Cover Story
Heavy Metal Jesus Rages On
Heavy Metal Jesus never misses a good show – and it turns out he’s pretty hard to miss too. His long brown hair and scraggly beard blend easily into the crowds Michael Medford frequents, but add a flowing white tunic tied with a red sash and he stands out. You may have seen the sanctified…
News
AISD Internal Messages Released as Charter Contracts Loom
Austin ISD faced sharp criticism by parents during the board meeting last Thursday, March 12, referencing a document containing internal district communications regarding the school closure and consolidation process that was reportedly released through a Public Information Act request made in mid-September. The messages don’t make the district look good, to say the least –…
The Week’s Biggest News in Brief: March 12-18
Private School Voucher Deadline Extended: On Tuesday, March 17, Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced that the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program’s deadline has been extended through March 31, following a lawsuit from Muslim parents and Islamic private schools due to the program’s total exclusion of Islamic private schools. U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett ordered the…
Post-GOP Gerrymandering, Here’s What Voter Turnout Looked Like in the Texas Primaries
This year’s primary races – especially on the Democrats’ side – felt different than past years leading up to midterm elections. And that’s because they were. After Gov. Greg Abbott signed the GOP redistricted map into law back in August, a three-judge court in El Paso blocked the map in November, ruling that it was…
Texas Drag Ban Takes Effect After Appeals Court Decision
As of March 18 Texas can enforce Senate Bill 12, a 2023 law also known as the Texas Drag Ban, that prohibits “sexually oriented performances” on public property and in the presence of minors. A federal court declared the law unconstitutional in 2023 after the ACLU sued to challenge it, claiming it infringed on the…
Music
Music Notes
Chucky Blk Saturday 21, C-Boy’s Heart & Soul Intricate wordsmith Chucky Blk returns to the stage in anticipation of his forthcoming album, A Homecoming of Sorts (A Pile of Dead Me’s), which is set for a June release. He’ll preview some of the material on his first project in three-plus years before Austin Music Awards…
Arts + Culture
Spring Into Swapping With These Events
With last weekend bringing in temperatures worthy of light-colored linens, Reader, I’m freakin’ calling it. We’re in springtime territory! Official start is March 19, but many of us already entered the season by doing what the American Cleaning Institute says about 80% of the country cracks into ’round this month: spring cleaning. Yes, according to…
Screens
Project Hail Mary Review: Hope Burns Bright
It’s hard to remember sometimes, but humans are an inherently hopeful species. Acts of bravery, those are fleeting, but the determination to work toward a better tomorrow – or even the very existence of a future – well, that speaks to something deep within us. It’s the fuel that powers sci-fi drama Project Hail Mary…
Columns
Day Trips: Bay Street Park, Texas City
Bay Street Park in Texas City is a peaceful place filled with playgrounds, bayside trails, ballfields, and the entrance to the Texas City Dike. It is also a place of remembrance. At the southern end of the park is Anchor Park. Here rests a large portion of the anchor from the SS Grandcamp. It was…
Opinion: Austin Must Stand With All Our Neighbors
I grew up in an immigrant household. My parents worked hard to build a life in this country, and I watched them do it with dignity, with purpose, and with a sense of pride. But because of their sacrifice, their courage to uproot everything familiar in search of something better, I get to be here.…
The Luv Doc: Assistant Grave Digger
Dear Luv Doc, I was sitting on the couch watching a murder mystery with my boyfriend a few nights ago and he asked me if I would help him bury a corpse. Of course I said no, he would not be my boyfriend if he murdered someone. He said he didn’t say that he had…
Dream Blunt Rotation?
If you want to know the technical definitions and chemical components of weed, you have to ask Nick Mortillaro. A true weed nerd (I say with love and respect), Nick is also an expert in cannabis policy and business. In fact, Nick has a dispensary just a few blocks away from the Capitol: four minutes…
Arrivals and Departures
We’ve been moving at a breakneck pace here at the Chronicle, gearing up for, hitting the ground of, and finally collapsing, bedraggled and spent, after another South by Southwest, and it’s only belatedly occurring to us that we never formally introduced an important addition to the Chron family. He’s a very handsome fella named Champ,…
Feedback: March 20, 2026
Pleased With the Puzzle Dear Editor, Who’s this guy dissing the new crossword puzzles? [“Everybody’s Got One,” Feedback, March 13] I love the change in puzzles! I find them to be more intelligent and more fun. I could knock the old puzzles out in less than 10 minutes. They now require a little more thought…
Qmmunity: Here’s to Good Things
Hope y’all had a nice St. Patrick’s Day, didn’t get stuck in too terrible of Fest traffic, and had at least one good breakfast outdoors. Not much to report from the Qmmunity news desk other than the continued wearing away of trans rights under current federal and state administrations. More smarter people than I have…
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
Elkader, Iowa, is named for Emir Abdelkader, an Algerian religious and military leader who fought against French colonialism. 13th-century women who wanted to devote themselves to chastity, prayer, and good works without taking vows could join religious orders called beguines. Abraham Lincoln pardoned Joe Biden’s great-great-grandfather Moses Robinette, a civilian veterinary surgeon involved in a…
Fun + Games
Free Will Astrology
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Poet Mark Doty wrote, “The sea doesn’t reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. We should lie as empty, open, and choiceless as a beach – waiting for gifts from the sea.” This quote captures your Piscean genius when it’s working at its best. Others may exhaust themselves…
