Hot Luck Serves Up Music and a New Venue, Buffet Style

The Gories at Fun Fun Fun Fest back in 2010 (photo by John Anderson)

This year's musical bookings to accompany the foodie, Aaron Franklin-founded Hot Luck Festival pepper in a little bit of everything – just the way we like it. Alongside world-renowned chef lineups during the day, the gathering meal preps an expanded venue lineup this Thursday, May 25, through Sunday, May 28. I'd wait 20 minutes after eating to dip into Hotel Vegas' queasy platter of God Shell's experimental metal and blood-spitting Tear Dungeon. Texan singer-songwriters Shinyribs and Robert Ellis' homestyle offerings land at Mohawk, where Resound and Levitation also jump in the curatorial mix. With shows open to Hot Luck passholders, individual tickets range from $10 to $22.

To get your fill for free, High Noon serves up nightly no-cost shows, wrapping with a Sunday day party featuring Austin country mythologizer Jonathan Terrell. Next door at 1901 East Cesar Chavez, new venue the Coral Snake reheats Hot Luck as its grand opening weekend in the former Long Play Lounge East/Stay Gold building, decked out in a fresh red-and-yellow-kill-a-fellow paint job. Find the full musical menu at hotluckfest.com/tickets. – Rachel Rascoe

The Gories

With dark shades and no bass, the Gories played a remarkably raw strain of garage blues, mostly in half-empty Detroit bars during their original run (1986-92). That primitivism proved revolutionary to later generations: no Gories, no White Stripes. The cool-as-ice trio reformed as cult heroes in 2009 and now reenacts their primal R&B brilliance on rare occasions.  – Kevin Curtin

Sheer Mag

Nine years into their craft, Philadelphia powerhouse Sheer Mag remains steadfast in reimagining Seventies sounds. Earning high Pitchfork praise since 2017 debut Need to Feel Your Love, the band's clever fusion of power-pop, metal, and soul has since culminated in arena-sized anthems and opening for Grammy-nominated punks Turnstile.  – Kriss Conklin

Daikaiju

Rollicking guitar riffs and a fuzzy punk edge set apart the Alabama-born, Houston-based instrumental surf quartet Daikaiju. Equally notable is the band's onstage presence: Each member conceals their identity behind pseudonyms and Japanese kabuki masks. The rockabilly oddballs proved staying power with February's Phase 3, their first album in 13 years.  – Genny Wood

Bad Markings

Drawling deadpan, shimmering synths, and unruly riffs summate the experimental ricochets of Austin quartet Bad Markings. Each track unfurls without warning, quickly twisting from tranquil to erratic. From latest EP Lies White: "Statistic" spins existential, Nineties-Cake-like monologues, while "Canteliever" relays piercing, distortive symphonies à la My Bloody Valentine.  – Kriss Conklin

Deezie Brown

Informed by Texas hip-hop and Kanye West, Deezie Brown's 5th Wheel Fairytale spins an exploratory fable from the perspective of a young race car driver. Delicately layering choral, beat, and live band arrangements, the Bastrop rapper/producer rewrites the sound of the South via an homage and a road map.  – Kriss Conklin