AUSTIN, TEXAS - The South by Southwest Music Conference had only just begun, and Bryan Garza already sounded winded.

"This is our third show, and we have four more to go," the frontman for San Francisco rock band Scissors for Lefty told a crowd of revelers at a parking lot Wednesday afternoon.

The music industry's biggest annual convention going on 22 years, South by Southwest (SXSW) is one party where it's cool to arrive early. This year, even Rock Hall of Famer Van Morrison was in on the early buzz. He played a show Tuesday night in addition to a VIPs-mostly gig Wednesday night.

Van the Man competed for longest line with Georgia heroes R.E.M. and Ohio duo the Black Keys, both scheduled to go on after midnight. The hottest day party was once again at the Levi's/Fader magazine compound, a giant warehouse space built just for SXSW that saw performances by London's stylish art-rockers the Kills and wacky New Zealand trio the Ruby Suns.

You didn't have to be at gigs to see name-brand rockers (or long lines). A quick check of the bodies lined up at the Austin convention center -- where 1,700 bands and 15,000 or so non-musicians must go to check into the festival -- produced Dinosaur Jr. frontman J. Mascis and buzzing singer Nicole Atkins. Oh, and Twin Cities jockey Mark Wheat was there, too, gearing up for live broadcasts on the Current (89.3 FM) starting today.

On a panel about online music, the buzz focused on Nine Inch Nails' online-only release last week and the fact that R.E.M. is streaming its new album on iLike.com before its April 1 release date.

"R.E.M. is not a band with a lot of under-25 fans, and yet they still have more fans on iTunes and iLike than anywhere else," marveled iLike founder Ari Partovi.

Minneapolis-based songwriter Mason Jennings, who played an afternoon gig powered by a solar generator, sounded optimistic about his opportunities this year. He has a new record deal with Hawaiian star Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records and will tour with Johnson.

"I think I'm going to see a whole other level of exposure," said Jennings, a SXSW vet. "Being here in Austin is a good way to jump-start it."