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If you're in the music business, you know about the annual Austin wingding South by Southwest.

Albuquerque is west of there geographically, and still pretty far south of it if you go by the music industry's map.

The Hyperactive Music Festival is looking to close that gap.

For those who can't get to Austin or think that indie mecca has gotten too big to enjoy, the Hyperactive festival returns for its second year. It features more than 200 bands and 14 venues Downtown on Friday and Saturday, plus two days of conferences and workshops at the Wyndham Hotel, 2910 Yale Blvd S.E.

The music shows are free. It's a $35 charge to get access to the conference sessions.

Festival director April Adams said the size of the event has grown substantially from its first to second year. Last year, it was 140 bands on one night, and one day of sessions. Last year about 500 bands vied to get in; this year organizers sifted through about 1,000 entries, Adams said.

"This has just exploded in the last year," Adams said. "We're so surprised."

Allie Shaw, who runs Hyperactive magazine, is the founder and executive director of the fledgling festival.

"People tell me we don't get good music here," she said. "And I know a lot of bands pass over Albuquerque."

This is her answer to that.

Besides wall-to-wall music Downtown on Friday and Saturday night, the conferences at the Wyndham will offer young musicians the chance to learn about technology and marketing and to network with veterans in the industry. Booking agents, sound engineers and other pros will be on hand. One-on-one mentoring sessions are planned. Demos will be critiqued.

"The idea is to have them educate up-and-coming artists on how to navigate the music industry," Adams said. "Most of these are independent artists, and they're looking to make a living playing their music."

This year, some heavy hitters like MTV, Warner Bros. and the head of Sub Pop Records will be on hand. There will be representatives from major labels like Interscope, Epitaph and Rounder.

"They want to say they found the next new hot band in New Mexico," Shaw said.

The workshops are key, she said: "If people don't take advantage of this, I think it would be a waste. It would be a shame."

Shaw has traveled the country scouting talent to profile for her magazine, Hyperactive, and she has sat on music-industry panel discussions.

"This last year, we really, really heavily promoted this festival," she said.

She said about 50 volunteers are helping her run the show.

Noted guests at Hyperactive will include Tony Scalzo from the band Fastball, DJ Efren Ramirez (Pedro from "Napoleon Dynamite") and the band Girl in a Coma from Joan Jett's Blackheart label. Local bands dominate each venue's roster.

Shaw said 10 people helped select the lineup and everyone loved the Attorneys, a power-pop band from New York. She said other favorites include Oh No Not Stereo, Scissors for Lefty, Army of Me, and Black Pegasus, a rapper who has worked with Kanye West.

Shaw said the festival can fill the void left behind by South by Southwest after it got taken over by major labels and top-selling bands. The Austin showcase often is a VIP playground.

"That's not what I want to do," Shaw said. "Once I do that, it's a whole new ballgame."

She went to SXSW this spring and said small indie bands struggled to get attention in the shadow of the big boys.

"Whatever South by Southwest started out as, it's not that anymore," she said. "I don't want that. I want the focus to be on unsigned bands."

Adams said Shaw has kept the focus from last year's launch. "She wanted to get back to the grass-roots level and make a festival for the artists."

Shaw said the huge response in this second year must mean they did something right the first time around.

"That's a lot to live up to," she said. "But hopefully we'll do well this year. It's a little bit scary."

She'll let the bands make the case again this year that Albuquerque can be a destination.

"We picked bands that really sounded good," Shaw said. "We want people to leave here and say, `Wow, they really sounded good.' "

Adams hopes the festival helps put the Duke City on the musical map.

"Our goal is to make Albuquerque and New Mexico a stop for the music industry," she said.