Thanks to Seventies funk band War, the word “lowrider” often calls to mind the unforgettable sax riff of theband’s 1975 No. 1 single. But lowrider can mean a snazzy customized car with hydraulics or a person who works on such a vehicle, and the culture around these cars has strengthened Mexican American communities in the Southwest since the Forties. Learn more about them at this exhibit featuring an interactive touchscreen mural, cars and bikes on display, and stories about the people who make lowriding a community. A member reception takes place May 18. – Kat McNevins
Brigitte Bandit hosts this non-competitive drag open mic that invites upcoming drag artists to hone their craft as well as get professional portrait and performance photography.
With an eight-day lineup of Pride activities, all queer Caldwell County citizens can find a little fun this June. That’s right: a downtown Pride walk; PFLAG meetups; a drag talent contest and pro drag show featuring Austin-area’s Brigitte Bandit; a screening of Rocky Horror; and much more.
Though the arrival of Camera Obscura’s new Look to the East, Look to the West is 11 years removed from their last record, the quintessential Glasgow indie-poppers rang recognizable as ever on selects like “Big Love.” Singer Tracyanne Campbell sat on the cover, nailing energetic twee under light country/electro influence and consistent observational humor. Unfortunately, the only set list possibility from theband’s ebullient 2001 debut – produced by Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch and later reissued by Merge – appears to be “Eighties Fan.” I’m sure 4AD favorite “French Navy” will suffice. – Rachel Rascoe
Celebrate the federal holiday that commemorates June 19, 1865, when the last slaves in Galveston Bay finally got the news that they were free. The festivities begin at 10am with a parade through the Eastside starting on MLK Boulevard, going down Chicon and concluding at Rosewood Park. The procession includes bands, dance troupes, city officials, and more. The festival starts at noon with food, music, and local vendors. Admission is free.: – Jasmine Iman Wright
The Drive-By Truckers’ 2001 double-disc opus Southern Rock Opera arguably serves as the apex of alt.country. Theband’s seminal third LP muscles Southern rock guitar and deeply literate narratives into the first true realization of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley’s vision of what DBT could be: troubadours wrangling the Southern experience in all its contradictions as complex, celebratory, critical, and conflicted. Hood and Cooley remain the powerhouse quintet’s fulcrum as they reissue Southern Rock Opera and perform the entire album alongside other hits, continuing nearly 30 years in to reimagine what the South can be. – Doug Freeman
Behold the majestic sights and sounds of drag royals Brigitte Bandit, Selma Bawdy, and Kino Kino at this happy hour sensation hosted by Alexander the Great.
Though the 2023-launched offshoot Radio/East has quickly become a destination music venue, the Menchaca OG assembles a pretty killer bill to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Repping all sides of our bustling music scene, the beer garden enlists longtime Radio residents the Bluegrass Outfit and Scrapelli, the 25-plus-piece “renegade circus brass band” Minor Mishap Marching Band, and Grace Rowland (without her bandmates from the Deer). Elsewhere, the lineup includes breezy indie rockers the Stacks, jazz-fusion group Mockjaw, R&B singer Motenko, dreamy psychedelic outfit Redbud, and, curiously, Arizona-born pop star Vaishalini. : – Carys Anderson
From the twisted minds behind Queer Film Theory 101 – and they are soooo twisted, bestie – comes a screening of Pedro Almodovar’s NC-17 queer-as-hell straight romance between a sick stan (played by a v cute Antonio Banderas) and his B-movie star love (a beautiful Victoria Abril).