Thor Harris Credit: Image via Bandcamp


Thor Harris Credit: Image via Bandcamp

Sonic Transmissions Festival

Thursday 11 – Sunday 14, Various Locations

Bassist/composer Ingebrigt Håker Flaten may technically be a former Austinite (though he maintains his ATX address), but he’s here so often that it’s easy to forget. Case in point: Håker Flaten’s long-running avant-garde/improvisational music fest Sonic Transmissions returns to our city limits. With representation from Texas, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Amsterdam, Norway, Brazil, and Bolivia, the festival welcomes iconoclasts like Ben LaMar Gay, Damon Locks and the Gratefuls, MESTIZX, Andreas Røysum Ensemble and Marvin Tate, Trio Glossia, Cameron/Chou/Thomson/Ng, Signe Emmeluth, the Viva Palestina Orchestra, Thor & Friends, the Young Mothers, and more. Co-presented by Epistrophy Arts.   – Michael Toland


Credit: Photo by Riley Dwyer

Samia

Friday 12, Scoot Inn

For singer-songwriter Samia, the pulse of her folk-pop flair lies within her vulnerable lyricism and vivid imagery that make her songs feel more like soundtracked diary entries contemplating self-discovery, intimacy, and existentialism. The Los Angeles native celebrated the fifth anniversary of her debut effort The Baby with an extended version of the record, including features from Christian Lee Hutson and MICHELLE, along with a stripped-down rendition of opener “Pool.” Popularized by her soul-baring NPR Tiny Desk performance, the songstress pierces through layered harmonies and lush ambience as she grapples with finality: “How long/ Do I have with my dog?/ Till I start forgetting shit?/ Till we’re rich and then we’re not and then we’re rich?”   – Miranda Garza


Stefan Jackiw Credit: Photo by Sangwook Lee

Austin Symphony Orchestra’s Across the Globe

Friday 12 – Saturday 13, Long Center

Prokofiev’s “Violin Concerto No. 2” opens, hauntingly, with the solo string, and you couldn’t ask for a finer violinist than Stefan Jackiw to launch the piece, and Austin Symphony Orchestra’s new season – the last to be helmed by longtime music director and conductor Peter Bay, who announced on Tuesday that he’ll be vacating his post after this season, his 30th with ASO. Also on the program: Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz’s stirring “Kauyumari” and Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 78” – better known as the Organ Symphony – the last symphonic work composed by the former church organist.   – Kimberley Jones


4DAWA Fest ft. Killer Mike and the Mighty Midnight Revival

Friday 12, Radio/East

In the six years since Riders Against the Storm MC Jonathan “Chaka” Mahone launched creatives of color support group Diversity Awareness & Wellness in Action, the nonprofit has opened a free space on the Eastside for podcasting, events, photo shoots, and workshops; curated historic BIPOC-focused programming at South by Southwest; and, crucially, supplied hundreds of thousands of dollars to Austin’s creative community. This anniversary event presents another impressive achievement with a performance by Run the Jewels’ Killer Mike, plus locals David Shabani and Anastasia Hera. A live mixtape taps other DAWA-approved artists: Big Mic, Blakchyl, Cha’keeta B, Kydd Jones, and many more.   – Carys Anderson


13th Floor owner Jake Garcia Credit: Photo by Jana Birchum

13th Floor’s Third Anniversary

Friday 12 – Saturday 13, 13th Floor

Clubs come and go, but the rooms often remain – the old Emo’s, Headhunters, even Eighties punk crucible Raul’s. In the best cases, they stay musically O.G.: Chess Club, the new Emo’s, 29th Street Ballroom. The 13th Floor did it best, perhaps. Legacy Red River space Beerland reigned decades, but its replacement bettered the brick fortress – brighter, roomier, classier. Soon hosting Levitation auxiliary shows, they soft-start here with Black Angels frontman Alex Maas, psych sorcerers DAIISTAR, and more on Friday, then day-glo Nineties ATX post-punk gods Ed Hall re-animate, alongside Wet Dip and Oogwei, on Saturday. Only missing: Roky Erickson!   – Raoul Hernandez


Evan Charles Credit: Image via Bandcamp

Evan Charles/Jonas Wilson Album Releases

Saturday 13, Continental Club

Cue a Thunderdome-style radio blast: Saturday, Saturday, Saturday! Piano legend Earl Poole Ball matinees first (3:30pm), then a suppertime set from truck-stop twang king Bill Kirchen (7:30), followed by a midnight reunion from Weary Boy Mario Matteoli’s Joe Jacksons. At the heart of it all, synchronous album releases. Mark Lanegan, Nick Cave, Jim Morrison: That’s Evan Charles’ deep-n-dark vox, here unleashing Echoes at Dawn. Its co-producer Jonas Wilson follows with Smash the Control Machine, whose “Dream of Life (feat. Hannibal Lokumbe)” hypnotizes a serious Lindsey Buckingham vibe shot through with the local trumpet great’s siren solo.   – Raoul Hernandez


Credit: Image via Bandcamp

lluvii Double Single Release

Saturday 13, Stubb’s Indoors

Different tempos, styles, instrumentation, and influences come together in a cohesively danceable lineup: lluvii, Blakchyl, and EddieAngel form the kind of bill that going-out dreams are made of. Jazz-influenced pop sensualist EddieAngel starts the night with silky smooth, hip-swaying beats and vibrato vocals reminiscent of R&B’s biggest stars. Then Blakchyl gets your shoulders involved with her stripped-down, keys- and drums-driven rap tracks, laced with dreamy synth loops. lluvii’s cumbia funk/bedroom pop fusion demands whole body movement: snap and sing along if you can. If your feet can keep up, their newly released singles are the cherry on top of a groove-heavy sundae at Stubb’s.   – Caroline Drew


The Heart Behind the Horn: Ephraim Owens Benefit

Sunday 14, Continental Club

Diagnosed with chronic heart failure, versatile trumpeter Ephraim Owens has been gigless since a stroke, several hospital stays, intensive (but steady) recovery, and possible heart pump surgery. The 12-hour Heart Behind the Horn benefit gathers the tribes from his many walks of musical life, including Adrian Quesada, Elias Haslanger, Kalu James, Warren and Marshall Hood, and more to come. Alongside a GoFundMe page, the show hopes to help with $82,000 worth of medical bills, living expenses, and lost wages. Considering the impact Owens’ horn has had on Austin’s musical landscape, he’s worth the support. Coordinated by the Austin Jazz Society’s Project Safety Net.   – Michael Toland


Jazz Brunch

Sunday 14, St. Elmo Springdale

The Springdale brewery transforms into a jazzy brunch spot fit for the whole family (except for the half-off mimosas) from 11am to 2pm. Ben Triesch provides the onstage tunes, and there’ll be beer, wine, frozen bevs, and a coffee bar. Food trucks Pueblo Viejo and Spicy Boys Chicken will be on standby all afternoon. Just no outside food or drinks.   – Sammie Seamon


Credit: Photo by Bradley J. Calder

Father John Misty

Tuesday 16, Moody Amphitheater

Have you seen Father John Misty dance? I didn’t actually like Father John Misty until I saw him dance. I can’t promise he’ll do it onstage here in Austin – or that it’ll impact you the same way – but I can assert that last year’s Mahashmashana is this pretend priest’s most danceable album. Strings still swell, keys dramatize, Misty self-deprecates, but the hyperpop synth that sneaks into “Screamland,” the brass notes on “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All,” and the getaway-car bassline of “She Cleans Up” are a delightful new direction for the king of white irony.   – Caroline Drew


Credit: Photo by Thistle Brown

Lorde

Wednesday 17, Moody Center

Pillar of unconventional pop Lorde returns to Austin for the first time since 2014 to kick off her Ultrasound World Tour. Between her alt-pop staple debut (Pure Heroine), the breakup album to end all breakup albums (Melodrama), and her 180 acoustic beach episode (Solar Power), the long-awaited fourth studio album Virgin is both a return to form and rebirth within the 28-year-old’s realm of experimental synth-driven beats. The New Zealand native will be joined by folktronica powerhouse the Japanese House and New York DIY art-pop songwriter Chanel Beads for a nonstop night of crying on the dance floor. If you’re waiting for a green light, here it is.   – Miranda Garza


Credit: Photo by Puma Ptah

Balthvs

Wednesday 17, Scoot Inn

Given local Colombian greats Nemegata and Superfónicos, Bogotá trio Balthvs might as well move here. For starters, Balthazar Aguirre, Johanna Mercuriana, and Santiago Lizcano begin their three-month tour here, Austin to Oslo, 10 of those dates opening for My Morning Jacket. In fact, the frontman loves our burg. “Our first U.S. show actually was at the Flamingo Cantina,” Aguirre revealed last ACL Fest. “The show was okay, but the highlight was meeting Austin band Nemegata.” His SRV-like hat crosses over to his touch too, Balthvs’ watery vibe pure “Riviera Paradise” at times. New single “Mood Swing” transforms Fifties exotica into six-string swing.   – Raoul Hernandez


Credit: Photo by Britton Beisenherz

Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co.

Thursday 18, 29th Street Ballroom

Few artists could hope to inhabit the legacy of Jason Molina, the Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. frontman who died in 2013. His songs strafe with a loneliness and emotional power that can devastate, raw wounds that burn with catharsis. Molina’s frequent collaborator and local indie/folk-rock all-star Will Johnson ably takes up the charge with the Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co., uniting with original Magnolia members to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band’s 2005 Texas tour. The trek accompanies Johnson and Magnolia’s new recordings of songs from both their catalogs.   – Doug Freeman


Music Notes

by Derek Udensi
Aloe Blacc Credit: Photo by Zach Bell

Aloe Blacc

Friday 12 – Saturday 13, 3ten ACL Live

Best known for “I Need a Dollar” and his Elton John-sampling Top 10 hit “The Man,” soul artist Aloe Blacc arrives in town for a double date on the heels of 2025 release Stand Together.

Back to Black

Friday 12, C-Boy’s Heart & Soul

Allisen & the Wy’s Guys play their annual tribute show to the late Amy Winehouse, whose birthday falls on September 14.

Lil Wayne

Tuesday 16, Circuit of the Americas

Lil Wayne set the tone in 2004 for his longstanding Tha Carter series with the original’s opener, “Walk In,” and the rest is history. The New Orleans MC’s first Austin trip in two years – Float Fest’s abrupt cancellation last year ruined his scheduled headlining performance at COTA – comes in support of new full-length Tha Carter VI, but his current tour celebrates his extensive catalog as a whole. Former Young Money Records signee Tyga and Atlanta rapper Belly Gang Kushington support.

GA-20

Wednesday 17, Antone’s

This trio – now with vocalist Cody Nilsen and drummer Josh Kiggans alongside co-founding guitarist Matthew Stubbs – maintains their retro-yet-crisp blues sound. Money Chicha supports.

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 September 12 • 2025.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

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Carys Anderson moved from Nowhere, DFW to Austin in 2017 to study journalism at the University of Texas. She began writing for The Austin Chronicle in 2021 and joined its full-time staff in 2023, where she covers music and culture.

Caroline is the Music and Culture staff writer and reporter, covering, well, music, books, and visual art for the Chronicle. She came to Austin by way of Portland, Oregon, drawn by the music scene and the warm weather.

As the Chronicle's Club Listings Editor, Derek compiles a weekly list of music events occurring across town. The University of Texas alum also writes about hip-hop as a contributor to the Music section.

Doug Freeman has been writing for the Austin Chronicle since 2007, covering the arts and music scene in the city. He is originally from Virginia and earned his Masters Degree from the University of Texas. He is also co-editor of The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology, published by UT Press.

San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.

Miranda is an Austin-based writer from the Rio Grande Valley who began contributing to the Austin Chronicle in 2024, covering music and culture. She moved to Austin in 2020 to study journalism at the University of Texas and has stayed in the city since.

Sammie Seamon is a news staff writer at the Chronicle covering education, climate, and other local stories. She was born and raised in Austin (and AISD), and loves this city like none other. She holds a master’s in literary reportage from the NYU Journalism Institute and has previously reported bilingually for Spanish-language readers.

Michael Toland started writing about music in 1988 on the Gulf Coast, moved to Austin in early 1991, and has inflicted bylines upon the corporeal and digital pages of Pop Culture Press, The Big Takeover, Blurt, Amplifier, Austin.citysearch, the Austin American Statesman, Goldmine, Sleazegrinder, Rock & Roll Globe, High Bias, FHT Music Notes, and, since 2011, The Austin Chronicle.

A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...