Words in Motion

Readings by local authors Roger Reeves, Greg Marshall, and Stephanie Yue Duhem coincide with live music at Words in Motion, a format-mixing event at Alienated Majesty Books (once Malvern). Daniel Bryson promises a “stripped down but still full band-ish set” from A.L. West, whose November album The Store issues like-minded acoustic warmth to locally launched act Hovvdy. Virginia Creeper deals in similar soundscapes, but her vocal-forward compositions skew more comically confessional: “I’m in love with everybody I meet/ Celebrities keep kissing me in my sleep,” she reveals in loner anthem “Birdwatching.” Wake Up Spaceboy, meanwhile, goes electric to soundtrack young adult malaise. A cozy cold weather meetup for those interested in indie rock and dark academia – or, at least, collared shirts.  – Carys Anderson

Stalefish Album Release

Melding up-to-date bedroom pop with a healthy dose of Nineties slacker rock nostalgia, homegrown sixpiece Stalefish embarks on a two-show Austin romp in celebration of debut album Stalefish Does America. Friday’s Hotel Vegas festivities see the college-age up-and-comers join forces with fellow DIYers Pelvis Wrestley, LINT!, and Homemade Bangs, while Tuesday’s cassette release party at Antone’s serves as a solo showing for the Happen Twice signees. For a sneak peek into the group’s feel-good live energy, try last month’s “Wash Yer Hair (Forever),” a syrupy sweet sing-along that channels the jangle-pop goodness of Ween.  – Genevieve Wood

Jonathan Toubin’s Soul Clap

Beloved vinyl DJ Jonathan Toubin cut his teeth in Austin, playing in punk bands like Cheezus, Noodle, and the Hamicks throughout the roaring Nineties. The following decade, in NYC, he’d help cement the aesthetic of the 45 rpm DJ night craze – hosting the famed New York Night Train series where he’d spin wondrous, highly eclectic mixes of soul, R&B, and vintage rock. His career was nearly cut short by the freakiest of freak accidents while on tour in 2011, when a taxi cab drove through the wall of his Portland motel room and landed atop his sleeping body. Emerging from a coma with innumerable injuries, he miraculously recovered and continued energizing dance floors. His annual Austin appearance includes a $100 cash prize midnight dance contest and performances by camp-oddity glam punks Lord Friday the 13th and garage menaces Sailor Poon.  – Kevin Curtin

Jon Deas Quartet

Jon Deas puts groceries in his cupboard by slinging keyboards for Gary Clark Jr., winning himself a Grammy in the process for his participation on This Land. He’s also a producer through his KeyzStreet imprint, working with Jackie Venson and Jake Lloyd, among others. When he’s not helping other folks sound good, though, Deas leads his own jazz quartet, traveling through funk, soul, hip-hop, and gospel on his way to classic bop. A Monks veteran, Deas will be joined for this appearance by bandleader/saxophonist Paulo Santos, Coke/Michel Sextet bassist James Suter, and prolific drummer Adam Jackson. (Though this show has sold out, find livestream tickets at monksjazz.com.)  – Michael Toland

Steve Earle Birthday Tribute

Steve Earle, who chose his destiny in Schertz outside of San Antonio, makes a cameo in Lucinda Williams’ new memoir. In one section she ties together themselves, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, then later Nanci Griffith and Rodney Crowell. Texans write songs like dolphins swim. Jerry Jeff Walker illuminated the path and Earle’s 2022 songbook JERRY JEFF shelves next to further works J.T., GUY, and Townes. Even so, 2020’s Ghosts of West Virginia, about mining tragedy in his native state, tops ’em all. Local acolytes Brandon Luedtke, Claudia Gibson, Cory Reinisch, Graham Weber, Graham Wilkinson, Nichole Wagner, and more weigh in themselves.  – Raoul Hernandez

David Dondero

David Dondero writes the kind of incisively charming songs that leave you wondering whether to laugh or cry. The northwest troubadour’s latest LP, last year’s Immersion Therapy, directly confronts the anxiety, grief, and absurdity of emerging from the pandemic, frayed and uncertain. Yet Dondero insists on compassion even amid despair, pouring the struggle between loss and hope into his tentatively warbling voice. Blue-collar bard Ben Ballinger contributes his own wry and searching ballads from 2023’s haunting Egress to open, along with a set from the usually low-lying local bandleader of the Heavenly States, Ted Nesseth.  – Doug Freeman

A-F-R-O

Despite his young age of 26, rapper A-F-R-O (a backronym for All Flows Reach Out) profiles as someone who would’ve meshed seamlessly within Nineties hip-hop. When the Californian isn’t unloading dexterous flows or displaying love for boom bap, he’s obliterating samples like Ponderosa Twins Plus One’s “Bound” on swift rhyming exercise “Sincerely, an Artist.” A strong cast of lyrical Austin-based MCs support the rapper/producer/actor: the College of Hip Hop Knowledge crew, Scuare, and current Austin Music Awards nominee Ben Buck. If you constantly watch radio station freestyles or long for some era before modern rap, this show’s definitely for you.  – Derek Udensi

Music Notes

Lil 2z

Dallas rapper (as he says on “Sour”: “Grew up in the Cliff/ But my name is not Huxtable“) who some in town may know for his constant collaborations across I-35 with Quin NFN. The two synergic Texas MCs released a joint project titled 2’s & 4’s in December 2022. Sauce Walka affiliate Peso Peso and local artist P Killa support.

The Record Company

Los Angeles rock trio with heavy blues tendencies tours in support of their self-evident fourth studio album, The 4th Album.

Kool & the Gang

Co-founder Robert “Kool” Bell carries on the invigorating multigenre group’s efforts to “celebrate good times, come on!” Zach Person makes a slight detour from his weekly residency at C-Boy’s to support the groovy Grammy winner.

This article appears in January 12 • 2024.