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You thought SXSW was the only days-long party in town promising loud music and smelly animals? Then this must be your first rodeo! OK, this one’s slightly more wholesome: Activities include a stock show, pro rodeo, petting zoo, pig races, carnival rides, and your favorite fareground vittles, plus a fresh headliner every day, including Lukas Nelson, Los Huracanes del Norte, Wynonna Judd, and Flatland Cavalry. Too wholesome? Pull on your finest shitkickers and hit the dance hall; there’s a full bar and, Rodeo Austin teases, a “chance to dance with a real cowboy.” Runs through March 23. – Kimberley Jones

In a 2023 Chron interview with Laiken Neumann, local queergrass artist Creekbed Carter Hogan said of lyrical endeavors, “To me, [music is] so forgiving and generous and expansive.” This Thursday, long-awaited fruit falls from Hogan’s talented tree as they celebrate a new self-titled album with Arkansas-originating Gar Hole Records. Album release party festivities go down at hipster’s-choice honky-tonk Sagebrush featuring backing band Middle Sattre, who come fresh from February release Tendencies. Also on the lineup are indie-folk folks the Hushabyes and “dreamy” rockers Tearjerk. Prepare for generous and expansive forgiveness through music. – James Scott

A modern pop embodiment of her noted influences like Regina Spektor and Kate Nash, Em Beihold rides enlivening piano chords into blunt, bleeding-heart lyrical conclusions. After her 2021 TikTok takeoff “Groundhog Day,” about being unemployed at your parents’ house, the L.A. native was the first signing to Moon Projects, former TikTok music chief Mary Rahmani’s joint venture with Republic Records. Her latest megawatt “Numb Little Bug” hits the mental health buzzer: “Do you ever get a little bit tired of life?/ Like you’re not really happy but you don’t wanna die?” Will Linley opens. – Rachel Rascoe

A night dedicated to trans folks and those that love ’em? Maybe I’m biased as a T myself, but what could be better? You’ll find trans drag artists like host the Trans Era as well as Jasmania, Jenna Talia, Moxies, Sir Beau Elliot, Venus Rising, Monica Monae Davenport, and special guests Gothess Jasmine, Bobby Pudrido, and Muñekita. Oh, you want a trans DJ? Babe, they got DJ Salem Purchase. Don’t forget to bring a few dollar-bucks: There’ll be a trans makers’ market, too. – James Scott

Every third Thursday of the month, the Bullock Texas State History Museum stays open an extra two hours and provides special programming on a theme. This month, visitors can experience a bit of France’s rich history and culture via hands-on activities and exhibitions: Explore “Becoming Texas” to learn about French explorer LaSalle and how his ship sinking changed history; play a game with local org Austin Accueil; sample some vino with Texas Connection Wines; and design your own wine charm in the craft corner. Amusez-vous bien! – Kat McNevins

If you caught the 2018 doc McQueen, about the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen, then you’re already familiar with the talents of his nephew and protégé Gary James McQueen, who was responsible for the stunning, under-the-skin skull sculptures featured in the opening credits. Those skulls, as represented via 3D lenticular artworks, form the basis of the Gary James McQueen exhibit – his first stateside – now running at West Chelsea Contemporary through March 24. – Kimberley Jones

Since their 2018 formation, nine-person collective Honey Made has set audiences ablaze with big-band maximalism. Keeping concertgoers on their feet, the band’s intricate grooves have earned booking alongside acts like George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic. The animated ensemble’s 2023 project Charge It to the Band Fund propels syncopated shivers down your spine with electro-glazed organs (“Dfa”) and time-suspending basslines (“Vibin”). Find the heart of their spirited sound, however, in the high-voltage brass section, matching metallic sheen and rich vibrato (“Ashy Pockets [My Mode]”). Big Sky Collective’s symphonic prog-rock arrangements and funk-forward fivesome Blue Tongue also join the night’s lineup. – Miranda Garza

Push the boundaries between reality and fiction at this performance of Sam Mayer’s persona poolboy00, “an experimental reality show/participatory memoir/talk show for the streaming platform Twitch and irl.” Audiences will be pulled into the Houston-born artist’s tale created from over 20 years of writing – including journals, failed plays, and a School of Rock fanfic – and asked to interact through live question and answer. Be warned, however, that nothing is as it seems in this production. – James Scott

Oh, the Boyz: They are back and have brought the spirit of Nineties scung with ’em. Whether you chose the bad boys of the brass section or the boys who’ve been brought back to life, the local gender-diverse drag troupe’s array of performances will highlight however you pick it up, pick it up. Worried about all that black hair dye wafting harsh chemicals into the air? Fear not: Local air purifier providers Clear the Air, who’ve made it their mission to “[create] access to cleaner air for artists, musicians, and organizers in the Austin area,” will be keeping you from getting down with the sickness. You know, the one that starts with C and never actually ends? – James Scott

Think less folklore, and more Fearless for this occasion as DJ Boi Orbison is treatin’ y’all to “cowgirl country, remixes and yeehaw sing-alongs of the early 2000s to keep your boots scootin’ and Sparks Flyin’.” This night marks a new party series from the creator of Neon Rainbows and Middle School Dance Party, focused on Aughts-era honky-tonking. RSVP ahead of 10:30pm on Thursday, and you’ll be able to skip that $5 cover. “Baby, just say yes.” – James Scott

When a fellow is named Tim McCool, you’ve got to hope he lives up to the moniker. We reckon that, as co-founder (with his dauntless spouse, Kira) of the right-there-in-the-garage Good Luck Have Fun Gallery off Enfield, this particular art-scene mover and shaker is as McCool as it gets. Evidence: The gallery’s newest show brings together the colorful and provocative work of four women artists – Aubree Dale, Aria Brownell, Wendy Rhode, and Barbara Miñarro – “who explore the relationships between individual identity and the collective, the process of making art and of making one’s self.” – Wayne Alan Brenner

That's right: Cap City Comedy Club, the longtime cornerstone of Austin's comedy scene for nearly four decades is at a new venue in the Domain. And here's Valerie Lopez with a closer look at what's in store for the scene via the venue. Click for details!

You think it’s easy, being somebody’s mother? You think giving birth to another human being doesn’t put your own humanity and purpose under some fierce self-scrutiny? Milwaukee-based artist Aimée M. Everett, in her solo show at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, uses abstraction, minimalist line-making, saturated colors, and melodic compositions to explore “the profound transformations experienced during childbirth and the subsequent journey of self-discovery into motherhood.” Word – or, more appropriately, image – to your mother. – Wayne Alan Brenner

Esther's Follies – Austin's not-so-secret weapon in the fight against ennui – the comedy gem that still dazzles this growing urban hub – returns to the weekly live and in-person stage of their club on Dirty Sixth, the whole troupe bringing back old favorites and debuting a new program of hilarity with topical, ripped-from-the-headlines sketches and musical numbers. And you do need a laugh or two, right about this time, don't you, citizen? (And how about a margarita to go with that?) We'd add that the mind-boggling illusions of magician Ray Anderson are a bonus in the night's clever spectacle … but, the way that arch maestro conjures mystery and delight, "bonus" would be an insult.

Works by the annual Tito’s Prize Winner for Visual Arts – yes, that’s the Tito’s Handmade Vodka Tito, tyvm – are presented, as ever, by the community-forward creatives at Big Medium, and this year’s honoree is Trinidadian artist Rodell Warner. Come explore the new Big Medium space on South Congress, its gallery recently refurbished after a fire and freshly bright with Warner’s provocative digital interventions that fictionalize the Caribbean’s fraught past and interrogate that region’s historical photographic archive. – Wayne Alan Brenner