Tedeschi Trucks Band, Buddy Guy
Thursday 8 – Friday 9, Moody Amphitheater
The Moody Amphitheater has become a jewel in Austin’s venue firmament. It is an especially excellent place to see jam-band types of things, making it the ideal venue for this show, which is headlined by one of the truly great blues rock acts of our age – one of the very few bands in the world that can claim legitimately to be a Southern rock legacy act and deliver on that idea completely. They are playing with Buddy Guy, who, at 88 years old, is now at the outer end of the “You really need to see this genius soon” category. He also pops up in a recent vampire movie, but to get into that would be a spoiler of sorts. – Joe Gross
Conspirare Presents: All-Night Vigil
Thursday 8 & Saturday 10, St. Martin’s Lutheran Church
According to historical document Wikipedia, Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff’s non-secular choral opus All-Night Vigil is notable for being one of only two liturgical settings composed by a non-churchgoer. As someone not that partial to pews myself, I can understand why Rachmaninoff nevertheless was enamored with the sacred. Grammy-winning chorus Conspirare delivers two renditions of the composer’s masterpiece at St. Martin’s, although be warned that Thursday’s showing has sold out. Those hoping to commune with a higher power through the choral arts are advised to secure a Saturday ticket. – James Scott
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) with Live Score by Invincible Czars
Friday 9, AFS Cinema
Seriously, if you’ve never seen Nosferatu or The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari with a live soundtrack from musical maniacs Invincible Czars, do you really even silent cinema, bro? Well, time to make amends for your failures with the Austin premiere of their latest son et lumière experience, a brand-new score for Rupert Julian’s epic and sumptuous adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s tale of terror and madness in the Paris catacombs. Lon Chaney’s legendary performance as the Phantom finally gets the music of the night it deserves. – Richard Whittaker
Blank Hellscape
Friday 9, Hotel Vegas
“In Austin we play any and every show. We play with indie bands, punk shows, raves, we play whatever,” Blank Hellscape vocalist Andrew Nogay told the Chronicle last month. Such is the case for the experimental electronic act’s album release/tour kickoff show, which features opening sets by Matador Records co-owner Gerard Cosloy, art punks Guiding Light, power poppers Touch Girl Apple Blossom, and noise rockers Wet Dip. The trio’s long-awaited sophomore album, Hell 2, sets Nogay’s apocalyptic spoken word imagery to glitchy samples, intricate tape loops, and the occasional pop melody. – Carys Anderson
Flooding
Friday 9, Chess Club
Kansas City’s Flooding rolls into town with a sound that teeters between beauty and brutality – think slowcore daydreams shredded by noise rock squalls, with flashes of post-hardcore tension and post-punk grit. Local shapeshifters Proun step in for direct support, while Middle Mass (who just released a split – go check it out) kicks things off with their own brand of tightly wound chaos. A night for the deep feelers and the headbangers. – Kyra Bruce
Stereo MC’s
Friday 9, Mohawk
Rob Birch (vocalist/songwriter) and Nick Hallam (DJ/producer) first formed Stereo MC’s while co-founding pioneering London-based hip-hop label Gee Street Records, also home to Jungle Brothers, P.M. Dawn, and RZA/Gravediggaz material. But the label’s most notable release came from its creators in the form of 1992’s Brit Award-winning Connected album, a record (and incredible title single) nearly impossible to pin down with its trip-hop/ATL hip-hop/acid jazz trappings. After burnout from two years of touring, the duo would return in 2000 for a strong entry into the DJ-Kicks series. The group regained its footing with 2011’s booming, stadium rock-leaning Emperor’s Nightingale. – Kahron Spearman
Lucy Dacus
Saturday 10, Moody Amphitheater
On her first album post-boygenius breakthrough, Lucy Dacus builds a tension of new love. Fourth LP Forever Is a Feeling plays like an interior monologue of daydreams and anxieties with a poetic intimacy of vivid moments that spark and linger, but cast bittersweetly in the tentativeness of love’s uncertainty. Dacus is determined to hold that raw feeling even while guarding against its dissolution, her understated midtempo musings wafting a sadness amid the intoxicated passion. Saddest Factory Records provides the opening support with MUNA’s Katie Gavin dishing solo debut What a Relief, and breakout UK songwriter jasmine.4.t. – Doug Freeman
Razzfest
Saturday 10, Empire Control Room & Garage
For the first time in a century – literally since the Roaring Twenties – the word “jazz” once again dances on the lips of youth. Today, that ranges from yacht rock to R&B, soul, and yes, even America’s classical music. Lebanese rapper Free Hamze operates Sahar Studios locally and here teams with L.A. indie jazz imprint Minaret Records. Beat sets, film screenings inside, and live riches include: one-stop Seattle drummer/producer/MC Kassa Overall, Detroit counterpart Quelle Chris, local mic slayers Blakchyl and J Soulja, sax duo Henry Solomon & Devin Daniels, and more. Emails Hamze: “[We’re] exploring the dichotomy between two genres that have a much deeper relationship than people seem to understand.” – Raoul Hernandez
Howlin’ Blues Dance Party
Saturday 10, Civil Goat Coffee
Civil Goat Coffee on Guadalupe is quickly becoming more than just a cafe for the laptop-working local, thanks to the efforts of their events coordinator, Lindsey Schlatter. She has so far put on pop-up art shows with her Quarters endeavor – now, she’s venturing into pop-up concerts, like this blues party. Featuring free beginner blues dancing lessons by Neon Two-Step from 8-9pm, you’ll need neither a partner nor prior experience to get down to the dulcet tones of Austin classics the Eastside Kings, who play from 9-11pm. Civil Goat’s venue is somewhat perfect for dancing, with a large outdoor patio separate from the skinny bar inside. If you’re looking for a change of pace from the honky-tonks and indie shows for your Saturday night, this might well be it. – Lina Fisher
Gary Floyd Retrospective Exhibit & Concert
Saturday 10, the Pershing
A perennial Austin punk icon, Gary Floyd embodied glorious contradiction. A big-boned, openly gay Marxist fronting the ferocious, blues-based hardcore of the Dicks, Floyd’s howl and humor helped define the early scene. Following his passing last May at age 71, while hospitalized for congestive heart failure, a Gary-shaped hole gapes in the universe. Saturday, friends, fans, and admirers gather to celebrate the beloved provocateur with a retrospective art exhibit and musical performances from Pocket FishRmen and Jefferson Trout (featuring founding Dicks bassist Buxf Parrot). Expect tributes equal parts reverent and raucous, just as he’d have wanted. Proceeds benefit his widower. – Tim Stegall
EXTC: XTC’s Terry Chambers and Friends
Sunday 11, the 13th Floor
Anyone hoping to hear the slow-churning groove of “Making Plans for Nigel,” the melancholic folk prayer of “Dear God,” the quirky jaunt of “Senses Working Overtime,” or the romantic guitars of “Then She Appeared” has basically been SOL since 1982, when XTC frontman Andy Partridge’s health issues forced him to quit touring. Now, with Partridge’s approval, drummer Terry Chambers has launched EXTC, a new band featuring singer Steve Hampton and singer-bassist Terry Lines set to perform the Britpop legends’ classics, plus new material. Not since No Talking, Just Head has a post-punk offshoot conjured such a great name. – Carys Anderson
Blanton All Day: Bring Mom to the Museum with Annabelle Chairlegs
Sunday 11, Blanton Museum
Flowers and breakfast in bed are overdone. Why not celebrate your mom with something fun, like fine art and live music? This Mother’s Day edition of the Blanton’s monthly Blanton All Day event – free for museum members, $20 for adults – features guided tours, a cardmaking activity, (not free) massages, and music from Annabelle Chairlegs. The local mainstays have long charmed national audiences with surfy, lightly psychedelic garage rock; latest album Gotta Be in Love turns five this year, but a “new album will drop this year swear to bob,” singer Lindsey Mackin promised online last week. – Carys Anderson
Florist
Tuesday 13, Antone’s Nightclub
Just as botanical florists arrange hand-picked bouquets, bandmates Emily Sprague, Rick Spataro, Jonnie Baker, and Felix Walworth have curated five studio albums of DIY folk and family-like bonds. Stacking at only 10 tracks compared to the Brooklyn-based quartet’s previous 57-minute excursion, the gang’s April release Jellywish still runs rich. One revolution reveals layers of gentle brain-baked observations, zoomed-in worlds, and an acoustic-synth blend that marries the mystical with reality. The squad touches Antone’s Tuesday with electric scene painter Allegra Krieger. – Amber Williams
Theresa Chen Septet
Tuesday 13, Monks Jazz
The first Taiwanese American to teach full-time at a music college, pianist Theresa Chen molds minds at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She matriculated at National Taiwan Normal University, earned her doctorate of musical arts at the prestigious Eastman School of Music, studied with mentors as diverse as Gary Versace, Harold Danko, and Edoardo Bellotti, and performed with Dave Liebman, Ingrid Jensen, Allison Miller, Andre Hayward, and many others. Dedicated to studying women in jazz, applying jazz to Christian liturgies, and promoting jazz in Asia, Dr. Chen fronts a horn-heavy septet drawing on the music from her album Whispering to God. – Michael Toland
Tribulation
Wednesday 14, Come & Take It Live
A sadomasochist must’ve booked Tribulation’s North American razing: 21 gigs between May 1 and 25. Austin’s midpoint performance at least comes with a day off to get here from Phoenix. All the better, because a decade-plus of live sieges from the Swedish metallics – including a driving thunderstorm outside at Barracuda – needs prep for another local sundering. Sixth full-length in 21 years, Sub Rosa In Aeternum continues the “Melancholia” melodiousness begun on 2015’s The Children of the Night and peaking three years later on Down Below. Now, the Stockholm quartet goes full-on goth and naturally so, from Bauhaus batman Peter Murphy to Type O Negative martyr Peter Steele. Strap IN. – Raoul Hernandez
Music Notes
by Derek Udensi
Samara Cyn
Friday 9, Stubb’s
Cyn first started gaining national attention last year when she uploaded a freestyle employing a sample of Erykah Badu’s “Green Eyes” to Instagram. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, rapper/singer has continued to successfully use that chilled neo-soul-meets-rap formula on material like her debut EP The Drive Home. St. Louis rapper Smino headlines, but make sure to head inside afterward for complimentary (with a wristband) sets from local rap duo Tribe Mafia and San Antonio-based MC Wes Denzel.
The Dallas Cowboys
Saturday 10, 29th Street Ballroom
Sharing a name with America’s most polarizing team, these two New Yorkers wear Blue Batman masks while performing screamo and punk. Their songs often explode into an unconventional assortment of tie-dyed synths, silly lyrics, and heavy Auto-Tune. The duo’s new album, Louise, features an “Ode to Austin” and a fighting game-esque spam of hip-hop producer tags (“Duckey of Awesome Intro”). Alice Longyu Gao headlines.
chloe moriondo
Monday 12, Antone’s
Moriondo released her fourth studio album, oyster, back in March. The Detroit native primarily uses indie-pop with doses of hyperpop on her latest effort to deal with romance and self-discovery. Brooklyn duo Sex Week 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 May 9 • 2025.
