Lite + Brite Monthly: March
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the March monthly edition of the Lite + Brite newsletter.
This Monthly issue includes not only SXSW events, but it does have a fair number of those. It is, after all, March in Austin. To that point, a note about our SXSW listings:
We do not have SXSW badges and we assume many of our readers don’t, either. Therefore, we try to list only events that we believe the public can attend, either with the purchase of an individual ticket or for free. It’s just not that helpful to know that your favorite TV show is hosting an immersive pop-up with free rollerskating and mimosas if said pop-up is exclusively for people who’ve spent $1,600 on a badge. (I’m very happy for them! But it’s not helpful to us.) Occasionally we list events believing them to be public-facing only to discover that they’re badges-only. But we try very hard to avoid that.
If you want our advice on navigating the fest, especially on finding music showcases to attend, we wrote a SXSW guide for locals, full of updated info for 2024.
And if you don’t want anything to do with SXSW, we respect that, and we listed plenty of events far from downtown for you, too. Just scroll down to see them all.
If you’re not already a subscriber to this newsletter and you want to be, click here. We send out one email a week, usually on Fridays, plus this bonus monthly edition around the start of each month. Please support us by contributing to our Patreon and by forwarding this email to your friends who enjoy things like listening to music and leaving the house sometimes.
Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
Looking Ahead to Upcoming Events
Our weekly newsletters will include many more listings, but here are a handful of events that we know will be coming up over the next month. We’re giving you the heads up now in case you want to pre-buy tickets or block off the time.
- March 8-9: 14/48 at Ground Floor Theater
Watch plays whose writing & production take place over just 24 hours - March 8-9: New Bloom at Saengerrunde Hall
Live music, art + vendors at the “oldest bowling alley in Texas” - March 8-10: Yours to Lose at 340 E. 2nd St.
A “multisensory” immersive theater piece about the 1st amendment - March 8 – 23: Austin Rodeo
Get away from all the SXSW hubbub with some good old rodeo-in’ - March 9: Fantastic Planet at Dimension Gallery Sculpture Park
Live soundtrack + screening of a totally bonkers psychedelic French film - March 9: Salon Show at Highland Collective
A nice big art show at the spacious + quirky Highland Collective - March 9: Affordable Art Fair at Vaughn Gallery
An art show focusing on affordable art rather than investment pieces - March 9: Cybercity at Central Machine Works
Live music, laser visuals, + a cyberpunk costume contest - March 10: Disco(nnect) at Hotel Van Zandt
Early 90s AOL vibes, DJs, + free cocktails - March 10: Livecode at dadaLab
Live electronic music, visuals, based on live coding - March 10: Garden Party at the Vortex
Live music, multimedia performances, + a petting zoo - March 10: Come Up at Laguna Gloria
Promoting Black Austin creatives in poetry, spoken word, + visual arts - March 10: Pinoy Potluck at Kenny Dorham’s Backyard
Filipino live music + vendors and live art - March 11: Neon Rainbows at Parish
Progressive politics-themed edition of Austin’s gayest country dance party - March 12: Austin Edge at dadaLab
Live music, DJs, talks, + cocktails for Austin creativity - March 13: SXSW Creative Industries Day at the Austin Convention Center
Free SxSW expo day w/products + talks geared towards creatives - March 13: International House at the Austin Public Library
Tech-y meetups, talks, + an appearance by our mayor - March 14: No Lights No Lycra at West China Tea House
Our very own dance party in the dark - March 14: Future of Fashion at Wanderlust Wine Co.
Fashion show, talks, demos, vendors about tech + fashion intersecting - March 14: Bestie Ball at Cheer Up Charlie’s
DJs + bestie-themed costume contests of all kinds - March 14: All Things Food at Barr Mansion
Food-centric talks, screenings, + tastings - March 16: Uncanny Attractions at Highland Lounge
Inclusive pro wrestling “with a side of drag” - March 16: Rolling Rave at the Texas State Capitol
Wheeled caravan w/a mobile DJ setup - March 20: Bike Story Night at the Meteor
A storytelling night that is bicycle-themed - March 21-23: Poolboy: Don’t Pick Up at the Museum of Human Achievement
A submission-themed memoir turned interactive play - March 22-24: Poe: A Tale of Madness at the Long Center
Edgar Allen Poe-themed horror ballet - March 23-24: Encuentro de Maíz at Nepantla
Corn-centric storytelling, talks, + a documentary - March 23: Texas Roller Derby at the Buda Thunderdome
Roller derbyists murderously crash their way through a banked track - March 24: Lite + Brite Meetup and BYOT (Bring YouTubes, OK? Thanks) at Bobo’s Snack Bar
A meetup for readers (you!) + a party where we watch some very good YouTubes - March 27: L’Inferno with Montopolis at Empire
Screening of early silent horror film w/musicians performing live soundtrack - March 28: No Lights No Lycra at West China Tea House
Our very own dance party in the dark - March 29: Tree House Sound Bath at Pease Park
Bathe in some live music while enmeshed in a giant tree fort - March 29: Geekgasm Revue at Kick Butt Coffee
Classic drive-in themed “nerdlesque” + drag performers - March 30: Hyde Park Storytelling at Batch Craft Beer
Storytellers ply their trade in a local craft beer spot - March 30: Annual Donk Contest at Givens Park
See some killer Donks, aka tricked-out cars or “rolling artwork”
SXSWhat You Need To Know
SXSW is March 8 – 16 this year. It can be kinda overwhelming, so we’ve written a guide to make it as approachable as possible. SXSW is one of our favorite weeks of the year; unfortunately, a lot of Austinites opt out because it feels very overwhelming, and we’re aiming to make it easier to digest. So we made an easy-to-understand webpage full of tools to help. It’s too much text to put in this email, so click that link, and feel free to share it with any of your friends trying to figure out a SXSW strategy.
What We’re Listening To
We’ve each made playlists of some bands whom we’re hoping to see at SXSW, and we’ll be updating them over the next week. Give them a listen here:
Brian’s SXSW 2024 Picks on YouTube
Leila’s SXSW 2024 Picks on Apple Music
All-the-Time Austin Artsy Fun
Our weekly newsletter features upcoming events, but sometimes the activity you’re looking for isn’t an event at all—it’s a place that’s always there. Next time you find yourself on an afternoon when nothing special seems to be going on, you could consider checking out one of these evergreen options.
- Tiny Minotaur
Drinking and costumed LARPing, Dungeonsynths performing in the dungeon w/lots of lore - The Eureka Room
Uniquely goofy, silly, + fun immersive games you play with a group. No spoilers! - Escape the Box on South Congress
So you think you can escape boxes. Sure, but what about time traveling boxes? - We Luv Video
The Alexandria Library of video rental. It’s community-run, you can rent movies or watch them in a cinema while literally surrounded by VHS tapes and DVDs. - The Goats at Jester King Brewery
More a theme park geared towards folks who like refermented cherries in their beer (me) than a brewery. I have not experienced the Goat Experience, but I have seen their goats, and I approve. - Cathedral of Junk
A towering achievement to collecting weird old stuff that will spark nostalgia and cause you to wonder at your last tetanus shot timing - West China Tea House
In addition to their events, West China is a wonderful place just to chat with interesting and welcoming people and drink some delicious tea - Mayfield Park and Nature Preserve
A lovely park + nature walk that is protected by a crack corps of dedicated peacocks and peahens. Good luck escaping without some flashy, feathery displays. - Laguna Gloria
The Contemporary Austin’s outdoor sculpture garden. Culture + Nature = Profit. - Austin Creative Reuse Center
A nonprofit shop where you can get any art, craft, or office supplies you can imagine for literal pennies. Eat your heart out, Office Despot. - Museum of the Weird
It’s right there on Dirty 6th but worth a visit. From famous fake paleontology to recreations of horror film sets, there’s lots to see. - James Turrell’s Skyspace
Like Turrell’s best works, this is an art experience which unfolds slowly over time. Watch as the changing colors of sunset remake the space.
Thanks to our Patreon subscribers
A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Amy Hayes, Katie Green, Christina Jue, Colleen MB, Lilly Ettinger, Lena Long, Amalia Litsa, Alexander Freed, Spencer, Kristen Backor, Timon A., Kate Murray, and Amy Wilde. We’re deeply grateful for your support, which allows us to do things like “pay our Mailchimp fee” and “spend hours researching Austin events when technically we should be working.”
If you’d like to support us on Patreon and get access to exclusive member-only benefits, you may do so here.
Socials
Recent weeks found us celebrating “Bouncemas” at UT, partying with Art Island at the Coral Snake, and admiring art lamps at Highland Collective. Follow Lite + Brite on Instagram to keep up with our adventures. And come chat with us and the rest of the L+B community on our Discord server!
About Us
How do we choose which events to feature?
Honestly, it’s pretty random. We might include anything in Austin that we, personally, would conceivably want to go to, generally excluding normal concerts, comedy shows, and movie showtimes because there are many other good resources for finding those. (We especially recommend Showlist for live music, The Darker Side of Austin for goth and metal stuff, and the 60+ Weirdest Things in Austin for exactly what it sounds like). This list is by no means exhaustive; it’s just stuff that caught our eye this week. If you have an event that you want us to consider including, send it over.
Who are we?
We make this newsletter. We do our own events, most prominently No Lights No Lycra (every second and fourth Thursday of the month). We once got called “local Austin couple” by KXAN. We do some other stuff here and there. We love going out to creative events in Austin, and we want you to join us. Visit us at liteandbriteatx.com, and support us on Patreon if you like what we do.