Home Events

Genre-defiant duo Atlas Maior released their EP Hadal in 2023, which we called “music amalgamating American, Arabic, Moroccan, African, and Brazilian sources” in our contemporaneous review. The formerly digital release manifests in vinyl, with two extra songs and a pair of remixes. Based on American jazz harmonies and the Middle Eastern modal system maqam, AM songs sound like nothing else, adding free-range improvisation to melodies derived from the region. Bandleaders Joshua Thomson (alto sax) and Josh Peters (oud) will be joined by bassist Josh Flowers and drummer Gray Parsons for the Hadal relaunch. Shows at 8pm and 10pm. – Michael Toland

Remember that scene in La La Land where Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone danced under the stars on a scenic hillside? What if you could witness that in person, but a million times better? Metamorphosis Dance is here to make that dream come true. It’s their annual free production, held outdoors at twilight. Picnic in awe as they present the daring contemporary ballet Carmina Burana, alongside original works like the brassy, big band sounds of Swing, choreographed by Artistic Director Melanie Kregel. Metamorphose yourself with the richness of Ballet Under the Stars. – Cat McCarrey

Hot girls, I am calling on you – and your hot girl allies – to show up and show out for this celebration of the real queen of England: Charli XCX. With new album Brat set to drop same day, this Friday night fever dream features drag artists May Magdalene, Ryan, Salem Purchase, Sinful Purchase, Target, and Yvonne D’Amour paying tribute to Charli under the watchful eye of host Iggy Bank. Ruby Knight spins tunes to “Break the Rules” to, so c’mon y’all. Let’s ride! – James Scott

Pam Grier is literally the sexiest, most badass woman to ever grace a Seventies screen, small or silver. Many a human born anywhere between 1965 and 1989 will cite Grier’s Foxy Brown as their sexual awakening. She continued her reign of femme ferocity and kickassery into the Nineties, when a nerdy Blaxploitation fan named Quentin decided to cast the genre veteran as his titular Jackie Brown – a not-so-subtle nod to her iconic 1974 role as an undercover pro hellbent on vengeance for the death of her lover. Paramount Theatre blesses movie aficionados and lovers of film royalty with a double showing of Tarantino’s 1997 Jackie Brown and her predecessor Foxy. – Cy White

This annual celebration of Black culture hosts community events, business conferences, and industry panels, while six days of music promise sets by Sukihana, NOOK Turner, Kirko Bangz, and more.

Austin’s premier Black-owned art gallery celebrates its three-year journey from exhibition space to community center with an aptly titled new show, the Art of Collaboration. Featuring 30 works by the artists Sade Lawson, Felipe Gomez, Xavier Alvarado, Leah Bury, Elaine Alonzo, and founder Richard Samuel, the show opens June 7 and runs through July 27. The multi-format reception starts at 7pm, then hosts the Art Revolution: Street Fashion Show. Saturday, Samuel takes the party to the lake with a 50-person (and $60) party barge.: – Carys Anderson

Tapestry Dance Company offers tap classes for hoofers of all levels. Catch your breath at one of the many film screenings, panel discussions, and music performances.

Publisher Mitch Raft may have relocated his glossy dedicated to all things horror to Las Vegas, but the sick and slick magazine keeps its beating heart in Austin. No surprise that it’s celebrating its teenhood with a trip back to the crypt from which it emerged, with blood wrestling, sideshow performances by Janie Slash, and live music from Worm Suicide and Stitched Up – Richard Whittaker

Hoo-wee! Does anything feel better than a dip in the pool during a hot Texas summer? While some among us may be privileged to own private watering holes, most of us get to enjoy the great Austin PARD’s work at the 44 public aquatic facilities to choose from this summer. You’ve got regional, neighborhood, and community pools; a wading pool; splash pads; and the crown jewel: Barton Springs. Check austintexas.gov/pools-splashpads for up-to-date info on which pools are open, what their entry fee is, and whether you have what it takes to be a public pool lifeguard. Now, outta the way if you don’t wanna get wet: I’m gonna do a cannonball! – James Scott

Theatre by any other name would be as sweet, but … there’s just something about the name “Shakespeare” that screams all the world’s a stage and we’re just living in it. And nothing screams Shakespeare more than Romeo and Juliet. Submerge yourself in a true Shakespearean experience with his famous star-crossed lovers. Tickets are free, but make sure to snap up a reservation before you head out. Feel the romance, the tension, the sorrow, in person. Besides, the Curtain Theatre’s outdoor setting is the perfect place to bask in the bard. Shakespeare and starlight?: A winning combo. – Cat McCarrey

Thanks to Seventies funk band War, the word “lowrider” often calls to mind the unforgettable sax riff of the band’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

Summer seems a natural time for lightness, airiness. There’s a freedom the soul craves. Diana Greenberg’s latest exhibit, on display at Wally Workman, utterly fits those summer vibes. Inspired by nature, her art evokes the breeziness of a hammock in the sun, a picnic in a meadow, the possibilities of a bright sunny day. That’s perfectly complemented by the art’s pastel palette, pearly pinks and hazy yellows adding to the seasonal feeling. Welcome nostalgia and hope of longer days with Greenberg’s impressions of the world around us. – Cat McCarrey

The impeccably named MuthaGoose is the collective brainchild of artists Jill Garcia and Kim Phu. They are two of the baddest muthas around, debuting their collaborative creativity with the sly, wry, “Luster Woo” exhibit at the Butridge Gallery in the Dougherty Arts Center. Both are well-versed in playing around with mediums, crafting sculptures and paintings created from all manner of found or upcycled items. For “Luster Woo,” MuthaGoose present their nostalgic-but-modern takes on women’s issues. On Wednesday, Jill Garcia will be present for the artist reception, answering questions about the duo’s process. Check out these indelible visuals highlighting how the more things change, the more things stay the same. – Cat McCarrey

Vessel: a container that holds things. Vessel: a person infused with a quality. What quality? Any. Feel free to interpret it yourself when basking in Diane Chiyon Hong’s exhibit “Vessels – Handle with Care.” Her architectural sketches, part function, part form, part object, part person, part humor but all thought-provoking, currently grace the halls of the Asian American Resource Center. It’s Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Month, so why not pay the AARC a visit. I mean, if not now, when? – Cat McCarrey

“What will you do with your one wild and precious life?” asks the poet Mary Oliver. So do the artists Amanda McInerney and Lana Waldrep Appl, taking inspiration from Oliver’s question to create works highlighting the small but important beauties in our lives. McInerney’s work presents bold, botanical elements through mediums from print to stitched mixed-media art, confident graphics speaking against the unknowns in the world. Appl is a perfect highlight with that, her object-based work (showing plants, toys, ceramics) begging us to consider what is useful and actually important in the small moments. – Cat McCarrey