The South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival kicked off in Austin today and, with hundreds of artists performing at over eighty venues, there are plenty of accordions in the mix. As we’ve done in previousyears, here’s a quick look at some performers that may have flown under your radar:

• Dusty Rhodes and the River Band
  Not your typical West Coast indie rock band, this Orange County six piece blends a love for 70’s era classic rock with folk and bluegrass, ensuring that the guitars are never far from the accordion, violin, and banjo.
  Dusty Rhodes and the River Band: Dear Honeymp3
• Rupa and The April Fishes
  Hailing from our backyard — the San Francisco Bay Area — Rupa and the April Fishes mix sounds from the Far East, Europe, Latin America and the US, with multilingual performances in French, Spanish, English, Hindi and Roma. The band features Isabel Douglass on the accordion.
  Rupa and The April Fishes: Une Americaine a Parismp3
• Rana Santacruz
  Born in Mexico City and heavily influenced by both folk and alternative music, Santacruz’s music has been labeled by some as “Irish mariachi”, favoring acoustic instruments like the guitar, accordion, and guitarrone.
  Rana Santacruz: Cajita de Barromp3
• 1001 Nights Orchestra
  Austin’s longest running Middle Eastern music group has a repertoire that stretches from Southwest Asia and the Caucuses in the East to the shores of the Mediterranean in the West, as well as many original compositions.
  1001 Nights Orchestra: Neda Voda Nali Valamp3

There’ll also be a number of accordion-toting bands performing that we’ve covered here before, including DeVotchKa, Pistolera, Bowerbirds, Great Lakes Myth Society, The Felice Brothers and many others.

There are few places where you can hear so many excellent artists in one place, so if you’re anywhere near Austin this week — on your way to the National Accordion Association convention in Richardson, perhaps? — stop in, have a drink, and meet your new favorite band.