VOTE NOW IN THE AUSTIN MUSIC POLL

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It’s time for that midsummer holiday where we take a break to stuff our faces and watch pretty explosives light up the night sky: America’s birthday. We’ve compiled a smattering of events happening around town, with fun for the whole family. However you choose to celebrate this year, have fun, wear sunscreen, and be safe!

by Chronicle Staff

Texas Platters

Creating some space from the Black Sabbath project that yielded two full albums and national acclaim, Brownout declared themselves Over the Covers on last year’s EP. So much for that idea, and thank goodness. As with New York’s El Michels Affair putting an experimental soul spin on Wu-Tang Clan bangers, the locals return with Fear…

by Thomas Fawcett

Texas Platters

Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Dave Alvin bridge a broad musical spectrum. Between the Flatlanders’ High Plains folk mysticism and the Blasters’ blueprint cowpunk blues lies the history of American roots. One of only two originals, the title track opens as a worn, enthralling highway manifesto, Gilmore’s pitching croon striking against Alvin’s baritone like a hot…

by Doug Freeman

Texas Platters

Had Jesse Dayton’s heyday been the Sixties and Seventies, Merle Haggard and Waylon ‘n’ Willie would have constituted his peer group. A Renaissance country rocker native to Beaumont, the longtime Austinite boasts a résumé spanning horror movie director to lead axe grinder for artists ranging from Ray Price to the Supersuckers. As such, he’s made…

by Tim Stegall

Texas Platters

Patricia Vonne’s piercing contralto connects bolero rock, fiddle-assisted folk, sultry flamenco, and bilingual pop into a rich web on Top of the Mountain. The Austin singer’s seventh album opens in the lush reverb and plucked melodies of country expanse “Citadel,” but the brawny riffs to “City Is Alive” and a feral “Lil’ Lobo” pair up…

by Alejandra Ramirez

Texas Platters

Like light cottons on a clothesline, Nightgown billows and flickers in five scene setters. Now assembled as a quintet, Why Bonnie’s second EP offers a charming grab-bag. Playfully mellow “Gold Rush” introduces Blair Howerton’s lush voice, which weaves nimbly through Kendall Powell’s punchy synth. Building on the locals’ dream-pop essence, the powerhouse singer and sturdy…

by Rachel Rascoe

Texas Platters

Native of Florence, Italy, Giulia Millanta fed into Austin’s greater artistry in 2012 with third album Dust and Desire, songs inspired by her move here. On sixth LP Conversation With a Ghost, the guitarist picks folk lamentations, Latin rhythms, and cool jazz with a stellar cast including six-string great Marc Ribot (Tom Waits), accordionist Joel…

by Alejandra Ramirez

Battle of the Briskets Champion: Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que

Thousands of votes came in over the past two weeks, and our readers have spoken: From the Group 5 division “Joey,” Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que wins The Austin Chronicle’s Battle of the Briskets. And their slogan says it best: “It’s all about the meat.” Although the Austin location (217 Congress) has only been open…

by Jessi Cape

Headlines

No City Council meeting this week. Members were scheduled to discuss CodeNEXT on Thursday, but canceled that meeting so they could visit the tent city housing immigrant children in Tornillo with the U.S. Conference of Mayors. More in Tornillo: Beto O’Rourke and El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar led a protest near the Tornillo facility…

by Chronicle Staff

Mr. Smarty Pants Knows

Keanu Reeves is afraid of being left alone in the dark. According to author Paul J. Zak, hearing a compelling story releases cortisol and oxytocin, which triggers human ability to connect and make meaning. Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1987 was not the first female athlete to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Even by the…

by Mr. Smarty Pants

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