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For 42 years, the AMAs have celebrated the creatives that make our city the Live Music Capital of the World – from singers and guitarists to sound engineers, bookers, and instrument repair shops. As voted by the public, this year’s Austin Music Poll winners are announced in this week’s Chronicle (grab a paper now!), priming Sunday’s shindig for pure celebration. Tickets benefit the SIMS Foundation and get you in to see performances by DAIISTAR, Pussy Gillette, S.L. Houser, Walker Lukens, Ben Kweller, Sabrina Ellis, Kalu James, Eve Monsees, Kevin Russell, and many more. – Carys Anderson

Author of Never a Girl, Always a Boy and subsequent co-playwright of its stage adaptation Jo Ivester hopes the play written alongside her son Jeremy serves to “contribute to the growing awareness of what it means to be Trans.” After an industry presentation in NYC with Tony-Award winning A Strange Loop producer JJ Maley directing, this personal transition story comes home for its world premiere at Ground Floor featuring director Lisa Scheps and performers Laura Leo Kelly, Kaden Ono, Molly Fonseca, Nathan Jerkins, Max Green, Chelsea Corwin, Trace Turner, and Jeremy.– James Scott

There’s an African American history in Austin that many people don’t know exists, and here’s a chance for the younger generation to learn about it. On Sunday, the Austin Film Society hosts a pre-launch celebration of the upcoming children’s book The City We Built: Black Leaders of Austin by Terry P. Mitchell and Carre Adams. The City We Built features full-page biographies of African Americans who led the East Side’s Black community for decades, including Ada Anderson, Charles Akins, Berl Handcox, Johnny Holmes, Azie Taylor Morton, Velma Roberts, Dorothy Turner, Willie Wells, and more. – Brant Bingamon

Though inaugural ATX Open singles champion Marta Kostyuk won’t return to defend her crown, some notable names have entered the field. Two-time major champion and former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka (No. 27 in the WTA Tour rankings as of Feb. 19) looks set to play as the draw’s No. 1 seed but has since dropped from the tournament. 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens, 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins, and former Longhorn Peyton Stearns are some of the American women returning for the tournament’s second edition. Stearns won the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Singles Championship while attending UT-Austin and made the quarterfinals of last year’s ATX Open. Free entry to the event’s qualifying has “sold out” for both Feb. 24 and 25, but paid tickets are still on offer for the remaining days. – Derek Udensi

The Rubber Roundup’s mission is “to bring together everyone to our blossoming city of kink and weird to make it shine for a weekend,” and we’re for that 100%. But let’s stretch it rubberwise to 110% for the capital of this legislatively repressive Lone Star State. You don’t have to come in rubber gear – vanilla to vinyl, Lycra to leather, it’s all welcome – and you needn’t be LGBTQIA+ – just bring your authentic self to see and learn and celebrate rubber as fashion, fetish, sensuality, and aesthetic. Bonus: a vendor market with Package Menswear, Sir Rat Leather & Gear, Glanzig, Vilain Garçon, and more. – Wayne Alan Brenner

How can a wanderlusty citizen “head out on the highway, looking for adventure” as Steppenwolf suggested and still be a total stay-at-home? Why, with a recreational vehicle, of course! That’s an RV, yes, and this three-day event at the convention center Downtown will show you, wannabe modern pilgrim, exactly what that means, will get your motor runnin’ with a stunning array of state-of-the-art RVs and RV accessories on display – from Airstream, Princess Craft, Crestview, Blue Compass, Ron Hoover, and more. – Wayne Alan Brenner

“The future is expansive! It’s black and it’s queer!” so says Gothess Jasmine, returning in full splendor as host of this vibrant night of live performances – Provoked Emotions! KB Brookins! An open-stage variety show of music, spoken word, and all manner of unfettered expression! – that will transform the Vortex’s popular Butterfly Bar into both a local craft vendors’ market and a revolutionary spectacle of power and passion in honor of Black History Month. – Wayne Alan Brenner

To create this photography exhibition featured at creative consultancy/gallery & studio space OFC Creatives, local artist and activist Jeremy A. Teel pulled from his wider “I, Too, Am Kink” series, which focuses on Black bodies within the BDSM/kink community to “consider the complexities of bondage, body positivity, and the liberation of the Black body amidst daily struggles and pleasures.” Last weekend, however, brought broken windows to the OFC gallery, who remarked it was no accident the only display damaged was the Black queer art. They plan to, in response, be “Blacker and Queerer,” so support them in that mission by catching this exhibition or attending their Friday, Feb. 16, discussion with ATX Queer Connection. – James Scott

When you Google this upcoming show, under “People also ask” is the question “What is so special about Cirque du Soleil?” My proposed answer: In CRYSTAL, these incredible performers of the circus arts will be twisting, flipping, twirling, and flying through the air above solid freakin’ ice! And not only will they be above the ice: You’ll find a tapestry of synchronized, freestyle, and extreme skating performed across the frozen tundra of the H-E-B Center as well. Now that’s pretty damn special. – James Scott

Since 1996, art educators with Totally Cool Totally Art have provided free classes that offer teenagers multimedia art know-how from professional artists. From sculpture to digital media, painting to papier-mâché, TCTA has a class on offer for whatever the adolescent artist desires. Case in point: This Sunday’s session with New York-raised painter Jonas Petkus and mixed media artist Rachel Ditzig, where teens and family can make paper puppets and crowns. Admission’s no charge thanks to the H-E-B-funded Domingos Gratis en Familia grant. – James Scott

You’re a busy guy; you don’t have time to read all of War and Peace. But you’re also ashamed that you’ve not dug into the hottest Russian novel of 1869! Hark: A solution awaits at the Zach Theatre production of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Dave Malloy’s musical adaptation of a 70-page section of Tolstoy’s great tome. Described by the theatre as an “innovative electro-pop opera,” this two-hour-and-thirty-minute love triangle will be available as pay-what-you-will until Feb. 4. Heads-up to queers: Thursday, Feb. 1, is PRIDE night!– James Scott

“The Bard is just the beginning,” promise the irrepressible thespians of Austin Shakespeare; and now here they are, making good on their word with a play that showcases classic short works by Austin’s own William Sydney Porter – you know: O. Henry – to bring audiences at the Long Center’s Rollins Theatre an early-20th-century good time with “The Gift of the Magi,” “The Pimienta Pancakes,” “The Ransom of Red Chief,” and more. Bonus: Music and dance enhance the talented talespinning, and there are talkbacks with the director and cast after every show.: – Wayne Alan Brenner

There aren’t many films that killed a studio and a major musical pairing, but that’s the double infamy of Francis Ford Coppola’s troubled but entrancing 1982 musical. Not only did the runaway budget help take down his American Zoetrope shingle, but it also saw the dissolution of the creative relationship between soundtrack composer Tom Waits and his longtime producer Bones Howe. But oh, the cost was worth it for this wild fantasy telling of the tortured romance between too-contented Hank (Frederic Forrest) and yearning Frannie (Teri Garr) in a magical re-creation of Las Vegas. After a sumptuous restoration of his equally overlooked The Cotton Club, now Coppola has gone back to the original negatives for this 4K restoration and re-edit. – Richard Whittaker

The mission statement of Off-The-Grid Missions, fundraising recipients for Deaf Austin Theatre’s upcoming variety show, is to fill a noticeable gap in disaster response, therefore “providing Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people with critical life-saving resources.” That goal mirrors DAT’s originating idea: to provide an inclusive theatre space for Deaf artists free from the audism experienced by founder Russell Harvard on mainstream stages. Talented Deaf artists such as Harvard and New Amsterdam’s Sandra Mae Frank, among many others, will perform songs, poetry, and more at this fundraiser, all of which serve to highlight the importance of OTG’s work. – James Scott

Jacqueline Woodson’s award-winning story of history, love, and resilience becomes a world premiere stage adaptation. This moving, lyrical account pays tribute to the women in Woodson’s own family, whose strength and knowledge illuminate their daughters’ lives through seven generations.

Although giving blood is its own reward, and your donation will save a neighbor’s life, it sure doesn’t hurt to get something in return. And you know how they give you a cookie with some juice after you donate blood? Well this time, you can get a whole box. The Girl Scouts of Central Texas bring four fan faves to We Are Blood to reward donors with a sweet treat: Choose from Thin Mints, Caramel DeLites, Peanut Butter Patties, or Adventurefuls to replenish your nutrients after your contribution. (Those peanut butter ones are just packed with protein, and mint is a leafy green, right?) Schedule an appointment online or by calling 512/206-1266. – Kat McNevins

For generations of children, Arnold Lobel’s stories of amphibian best buds Frog and Toad have been a charming guide to the complexities and joys of friendship. Now the pair take to the stage for this delightful Tony-nominated musical. It’s truly a family affair, adapted by Lobel’s son-in-law Mark Linn-Baker with music by Robert Reale and book & lyrics by his brother, Willie. This new production, directed by Best of Austin winner Sara Burke, features Jillian Sainz and Victoria Brown donning the signature jackets and trousers of Frog and Toad, respectively. – Richard Whittaker

Here in the Live Music Capital of the World, there should be no shortage of opportunities for kids to develop their tuneful talents and pursue rockstar dreams. Austin Jazz Workshop’s jam series is one of these opportunities, with twice-monthly jams led by Gil Del Bosque just for middle- and high school students to get a feel for a real gig setting. Thanks to a financial boost from the city’s Cultural Arts Division, jams are scheduled through August: first Sundays at Batch, last Sundays at Central Market South, both at noon. – Kat McNevins

The second film from a leading member of Brazil's Cinema Novo movement. Newly restored.

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!