South By Southwest had better keep an eye out because 35 Conferette’s hot on its heels.

If Austin’s South By Southwest is the mother of all indie music festivals, Denton’s 35 Conferette is its hot cousin.

Known for its active music scene, the North Texas highway hub will be crawling with more than 200 bands at 13 venues this weekend, many of them from Oklahoma.

It’s an impressive and diverse bill that’s got Oklahoma City and Tulsa favorites like The Non and OK Sweetheart rubbing shoulders with plenty of upcoming talent from across the country.

“I’m really excited to see Mavis Staples,” OK Sweetheart singer Erin Austin said in a phone interview.

Austin’s band will exit the Main Stage three hours before the matronly legend fills it with her rich R&B register.

“[Denton’s] got such a great music scene,” Austin said. “It’s a small town, a college town that’s a lot like Oklahoma. Lots of cookouts and playing music and hanging out.”

Though it grew from one of the many casual SXSW day party showcases, NX35 quickly grew into a monster with Oklahoma City’s own Flaming Lips headlining alongside The Walkmen last year— the festival’s second.

Now rebranded, festival organizers intend to promote the Denton creative community as a cultural hub independent from its neighbor down south on Interstate 35.

“What we want to do is highlight the local acts that need to be highlighted and then showcase them in places with the biggest acts you can bring,” festival organizer Chris Flemmons told The Dallas Observer.

Deservedly so. Plenty of quality bands have sprung up from Denton’s fertile grounds, including psych-pop experiment Neon Indian, medieval acoustic band Midlake and singer-songwriter Sarah Jaffe.

This weekend, the locals will combine forces with the populous Dallas-Ft. Worth scene, a handful of Oklahomans, Austinites and others traveling from as far away as New York and Germany.

— Matt Carney, professional writing senior

LINK: Click here to read Matt Carney's list of must-see performances