Guiding Light, Heartknit, Commercial Breaks
Thursday 10, Hotel Vegas
There’s an implicit pressure in choosing a band name that pays homage to Television’s pivotal debut Marquee Moon, but Guiding Light rises to the challenge, churning with a jangly anarchism that Tom Verlaine himself would sign off on. Last year’s self-titled drop introduced the band as a bona fide force in local post-punk, driven by the unrelenting vigor of vocalist Elise Cook. Catch the art punk quartet at their Hotel Vegas home base before they embark on their first non-Texas tour dates; support from Heartknit and brand-new act Commercial Breaks ensures additional alt-rock electricity. – Genevieve Wood
BRUCE Presents must love teeth: a Concert Film Experience
Friday 11, Central Presbyterian Church
Carrie Fussell’s alt-pop solo project BRUCE is a master class in irreverent high drama. Hissing lead single “Cherry” previewed her debut LP must love teeth with a seductive bite, then follow-up tracks “Perfect Stranger” and “Water Pitcher” made a hard turn for cinematic piano and strings. (Don’t get me started on a cover of Sugar Ray’s “Someday,” which her truly incredible vocals somehow transform into an Angel Olsen-esque ballad.) Set to be documented in full by unnamed “award-winning filmmakers,” the Eventbrite page for this album release show really says it all: “pay no heed to cameras, but please come dressed in your sunday best as tho the lord is watching you. (but like, the lord is john waters.)” – Carys Anderson
LOLA Austin’s We Might Be Struck by Lightning
Friday 11 – Saturday 19, Ground Floor Theatre
Hear me out: What if there was an opera version of a jukebox musical? Think Rock of Ages, but instead of Bon Jovi and Def Leppard it’s full of Franz Schubert and Amy Beach. Local Opera Local Artists, aka LOLA Austin, created that exact classical marvel set against a daringly modern story. Songs from composers both well known (Claude Debussy) and those who deserve more recognition (Alma Mahler) weave together the tale of two women struggling with the depressive vicissitudes of life. Placing the grandeur of chamber opera with the intimacy of modern dance makes this a recital to remember. – Cat McCarrey
Abe Partridge and Jack Barksdale
Friday 11, 04 Center
Abe Partridge and Jack Barksdale are not the most obvious pairing, yet together they create a mesmerizing musical brew. As an outsider folk artist from Alabama, Partridge crafts provocatively unique music and paintings, rough-edged songs that can blur the absurd and beautiful in wild howling tales and tender questioning ballads. Barksdale, on the other hand, is a North Texas teenager that has been stunning audiences since he was a kid with the depth of his songwriting, soft angelic voice, and sharp guitar picking. Together, Partridge and Barksdale blend contrasts into a haunting but gorgeous new album they’re releasing only at shows. – Doug Freeman
Marley Hale, Sofia Mock, Will Clark
Friday 11, Hole in the Wall
Marley Hale’s timeless lilt pairs with nimble guitar melodies and supple strings like a vintage summer dress pairs with worn-in cowboy boots. Her classic country narratives take on a sorrowfully seductive air in live performance. An Austin native, Hale has been bringing Texas’ forlorn outlaw spirit to Brooklyn’s city streets for the past few years and returns to the trustworthy Hole in the Wall for a homecoming show. In an ode to friendships forged at Cactus Cafe open mic, Hale is joined by Sofia Mock’s surf-smooth storytelling, Will Clark’s tape-deck lullabies, barnstormers from Dan Perez, and a solo Other Vessels showing. – Caroline Drew
Austin Bat Refuge Benefit Show
Saturday 12, Carousel Lounge
Rats with wings or cute dancing critters – however you see them, bats are certainly here to stay in Austin, or should I say, “Bat City.” Austin Bat Refuge helps mediate human-bat relationships, and this benefit shows will help them keep doing it. Reggae-infused indie rockers FingerJane, dreamy indie outfit Sasparilla, and heavy metal group Dr. Sleep go to bat for the bats at Carousel Lounge for a night of music and winged support at this all-ages, BYOB benefit. – Caroline Drew
Tommy Howard San Antonio Quintet
Sunday 13, Monks Jazz
A native of San Antonio, jazz guitarist extraordinaire Tommy Howard often takes a break from his duties slinging the axe with Church on Monday and other notables to gather fellow Alamo City expatriates in the Austin jazz scene for performances as the San Antonio Quintet. Saxophonist Gene Centeno, pianist Andy Langham, bassist Brandon Rivas, and drummer Brandon Guerra join Howard for a program of jazz classics and deep cuts, plus songs from his still-underrated solo album Storybook. – Michael Toland
Austin Cabaret Theatre FUNdraising Gala
Monday 14, Parker Jazz Club
Austin’s hottest club is Parker Jazz. On Monday, this place has everything: an anniversary, a birthday, Clint Holmes… Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Austin’s premier cabaret, and the 60th anniversary of founder/producer Stuart Moulton, with jazz vocalist (and The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers announcer) Holmes, taking a break from his decades-long tenure as a Vegas fixture to perform locally with Parker’s house band. This is a real-deal gala, so tiered tickets range from $99-$199, but it’s worth it to support the theatre, darling. – Carys Anderson
BettySoo
Monday 14, Waterloo Records
It’s been over a decade since BettySoo released her last solo LP, 2014’s wrenchingly beautiful When We’re Gone, but it’s not like the songwriter hasn’t been busy. Aside from her exceptional supergroup team-up with Rebecca Loebe and Grace Pettis in Nobody’s Girl, she’s become the right hand of James McMurtry. The local songwriter’s upcoming fifth album, If You Never Go Away, mixes her remarkable vocal range across an array of pop and roots songs that blister defiantly bright against dark times. BettySoo drops in-store at Waterloo ahead of her official release show at Sagebrush on the 19th with McMurtry and Restos. – Doug Freeman
Buñuel
Tuesday 15, Come & Take It Live
“My last visit [to Austin]?” emails Eugene Robinson. “Had to be the book tour where I pulled a gun on a guy who threatened to shoot me at the merch table!” Buñuel’s legendary frontman put out 2023 memoir A Walk Across Dirty Water and Straight Into Murderer’s Row, so look for more such tales at Alienated Majesty Books’ Tuesday event, 4-5:30pm, titled “The Grand Escapades and Misadventures of a Hardcore Legend.” His noise advocates here, meanwhile, dropped fourth lashing Mansuetude last October, and play that evening with Steve Austin’s 1990s fiends Today Is the Day and Spiritual Poison. – Raoul Hernandez
The Psychedelic Furs
Tuesday 15, ACL Live at the Moody Theater
Formed during punk’s 1977 dawn, London’s ironically named Psychedelic Furs strained Bowiesque glam and Velvet Underground grit through a near-hallucinogenic take on the Sex Pistols’ crash-and-burn, still letting Byrdsian jangle shine through. Their self-titled 1980 debut LP was loaded: guitars like shrapnel, saxophone like a haunted cabaret, and Richard Butler snotting out negative poetry through a tubercular Johnny Rotten rasp. Thanks to the inclusion of the original version of “Pretty in Pink,” 1981’s Talk Talk Talk broke them through in America. Original Furs Butler and bassist brother Tim remain in the lineup storming ACL Live next Tuesday. Eighties proto-dreampoppers the Chameleons open. – Tim Stegall
Estani
Tuesday 15, Waterloo Records
Tú De Mí Te Acordarás, Estani’s upcoming release, is a departure from the neo-soul/Latin jazz fusion of her solo songwriting. Here, the artist wholeheartedly embraces traditional Conjunto forms with backing from Grammy-award winning composer Max Baca and Los Texmaniacs. What began as a simple project to pay homage to her grandmother, Rosita Lopez, and her Conjunto career from the Sixties and Seventies, evolved into a full-length album re-creating the compositions Lopez sang – and a documentary on the genre to come. Estani shares a sneak peek into the project with an intimate performance at Waterloo. – Caroline Drew
of Montreal
Wednesday 16, Radio/East
Although many have tried in the past 30 years, few have come close to re-creating the magic honed by Elephant 6’s Kevin Barnes, who has led of Montreal since the late Nineties. Hailing originally from Athens, Georgia, within a scene that calling idyllic would be a severe understatement, Barnes has carried the four-track across the band’s manifold genres: from redefining psychedelic power pop for the first real time since the Beatles, to messing with electronic synths and an adjacent, extremely chaotic onstage performance element. At this point, it doesn’t matter if you’re a funk or art rock truther; of Montreal has an album for you. Austin-based Pelvis Wrestley and CorMae join the band this Wednesday. – Levi Langley
Being Dead
Thursday 17, Hotel Vegas
For one night only! Experimental rock darlings Being Dead are on the move, with U.S., UK, and European dates throughout the summer in support of their 2024 breakthrough EELS, so 101X Homegrown Live’s Summer Smackdown series might be the last time you see the locals before Levitation in September. Catch the rare hometown treat at Vegas, where Water Damage and haha Laughing kick off the night with “hair raisin’ havoc.” – Abby Johnston
Music Notes
by Derek Udensi
Club Madnes
Friday 11, Cheer Up Charlies
This two-stage event aims to donate school supplies to kids in Honduras, with $2 out of every $12 suggested donation benefiting ChildHelp. Those who arrive with a supplies-filled backpack get half-off their ticket. Australian artist KUČKA headlines, with support from WHOKILLEDXIX, Houston rapper BBY Kodie – who dropped his return single “KONDO” last week – and more.
BodyRock ATX
Friday 11, Sahara Lounge
This edition of DJ Chorizo Funk and Riders Against the Storm’s monthly dance party tributes musicians with two of the most celebrated album runs ever: Atlanta hip-hop duo Outkast (ATLiens through Stankonia) and Stevie Wonder (Music of My Mind through Songs in the Key of Life).
True Texas Tunes
Wednesday 16, H-E-B Lake Austin
You can enjoy free music every Wednesday afternoon this summer at the first-ever two-story H-E-B as part of True Texas Tunes. The concert series, which is held inside True Texas BBQ, benefits the HOME (Housing Opportunities for Musicians and Entertainers) nonprofit. The next show will feature pop/R&B group Midnight Snack, who will also play at the July 19 edition of the series held monthly at the South Congress H-E-B.
Want to see all of our listings broken down by day? Go to austinchronicle.com/calendar and see what’s happening now or in the coming week.
This article appears in July 11 • 2025.