PUBLIC MARKS from misspaige with tags austin & sxsw

The 50-passenger Embraer 145 making the two-hour flight from St. Louis to Austin had just three seats per row and one tiny bathroom, which is where Catherine "Cat" Chow hid Saturday as the plane took off, desperate, she later told a federal agent, to get to the South by Southwest Music Festival.

For the past decade, Mary Lou Lord has busked (played live in the street) near 6th Street at SXSW. She's become a virtual fixture of the festival, entertaining passersby with her music. But last week while she was playing in front of the Driskill Hotel, Austin police forced her to stop, telling her she had violated a new "no amplification" ordinance issued by the city.

This is a very preliminary list of performers scheduled to appear at the 2006 SXSW Music Festival. All of this information is subject to change.