AUSTIN, Texas — Google’s traffic map of downtown Austin flashed an angry red most of the day Wednesday as legions of band vans and fan cabs descended on the South by Southwest music festival and quickly spawned gridlock.

“It was horrible,” said Grooms frontman Travis Johnson, who arrived at the Palm Door for the band’s 8 p.m. show in the nick of time.

But as vans deposited musicians at various venues around town, the pain from the logistical nightmares of getting here dissolved. Music lovers poured into Sixth Street, easily dwarfing the activity on the strip during SXSW Interactive, which ended Tuesday. For those who’ve been attending for years, the thought that came to mind as the rollercoaster that is SXSW Music reached its peak and got ready to enter freefall was, “Here we go again.”

Here’s a look at some of the bands and fans from SXSW Music’s opening day.