Central Texas Juneteenth
Thursday 19, parade: MLK Jr. Blvd & Leona; festival: Rosewood Park
Dating back to 1867, when the Freedmen’s Bureau organized the first parade, picnic, and festival in Austin, there has been a celebration of Juneteenth in the historically African American Eastside community. This year’s event includes a parade starting at 10am from the crossroads of MLK Jr. Boulevard and Leona Street, which leads right to the festival starting at noon at Rosewood Park. There, attendees can enjoy live performances from J Soulja, Jason Greensocks, Young Guy, and Anastasia Hera, as well as DJ sets from DJ Hella Yella, Napalm, and more. Local vendors also pop up, as well as a fireworks display finisher. – James Scott
Lomelda’s See Ya Texas Show
Thursday 19, Radio/East
There’s nothing particularly subversive about Lomelda’s folk songs. Whether it be the plush fingerpicked melodies or the short, vignette-like writing, Hannah Read, the East Texas songwriter behind the project, seems to find fullness through life’s kitchen-sink mundanities – often the ones that lie right in front of our eyes. Sometimes that means trying to find the words to describe a kiss, or inadvertently walking into oncoming traffic, or just looking at the moon through the windowpane. Lomelda doesn’t need to be subversive, though, because Read’s tender voice needling through each memory is all anyone needs in a single song. Alexalone and Felt Out open her final show before relocating to New York. – Levi Langley
Hoedown Throwdown Pt. II
Friday 20, Hole in the Wall
State of the world got you stuck with a lot of pent-up anger? Let out your rage the old-fashioned way: at a joint punk show/wrestling match. Local booking collective Howdy Gals launched Hoedown Throwdown during this year’s South by Southwest, and real-life wrestlers Anakin Murphy, Morgan Mercy, Dillon McQueen, and Matt Locke enter the ring on Friday for Part II. Local pummelers Mugger and Dregs, plus post-punks modernform and psych rockers Marry Cherry, soundtrack the madness. – Carys Anderson
Shrek Rave XXL
Friday 20, Emo’s Austin
Only recently was I hip’d to how big a deal the Shrek Rave industrial complex is. People from all over the societal spectrum – normies, cosplay nerds, moms – choose to release their inner ogre via bass drops and green ear stalks. Though Austin’s no stranger to the Dreamworks-property themed rave phenom, this week’s hits Southside “swamp” Emo’s rather than Downtown – so plan your parking strategy accordingly. If you get a boot because you left your carriage in the AutoZone lot, there’s no Fairy Godmother to wish it away. – James Scott
TOP OFF! A Top Surgery Benefit Showcase for Madison Baker
Friday 20, Cheer Up Charlies
Access to gender-affirming care has been at the epicenter of Texas legislators’ anti-LGBTQIA suppression campaign in recent years; as nonbinary songwriter Madison Baker told the Chronicle recently, “I grew up in Texas, and I love this state, but it’s extremely difficult.” To assist them in clearing these proverbial hurdles, the local artist – known first for their solo electropop but now as one-third of country supergroup Next of Kin – has turned to the community to fundraise for their top surgery. The trio joins wild post-punks J’cuuzi, electronic producer EMSKI, and jazz keyboardist KindKeith, plus drag, vendors, and a mechanical bull, at the event. – Carys Anderson
Porcelain
Friday 20, Mohawk
From its initial harmonic plucks to Steve Pike and Ryan Fitzgibbon’s dual vocals, aptly titled new single “Harmony” previews a new era for Porcelain. The homegrown post-hardcore outfit’s first release since their great 2024 debut album doubles as a look at LP2 and an idea of what local photographer/booker Pooneh Ghana has in store for her new label TODO Records, to which Porcelain was an early signee. The rising quartet showcases all things post-punk, post-hardcore, and otherwise post-genre with a stacked bill featuring fellow ATX act Guiding Light, Denton emos Skimp, and Chicago rockers Bursting. – Carys Anderson
mallories EP release
Saturday 21, Chess Club
Hardcore arrives by many names and they’re almost all at Chess Club this Saturday, thanks to Texas DIY label Doom Records. mallories celebrates their debut EP release, which is sure to be full of Austin-style sludge so thick and gritty you’ll get stuck in it. Righteous local ragers Imminent End open the night, then San Marcos-based Los Cabrones bring their “Mexican style violence” fresh off their demo NEVER STAND FOR INJUSTICE.ONLY THE TRUTH. Laugh Track, classic hardcore punk outfitted in appropriately threatening feedback, will shake loose whatever’s left of you at the end of the night. – Caroline Drew
Grocery Bag
Saturday 21, 13th Floor
Almost every Grocery Bag set I’ve witnessed in the flesh continues to sit atop my Most Fun Live Show list. The local psych-garage quartet is best experienced this way – live – and whether it be at Pearl Street Co-op, a college bar, or at 13th Floor this weekend, Grocery Bag (alongside their local punk neighbors Billy Glitter and FLAGS) has a raw and abrasive sound that guarantees a combo of a good time and a bout of postshow ear-ringing. Maybe the concert list I had going was for energy expended, not the most fun – although the two probably mean the same thing to most Austin punks, anyway. – Levi Langley
New Strangers, Dottie, and philo*
Saturday 21, Alienated Majesty Books
New Strangers are immediate classics. Lead singer Kyle Carpenter’s breathless, laden intonation collides with thrumming euphony and earworm riffs bent out of Eighties and Nineties post-punk forms. Dottie’s distinct shoegaze drawl lives in a neo-noir universe only accessible in dreams – and live performance. philo* aren’t afraid to harmonize screams and static frequencies with tight melodic awareness and never lose sight of their hardcore edge. Insulated by Alienated Majesty’s sophisticated yet motley collection, Saturday’s lineup will leave your eardrums reverberating. – Caroline Drew
Kinky Curly Coily Fest 6
Sunday 22, Antone’s
Local rapper Cha’Keeta B isn’t holding anything back at her sixth annual Kinky Curly Coily Fest. A live Q&A panel, passionately curated goodie bags (free for the first 50 attendees), and free haircuts all night await at Antone’s. As the tresses hit the floor, dancers are sure to be too, thanks to a packed lineup of dynamic performers, including Koffia, Chelle Naé, Camila Rivers, and Lynn. The night ends with Jordan Orionn’s mesmerizingly melodic storytelling, Jai Bliss’ eclectic R&B stylings, and Geto Gala’s sonically rich hip-hop. – Caroline Drew
CHANEL: One Night Only
Tuesday 24, the Topfer at Zach
International icon CHANEL, aka Chanel Haynes, goes from being the Ghost of Christmas Present in Zach’s 2022 Christmas Carol to the Host of Parties Present via her one-night-only performance. The night promises not only the singer belting big numbers from her time as lead in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical but also proving why the Rolling Stones scooped her up as lead vocalist for their latest tour. Snag the standard tix for an unforgettable show, or drop serious cash to secure a VIP meet-and-greet with the star. – James Scott
FLAGS
Tuesday 24, Hotel Vegas
Self-described “Texas oil slick surf-punk” quartet FLAGS debuted last year with Bummer Summer, a rollicking four-song EP rife with zany guitar acrobatics and sticky boy-girl vocals. “I’m the biggest bummer of the summer,” singer/guitarists Cait McCoy and Reid Haynie harmonize in the title track, released, ironically, in December. Days after the solstice, the band wraps their Tuesdays-in-June Hotel Vegas residency with a single release show. Proggy psych rockers Hidden Floors and the keyboard-exhausting post-punks VVVOOOLLLUUUMMMEEE open. – Carys Anderson
Stephanie Yue Duhem: Cataclysm Moves Me I Regret to Say
Tuesday 24, Alienated Majesty
Stephanie Yue Duhem’s culturo-personal reflections dance between academic dissection and diary, with a knack for twirling intimate artistic expression though a floor of well-trodden topics. Debut poetry collection Cataclysm promises to untangle life’s contemporary calamities – personal, social, and systemic – with signature grace. Her book launch is in apt company with a lineup of poets, essayists, and multimedia artists each bringing their varied backgrounds in art and academia to their writing projects. Synth-driven wordsmith Plum Wooer provides a suitably provocative soundtrack. – Caroline Drew
Pete Yorn
Wednesday 25, Radio/East
Twenty-three years after his debut album Musicforthemorningafter propelled Pete Yorn to critical acclaim, The Hard Way finds Yorn reflective and comfortable, with laid-back tunes about married life and the trials of touring. “I can’t compete with who I used to be,” he sings on the title track. The album celebrates Yorn’s raspy vocal range and the guitar-driven melodies that came to define early Aughts pop-rock, sinking into his softer side. Ever a dynamic performer, Yorn’s set lists trace every chapter of his cohesive and charismatic career, with a wink for fans from any era. – Caroline Drew
Bee Blackwell EP Release
Thursday 26, Hotel Vegas
Out-of-time young Austinite Bee Blackwell re-creates the rumble and jangle of Nineties alt-rock with the studied perfection of an artist who grew up with the MTV generation, not the TikTok generation. The singer – who has nearly 60,000 followers on that music-loving app – crafts sunny, radio-ready singles and fuzzy, introspective numbers in equal measure. Murky earworm “LALALA” and poppy single “CLAWS” preview the artist’s upcoming EP NINE LIVES, which she rings in at Vegas with Lauren Lakis, French Film, and Tough on Fridays, plus members of Queen Serene on the DJ stacks. – Carys Anderson
Music Notes
by Derek UdensiBeyoncé on Strings
Thursday 19, ConcertDome
Perhaps it’s nostalgia for the days of watching TRL and 106 & Park, but I’m not sure another Queen B solo track has topped her first for me. That lively horn on “Crazy in Love,” sampled from the Chi-Lites’ 1970 song “Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So),” still rings as loudly as ever in my head, so the idea of replacing that flame with orchestral arrangements sounds intriguing. Come see a string quartet at the new ConcertDome restyle my favorite and other hits like “Irreplaceable” and “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM.”
Mobley
Saturday 21, Parish
Austin-based musician Mobley makes his hometown stop on the current tour for his futuristic new concept album (see the June 6 issue for the Chronicle’s review), We Do Not Fear Ruins. Hydra Melody and Vision Arcade support.
The Drop-In
Thursday 19, Long Center Lawn
Mama Duke performs two days after her impressive America’s Got Talent audition – featuring new song “Feels So Good To Be You” – aired on NBC. She looks to expand her reach after long making waves locally for her ability to flip a self-titled “triple-whammy” of intersectionality into a triumphant piece of individuality. SKATELAND opens.
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 June 20 • 2025.
