Not going to Austin City Limits Music Festival? FREE/low cost parties/events for Oct 3rd - 6th

Every year I struggle with the idea that Austin gets taken over by an influx of folks who are heading out to Zilker Park for the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival.  Traffic is a headache, all of the local coffee shops and restaurants are overcrowded, Barton Springs Road is a nightmare and closed, the taxi cabs are completely inconsiderate, all of my friends coming in from out of town want to stay with me, there are a ton more people on bicycles and on foot in the heart of the city, etc etc. Don't get me wrong the festival and the festival goers add fantastic revenue to our city, local shops, restaurants, and stores - specifically last year the city pocketed $102 million dollars! Now, this year C3 decided to have TWO weekends, of the same lineup, so you can imagine how stoked the City of Austin must feel to benefit TWICE the amount of revenue and perks of having the festival in the heart of Austin. I get it! I GET IT! People love Austin and people love music.

If you are like me I try avoiding Central Austin and Zilker Park area whenever ACL comes around. In the past I used to be a part of the chaos, but since ticket pricing has gone up & the demand for everyone to squeeze into our beloved Zilker Park all for the same bands I love just seemed way too much for me. Since 2010 I have explored what other events and parties take place in the other local spots, sometimes away from the chaos near Barton Springs Rd, have fun events and things going on the same weekend everyone else is in town. Here is my list of things to get into if you are a local and not working but want to get out into the city and support the local scene and do thangs.

Thursday Oct 3rd
Holy Mountain and Red 7 (both right next to one another) will be hosting the Knuckle Rumbler Art Disaster No. 16.  This event happens every year to kick off the ACL Music Fest. They are 'unofficial' ACL fest but shit, they been doing it since I can remember (they even host SXSW shows too).

9pm - 2am

Bands slated to play include locals
The Black and White Years (they just did a set after Tegan & Sara a few weeks ago at Stubb's)
Driver Friendly (they will be opening up for Motion City Soundtrack in November at Emos)
Night Drive 
Gobi 
Totally Consensual (Dj's) (KOOP dj's mixing up on mixing tables!)
Good Field
Politics (these are cool kids, man!)
Multi-Tracker
Magna Carda
Apollo Zeigiest (I have been following this guy on Twitter for years! he's a great philanthropist)
Looshuss
$5 at the door and $3 if you RSVP here.

Queens of the Stone Age will be performing at The Moody Theater for an Austin City Limits taping!

Boy oh boy if you can get into this please let me know how it goes. I will try my luck as soon as ACL puts up a link to try for free tickets to this taping. Go here and watch for the link to be posted up sometime around 9/26-9/30.

Friday, Oct 4th
KUTX is holding a Live at the Four Seasons session - which tend to be much lower key and affordable too! 
$10 bring your blanket and/or chairs to post up at the hotel's lawn with your taco & coffee (included in admission)

9am - 1pm
Court Yard Hounds (2/3rds of Dixie Chicks) go on at 9:30am
Austin's own White Denim goes off at 10:30am
Local Natives performs an hour after at 11:30am
and Austin locals Okkervil River plays at 12:30pm
All sets are 20-30 minutes long

Quantic DJ Tour will be happening at Empire Control Room (I was a stage manager at this venue the last 2 years for SXSW). 
FREE admission before midnight ($5 after) with DJ sets from
Oro11
local Peligrosa mastermind DJ Orion
another local Peligrosa mastermind Manolo Black
RSVP here and support some bad ass la raza dj's


Also this is happening at The Scoot Inn- What Kind of Bird Are You? - a Wes Anderson costume party hosted by Foxing Quarterly (local print-only arts journal published in ATX)
6pm - 2am
$5 with costume / $10 without

 

local acts include

Grace Park & The Deers 

Old Potion
Linen Closet
Alex Napping
& Milezo & The Noize

Saturday Oct 5th
MTV, CMT, VH1 , & MTV2 are throwing a shindig (and pairing up with Pizza Hut) called Discover Great that is taking place at the American Legion Building @ 404 Atlanta Street (next to the old RunTex off of Lake Austin Blvd).

10pm - 2am
Promised performances and appearances will include
Walk the Moon

Nabiha (Danish Music Award's new Female Artist of the Year)

Striking Matches (has 3 songs on CMT's "Nashville"show)
DJ Set by Penguin Prison too!

RSVP here before everyone and their momma RSVP and crashes the link. (You can also RSVP for one other so you ain't going alone.)

ALSO
DITCH THE FEST is back again with Ditch the Fest # 4 AND 5!
October 5th is Ditch The Fest #4 / October 12th is Ditch the Fest #5 @ The Scoot Inn

Local bands and local art for $5!

More events and shows to come as we round out the end of September.  I will post and update this post as I hear about those events and things happening around ACL time.

Free music this weekend in Austin: Summer Solstice 6/21 & 6/22

Here are some shows/artists I will be catching this coming week in Austin.  (most of them are free or cheap).  Get your ass out there and support.

Friday, June 21st
-  Local Austinites Warren Hood will be performing at 5pm at Waterloo Records.  FREE SHINER, YA'LL! As soon as you walk in go get in line, bring some cash to tip the fella who will be pouring your beer, and grab your drink and head to the front of the G-K area of music (near the stage).

-  There are always in-stores at Trailer Space Records.  Tonight's include pan pan and Rigid beginning at 7pm. Grab a beer from the convienence store down the street and even a slice from Eastside Pies and go back to Trailer Space for local music.

-  Today is one of the longest days in the year which means Summer Solstice is upon us.  Minor Mishap Marching Band will be leading a parade up and down Lady Bird Lake. Make a lantern on site and take it along with you!  Take a look at the map of the route.Get there by 8:00pm.  Step-off for parade begins at 8:30pm right off of Robert E. Lee Road and Barton Springs Rd.  There will be 3 performance stops for you to shake, dance, and celebrate that summer has arrived. 

-  The Blackheart has free music tonight with Chris Catalena & The Native Americans, The Sour Notes, Leah Nobel.  Park on the eastside of IH35 (its free there and no hassling on Rainey Street) and walk down to The Blackheart.

Chris Catalena & The Native Americans:

 

The Sour Notes:
(these guys are slated to play the RedBull Sound Select show with The Dandy Warhols & Theophilus London on July 27th)

 Saturday, June 22nd

-  Head back to Trailer Space Records to see White Broncho & Kevin Fitzsimmons beginning at 7pm.  Take your own beer and, again, hit up Eastside Pies.

-  Scoot Inn is hosting The Austin Chronicle's Cookout bbq and backyard style hip-hop show.  Check out some local hip-hop artists and groups that will be performing all day beginning at 4pm and going until midnight.  This is free and expect a huge crowd and lines right around night fall. Doors are at 4pm. 

Line up includes:
Magna Carda @ 5-6PM

KB the Boo Bonic @ 6-7PM

Krypol Haze @ 7-8PM

Phranchyze @ 8-9PM

10YR @ 9-10PM

Kydd @10-11PM

The League of Extraordinary G'z @11PM

Sunday, June 23rd

-  Shivery Shakes want to make a record and BUTTAH you up with kiddie pools, drinks, and compliments (no, seriously, they want you there).  Bring cash and come support their Kickstarter Kickoff Party to be able to fund their efforts in finding monies to make an album!   Starts at 7pm. Cash bar donations for beer and cocktails will be provided. Hey, it's a fund-their-album party - drink for a local band and make your drunkenness on a Sunday night well worth it.  Shivery Shakes will play at 8pm. 

See you out there!

Psychedelic Light and Sound Fest - September 7th

I love psychedelic music and sounds especially when I find local bands and musicians that can satisfy my fix for such sounds. 

Covert Curiosity and The Austin Chronicle present Psychedelic Light and Sound where you can hear just that.

This Friday (09/7) the 29th Street Ballroom (right next door to Spiderhouse) will host a night of psychedelic music made from local musicians beginning at 5:00pm (just in time for Spiderhouse happy hour!).

trippy poster for Psychedelic Light and Sound Fest

The majority of the bands have already played the Austin Psych Fest in the past hosted by Reverberation Appreciation Society, a record label that releases albums for many of the bands playing the festival, which also includes Christian Bland and the Revelators.  

As posted on their Facebook event page & at Covert Curiosity, the set times for bands are as follows for the one-day festival:

Note: click on the band names to check out their website and music

***INSIDE MAIN STAGE*** DJ sets by The Shake
01:05 - The Vacant Lots
12:00 - Deep Space
11:15 - JuJu

09:45 - The Red 100's
08:15 - Unknown Relatives
06:45 - The Asteroid Shop
04:14 - Cause In Effect

***INSIDE SMALL STAGE*** (next to the bar)
10:30 - Kay Leotard
09:00 - La Migra
07:30 - Black Tabs
06:00 - Pi
05:00 - Frisky Disco

***OUTSIDE MAIN STAGE*** DJ sets by Psychotropic (outside next to Spiderhouse where they usually show movies)
9:15 - The Boxing Lesson
8:15 - Ghost Bikini
7:15 - The Hanna Barbarians
6:15 - Bipolaroid
5:15 - GAUCHE
4:15 - Dead Peasants

Also to be included in the festival is a record boutique, photo booths, live screen printing, live painting while bands play, and more.  Shit, there is even an after-party the next day with FREE BEER (while it lasts, folks) at Hotel Vegas with this line up here: 

At HOTEL VEGAS on Saturday, September 8th (FREE BEER):

1:00AM - Ghost Bikini
12:00AM - Deep Space
11:00PM - Slow Motion Rider
10:00PM - Bipolaroid
9:00PM - New Fumes
8:00PM - JUJU
7:00PM - Cody Jasper
6:00 - Starma

A mere $5 gets you in to hear and see these local bands for the Psychedelic Light and Sound Festival on Friday and the Saturday after-party is free. I will be there, at both, with bells on a Lonestar glued to my hand. 

Hear a MIXTAPE of all the bands playing here. I'm on my 4th listen, respectively.

UTOPIAFEST Schedule posted - 1 month away and less than 400 tickets left

UTOPIAFEST posted their schedule of local, national, and international bands that are playing the 3 day festival out in West Texas.  See below.

In a post on Facebook this afternoon, bookers at UtopiaFest regretted that Bomba Estereo had to cancel their entire tour for the remainder of the year (reason unknown).  In place they will have Mexican Institute of Sound on their Cypress stage on Saturday, September 29th which is as equally exciting!!! 

Get your tickets here for the festival and hurry because they are running low on availability.  GOGOGO!

Pre-Utopia Festival sounds and shows featuring Sour Bridges, Digital Antique, and Hard Proof

A few weeks ago I decided to carpool down with two friends to San Marcos (a mere 20-minute drive outside of South Austin) to catch my dear friends Sour Bridges play a sponsored KTSW 3rd Thursday showcase at the Triple Crown.  This showcase put up by UTOPIAFEST'S bookers & directors, featured not only Sour Bridges but also Digital Antique and Hard Proof Aftrobeat from Austin, Texas.

Not only was impressed with the cheap drinks, free pizza!, and nice friendly people at Triple Crown but the lineup had me dancing pretty much the whole night (paired with a Fire Engine shot that was two bucks and change).  There was even a small video surveillance camera aimed right at the stage so that you couldn't miss watching the band while ordering another drink (or shot in my case). It was a great way to get acquainted from the good folks that are running the festival (bookers and founder of the festival) and get a taste of what acts will be representing Austin at UtopiaFest this year.

Sour Bridges plays on at Triple Crown in San Marcos, Tx. (captured from the pull down screen behind the bar from the video surveillance feed)

UTOPIAFEST is a genius idea for folks who live in or near Austin and want to attend a festival and camp (FOR FREE) in West Texas that has an audience cap of 1,800 people who will experience an amazing live showcase of indie, country/western, rock, and cumbia-dance music and artists.  The festival's eclectic music knowledge from the array of acts and artists that has been booked & confirmed are worth a relaxing weekend of fun that includes festival activities such as a Drambuie sponsored silent dance party & disco and much more fun.  Set in a "natural amphitheater on the 1,000 acre Four Sisters Ranch", you will be able to watch some really stellar local and national bands on 2 stages beginning with a pre-party on Thursday, September 27th and into the festival weekend from Friday, September 28th - Sunday, September 30. 

Booked acts include:  Dr. Dog, Ben Kweller, Victor Wooten, Bomba Estereo, White Denim, Wheeler Brothers, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Houndmouth, KakiKing, Dana Falconberry, Sour Bridges, Hard Proof Afrobeat, A Live One, The Dalles, Flying Balalaika Brothers, Digital Antique, and more.

This past weekend I ended up catching a full night's set from Hard Proof at the ND.  KUT's Lauri Gallardo curates The Good Music Club showcases that happen monthly on the east side that are taped for sessions to be displayed online on sites like KUT Austin, The Good Music Club website, and Austin Chronicle's Earache! web spot. Quality sound recordings and several excellent video shots from API Productions is worth noting.  (These folks know what they are doing even though I am dancing away in my own world during the FREE taping.)  Hard Proof brought down the house with their African, cumbia, and ever going energy that keeps you dancing and sweating.  I highly suggest you catch them again either at the Continental Club on Tuesday 08/28 ($7; show at 10pm).  Their next gig will be at UtopiaFest which they are featured to perform a hour long set in the middle of West Texas scenery (or do both, like I will!)

  Hard Proof (featuring Kalu James) covering Fela Kuti's "Water Get No Enemy" from Chasity Larios on Vimeo.

Digital Antique just had their first LP release party also at the ND the same week I caught them down at the Triple Crown in San Marcos.  Their new LP titled "II" is a must-see live if you can catch them around Austin prior to UtopiaFest on September 28th.  The band reminded me much of Explosions in the Sky mixed with Russian Circles with heavy on the distortion minus any lyricism.  Progressive in their instrumental-only sound, the string quartet melted my brains off and hooked me in as a fan instantly after the first song of the evening. "Doomed Hero".
No shows posted before Digital Antique plays at UtopiaFest but go here to buy the album and stay in the know.

Sour Bridges has been stirring up some honky tonk every week around Austin and I was lucky to have caught them on Sunday, after a run up and down 7th street, at the HOPE Farmer's Market off east 5th street and Waller.

The boys and lady have a few shows coming up before UtopiaFest that includes one at a winery out in Driftwood, Texas on September 3rd , The Blackheart off of Rainey Street will feature the band yet again this week, and even make a show appearance at the local sausage restaurant (right across from The Blackheart) with 101 beers on tap, Bangers.  I highly recommend the Spicy Italian sausage withOUT the spicy peppers...well, unless you're into that sort of thing. I cried the whole time I was eating it. It was so DAMN HOT!  Keep updated on them Sour Bridges shows here.

Austin Beerworks Pearl Snap that helped me wash & cool down that spicy Italian on pretzel bun i had for lunch

6th Annual Bat Fest on Congress bridge

Every year Roadway Events puts up their annual Bat Fest downtown Austin directly where the bats depart nightly from the Congress bridge. If you haven't been to the Congress bridge in the summer to see over 750,000 Mexican bats, mostly female, and their pups fly off in search for food (insects and mosquitos).  The best time to watch the bats are now (late August) when those pups join their mothers. Throughtout the rest of the summer the female bats take the trek north to south to their home under the Congress bridge but the amount of bats is minimal compared to what you could see tonight.

This year Bat Fest turns 6 years old and cnsidering the bats usually take flight around 8:00 - 8:30pm, the festival allows you to enjoy over 75 booths of artisans that sell their crafts to food vendors cooking up local food and has 2 stages of bands to showcase their music.  The festival goes until 12am midnight and is completely FREE so no excuse to not g out and see both the bats and music.

KLBJ stage kicks off their music line-up with Dara Niemi followed by Charlie Hurtin & The Hecklers (a musician I met first time at the Buddy Holly auditions in March of this year) and later on at night Vallejo and Fastball. Schedule here.

The 101X stage will showcase Alex Marley and The Raspas (apparently playing Bob Marley songs), The Black and White Years, The Solider Thread and Adema throughout the late evening and into the night.

I plan on catching Charlie Hurtin and The Hecklers, Alex Marley and The Raspas, and skip The Black and White Years to see the bats, and end up at The Solider Thread.