to pick up your wristband, an iced coffee and a mini flashlight with the patron logo visible, batman style. The coffee sleeve had the address of the party, a few blocks away, printed on it. Inside the space there were delicious cocktails and a magazine style photoshoot in the middle of the party (picture above).

(Source: gtmcknight)