Cover Stories
Come on Down to the 2025-2026 Austin Music Awards
No big changes this year. As we’ve done since 2024, The Austin Chronicle presents the Austin Music Awards at Antone’s Nightclub on March 1 with a curated presentation of trophies and even better selection of live musical talent. The same format doesn’t mean the same old rigmarole. This is my second year as the Chronicle’s…
Becoming BRUCE
“Ryan [Brewer], our bass player, would always be like, ‘You are always in a contest with yourself to write the most wholesome song you can write,’” Carrie Fussell recalls. “I’m like, ‘I want to get to the truth. I want to say the truth. I want it to be real. I want it to be…
News
The Week’s Biggest News in Brief – Feb. 19-25
UT System to Silence Certain Topics: Last Thursday, Feb. 19, the UT System Board of Regents unanimously voted to approve a rule that limits its students from studying “unnecessary controversial subjects.” It also directs educators to disclose what matters they are hoping to cover, stating that controversial topics must have a “broad and balanced approach,”…
Historic Landmark Commission Shut Out of Barton Springs Bridge Decision
Members of the city’s Historic Landmark Commission were blindsided this month when they were asked to sign off on the demolition and replacement of the 100-year-old Barton Springs Road Bridge – more than two years after City Council had decided its fate. It’s unusual for the commission to receive a case after the fact, particularly…
GOP Harps Against “Illegal Voting”
As Texas voters make decisions on several heated Democrat and Republican races this primary season, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Texas Republicans are once again casting doubt on election integrity, with Paxton warning against “stolen elections.” On Feb. 16, Paxton opened an email tipline to report instances of “illegal voting,” alleging (without statistical support) that…
Central Texas Cities Balance Data Center Proposals
Cheers and sobs filled San Marcos City Hall early Wednesday as City Council voted 5-2 to deny a proposal for a nearly 200-acre data center campus on Francis Harris Lane. The project was pitched as a roughly $1.5 billion complex with five buildings, each designed for about 76 megawatts near the Hays Energy Power Station…
Historic Littig Community Resists Elgin’s Proposed Treatment Plant
Gena Gonzalez received a notice from the city of Elgin in October of last year, alerting her that the 38-acre tract of land just over her property line would be annexed for a wastewater treatment plant. At full capacity, the plant will pump 6 million gallons of treated wastewater (effluent) a day into nearby Dry…
Music
Old Spaces Reward Modern Patience
New places may feel a dime a dozen in our chameleon city, but two specific approaches at Cherrywood Center and Downtown Austin Space Activation are giving preexisting buildings a new lease on life – pun intended. By making the most of what’s in front of them and helping others to do the same, leaders in…
Music Notes
alexsucks Friday 27, Brushy Street Commons These Los Angeles-based alt-rockers, led by frontman Alex Alvarez, play the second stop on their tour supporting fresh album Autopilot. The nine-track project, which was just released last Friday, intrigues with its raw vocals and garage rock-esque sound. Salt Lake City act dogma society supports. Kylie Hernandez Friday…
Arts + Culture
Homing In With New DORF Gallery Show
What does it feel like to be home, or to want to be? In “Homeward Bound,” artists Josue Bessiake, Esther Marie Hall, and Bárbara Miñarro explore the expansive concept of the home as not just a place to go, but as a feeling, memory, and experience. The group exhibition, presented by contemporary art gallery DORF,…
Actors on Actors, Musicians on Musicians, First Amendment Fests
Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey joined students at the University of Texas at Austin for a town hall-style conversation produced by Variety and CNN earlier this month. The pair, who first met playing a father-son duo in Interstellar, discussed AI’s encroaching role in the film industry and answered questions about their craft and career. McConaughey…
Welcome to Early Era Collective’s Community
Three full-length mirrors sat illuminated on the Dougherty Arts Center stage. Crowds trickled into the small venue as the once-quiet atmosphere filled with excitement, laughter, and reunion greetings. It was opening night of Say That Again, Early Era Collective’s annual Black History Month production, and anticipation was in the air. Silence permeated as a single…
“Milk Punch” Welcomes a New Contemporary Gallery to Austin
In a cozy residential stretch of West Sixth, a green gallery beckons from the sidewalk with tall windows that let afternoon light drench the room. Inside, a big bowl of milk punch sits atop a table where visitors gather, sipping the rich cocktail to welcome Austin’s newest contemporary art space, the Connelly Martin gallery. “Milk…
Screens
Sirāt Review: The Sound of Violence
In Islamic theology, As-Sirāt is the bridge to paradise that all souls must pass over on Yawm al-Qiyama, the day of resurrection. It’s with overt dark humor that French director Oliver Laxe references that passageway in the opening text before Sirāt, his fourth feature. According to the hadith, the faithful will cross the bridge easily,…
Columns
Qmmunity: Spring Is Sprunging
Spring is about to be sprung, which means a lotta events, publications, and parties have their application deadlines approaching. Reader, I know you are talented and smart, but some of these dates might’ve escaped your notice. As is my saintly nature, I’ve martyred myself on the social media sword – for you, Reader, and not…
Op-Ed: “Affordability” Should Mean Being Able to Afford Time Off, Too
In Washington, Democrats have a top priority: helping people afford the things they need to live well – a home, food, health care, child care. I agree that should be our top priority. But a few months after the birth of my first child, I am thinking more about how we make sure Americans can…
Austin FC Flexes New “Attractive” Style In Season-Opening Draw
Austin FC opened its 2026 season amid all the usual hoopla Saturday night, and it didn’t take long for the football club to resume tormenting its avid supporters. Seeing what would’ve been a highly satisfying home win shrivel into an irritating draw – thanks to a defensive breakdown in the final minute of regulation play…
Feedback: February 27, 2026
Exclusive Education Dear Editor, Hats off to Sammie Seamon’s in-depth article on the many problems associated with Texas’ new voucher program, “The New Voucher Era” [News, Feb. 13]. I learned a lot from the article, and appreciate the in-depth research, and even the nuance, including for example perspective from parents like me – who are supportive of public education, yet still evaluating what…
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
In April 1944, a person in Louisiana made the last confirmed sighting of an ivory-billed woodpecker. As his rule of Syria was coming to an end, Bashar al-Assad played a lot of Candy Crush. The Free Republic of Verdis is a small tract of land in Southeast Europe between Croatia and Serbia along the Danube…
Day Trips: Martin Creek Lake State Park, Tatum
Martin Creek Lake State Park is a small East Texas park that hits above its weight with its beauty. The campgrounds are almost like having your own secluded cabin in the woods on a small lake. There’s only one small problem with the park. Deep in the Piney Woods, the 287-acre preserve is shaded by…
The Luv Doc: Balderdash and Poppycock
Dear Luv Doc, I was in a relationship with a guy for nearly two years and we recently broke up because he claims he can’t be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t share his interests. His interests are gaming, anime, and EDM. He also likes cooking, but so do I so that can’t go…
Fun + Games
Free Will Astrology
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Sufi mystics tell us that the heart has “seven levels of depth,” each one bearing progressively more profound wisdom. You access these depths by feeling deeper, not thinking harder. Let’s apply this perspective to you, Pisces. Right now, you’re being called to descend past surface emotions (irritation, worry, mild contentment) into…
