Lite + Brite: 41 Astronomical Austin Events 2/21
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
The last week of February brings with it a few of Austin’s annual heavy-hitters, including the 19th annual facial hair contest, everyone’s favorite vampire festival, and this town’s take on Carnaval. The rule-bending, normalcy-defying, media-melding OUTsider Fest is in full swing; meanwhile Fusebox (another one of Austin’s finest rule-bending, normalcy-defying, and media-melding festivals) hosts their annual fundraiser and open-bar party. Black History Month is going strong—celebrate with Black artists, makers, cooking demos, community photoshoots, documentaries, and kickbacks. Elsewhere, it seems like someone will maybe be dancing in a river?
We’re two weeks out from SXSW, and we’ll have plenty more to say about that as we get closer. For now, you can scroll down to check out some of the bands we’re most excited to see at this year’s festival. Also before this month is out, we’re hosting one more dance party in the dark, just for you.
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Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
OUR STUFF
This coming Wednesday is No Lights No Lycra once again at 3rd Eye Meditation Lounge. We’re taking the 2nd Wednesday in March off to do SxSW so this is the last chance to dance in the dark until March 26th. Grab a ticket here and scroll down for a recording of the last time we held it.
No Humans Allowed did another show focusing on newly acquired italo, cosmic disco, home + techno, featuring a mix of old records and one that came out on the same day as the show. Stream Upgrade 3.0.3 here on the Kpiss archives, and tune into No Humans Allowed live on Tuesdays at 6pm central.
LITE + BRITE’S SxSW 2025 PICKS
SxSW is nearly upon us, and resident wristbands are now available! $149 for a Music Festival wristband and $120 for a Film Festival Wristband—it’s 1/10th as expensive as a badge, and all of us Austin residents are eligible. Here are some of the bands we’re excited to see at this year’s fest:
Brian’s Pick of the Week
Pivots
Very new UK trio mixing post-punk + shoegaze to great effect
Leila’s Pick of the Week
Confidence Man
Singers “Janet Planet” + “Sugar Bones” prove 90s eurodance is thriving
Past Weeks’ Picks
The K’s
Indie rock from a Northern English town. It’s giving Arctic Monkeys.
Kap Bambino
Hyperactive French synth punks evoke Bis, 00s sleaze, + horror soundtracks
EVENTS WE’RE EYEING
Friday 2/21
- Barbarian Night at Tiny Minotaur
“Please refrain from pillaging” at this barbarian costume party - Gothwave at Saturn Bar
Darkwave DJs declare: “Being sad is cool” (we agree) - SideQuests Live at Future Front
Watch ballyhooed short film w/DJ, Q+A, + Chili’s-adjacent bloopers - Salvation at Busy Signal
“Celebrate Black love as resistance” w/burlesque, dance, + art - Hell Is These Four People at the Hideout
Existential improvisers tackle Sartre and the afterlife - Sextet at City Theatre
“Improvised romantic comedy” centered around love + coupling - Nosferatu Festival at Kick Butt Coffee
Celebrate horror classic w/batty bands, screenings, + vendors across town - OUTsider Fest at the Vortex
Festival focusing on outsider “queerdo transmedia art”
Saturday 2/22
- Fusebash at Distribution Hall
Fusebox’s gala w/“live performances, immersive experiences” + special menu - Come and Shave It at various eastside bars
Facial hair contests held at bars across East Austin - Austin Modern Home Tour at houses throughout Austin
Tour and see the insides of fancy modern houses around town - Carnaval Brasileiro at Speakeasy
Celebrate Carnaval+Mardi Gras w/traditional music, costumes, + dancers - Short Film Fest at Hyperreal Film Club
Hyperreal-curated fest featuring short films + music videos - Black Future Market at Vuka North Loop
Black vendors, Instagrammable “photo spots,” networking, + DJs - Black History Bike Ride Film Screening at the Carver Museum + Antone’s
Celebrate Black cycling culture even though it’s too frigid to bike - Gumbo Fest at the Cavalier
DJ, live music, New Orleans’ favorite beverages, + lots and lots of gumbo - JAM Launch Party at Central Machine Works
Talks + performances by local musicians launch musician networking site - Drag Me to the Tavern at Tiny Minotaur
Fantasy-themed drag kings + queens say “come as you AREN’T” - PowerPints at the Highball
“Drink + learn things” at comedic talks on a variety of esoteric topics - Dark Ritual at Captain Quack’s
Celebrate gothic shop’s anniversary w/goth dance party - Sextet at City Theatre
“Improvised romantic comedy” centered around love + coupling - Nosferatu Festival at Kick Butt Coffee
Celebrate horror classic w/batty bands, screenings, + vendors across town - OUTsider Fest at the Vortex
Festival focusing on outsider “queerdo transmedia art” - (weekly thru 3/1) The Rose at Coldtowne
Annual improv show parodying reality romance TV
Sunday 2/23
- Celebrating Our Black at the State Capitol
Urban Western demonstration at the capital, heading to Yeehaw! after - Yeehaw! at the Pershing
Celebrate Black cowboys at cousin hang + vendor market - Black History Month at the Austin Public Library
Celebrate Black history w/comedy, art, talks, + cooking demos - Sleepy Spell Pajama Party at Tiny Minotaur
Get cozy at PJ-themed costume party, w/board games, friendship bracelet station - Dirty Dancing in Concert at Bass Concert Hall
Watch the classic 80s film w/live band performing the soundtrack - Chili Cook-off at Jackalope
Make chili, eat chili, judge chili, + also a tiny chili-loving horse is there too - Sextet at City Theatre
“Improvised romantic comedy” centered around love + coupling - Nosferatu Festival at Kick Butt Coffee
Celebrate horror classic w/batty bands, screenings, + vendors across town - OUTsider Fest at the Vortex
Festival focusing on outsider “queerdo transmedia art”
Monday 2/24
- Twin Peaks Night at Hotel Vegas
Celebrate all things Twin Peaks w/live covers, photobooth, pie baking contest - Aqueous at Waller Creek
“The intersection of Japanese avant-garde performance + current conservation” - The Magic Hole Premiere at AFS
Watch topical doc about the curious demolition of our convention center - Astronomy on Tap at Celis Brewery
Learn astronomy + hang w/astronomers while surrounded by beer - Planet Texas 2050 Symposium at UT Austin
Series of talks on the future diversity, climate, + technology of TX
Tuesday 2/25
- Records to Read to at Carpenter Hall
BYO books to quietly read alongside author-curated vinyl soundtrack - Planet Texas 2050 Symposium at UT Austin
Series of talks on the future diversity, climate, + technology of TX
Wednesday 2/26
- No Lights No Lycra at 3rd Eye Meditation Lounge
Our own dance party in the dark returns to 3rd Eye - Art Night at Flipside Warehouse
Give away or receive various crafting supplies (or both!) - Planet Texas 2050 Symposium at UT Austin
Series of talks on the future diversity, climate, + technology of TX
Thursday 2/27
- Magick & Mischief at the Hideaway
Interactive games, wizard puppets, + tabletops full of RPGs + DMs - A Carnival Celebration at Hotel Vegas
Circus performers, live music, DJ, + costume contest - Blueprint at the Thompson
Celebrate Black creativity w/art opening, live art + music - Musical Memories at UT Austin
Neuroscience demonstrations + accompanying string ensemble concert - Nerd Nite at Barrel O’ Fun
Hear nerdy high-caliber talks on love + couples - Astronomy Uncorked at C. L. Butaud Winery
Learn astronomy + supernovae while surrounded by wine - Jigglewatts Burlesque at Spider House Ballroom
Classic burlesque performances + comedy and variety acts - Planet Texas 2050 Symposium at UT Austin
Series of talks on the future diversity, climate, + technology of TX
No Humans Allowed 224
Upgrade 3.0.3
We return with another Upgrade episode. We’re here in the studio with an armload of hot new tracks + vinyl rips to plug in, hot swap, + try out live on air.
Tracklist
Cascate Emozionali – Cascades (Speciale Tg1 Rework)
Born at Midnite – Spotlite
Ruf Dug – Small Room
2 Lost Diver – Canción para las Sirenas
Krystyna Prońko – Byłeś, Jesteś, Będziesz Mój (Holiday 80 Rework)
Tuyết Nhung – Hold Me Tight (Demonslayer Edit)
Soulwax – Essential Eleven
Apparel Wax – 008A1
MOMI & Hatchie – My Name Is Nobody (12” version)
Revelation – Synth It
D-Shake – Techno Trance (Paradise Is Now)
Avalon Emerson – Don’t Be Seen with Me
No Humans Allowed is Brian Blackout’s award-winning, dodgy European news coverage receiving, weekly robots-themed radio show on internet station KPISS.fm. Machine vibes 4 machines. Songs for robots, androids, mandroids, cyborgs, AIs, cylons, skinjobs, roombas, wifi routers, smart devices, anything colored Bondi blue, and virtual assistants. Humans not required. Broadcasts live every Wednesday at 6pm CT on kpiss.fm, with over 200 episodes now streamable in the archives on topics like and Beach Simulations, Roomba dance parties, undersea adventures + Cyber Texas.
No Lights No Lycra ATX 179
w/Brian Blackout
Recorded live in the dark in 3rd Eye Meditation Lounge on February 12th, 2025
Listen to NLNL ATX 179 on Mixcloud
Tracklist
Airbird – Trust
The Paradise – In Love with You
Midnight Star – Midas Touch (CFCF Remix)
Nude Disco – Remind Me of U
Diana Ross – Love Hangover (DJ Apt One Edit)
Charli xcx – Boom Clap (Aeroplane Remix)
Tamiko Jones – Can’t Live Without Your Love
Stevie Wonder – Do I Do (U-Tern Edit)
Conway & Temple – Love Lights (Young Pulse Rework)
Crystal Waters – 100% Pure Love
Whitney Houston – Love Will Save the Day
Aroop Roy – Save Our Love
The Source – You’ve Got the Love ft. Candi Staton
Heavy D & the Boyz – Now That We Found Love
Stardust – Music Sounds Better with You
Cut Copy – Saturdays
The Presets – This Boys in Love (Lifelike Remix)
Fleetwood Mac – You Make Loving Fun (Trailmix Remix)
The Outfield – Your Love (DiscoTech Remix)
The Monroes – What Do All the People Know?
The Cure – Just Like Heaven
Prince and the Revolution – I Would Die 4 U
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
Home – All at Once
Mayer Hawthorne – Green Eyed Love (Classixx Remix)
Electric Light Orchestra – Letter from Spain
What is No Lights No Lycra?
Austin’s twice-monthly, judgment-free, substance-free, high-impact dance thing in the dark. It’s a DJ night that’s not at the club, a workout that’s not at the gym, a personal meditation that’s anything but silent. It’s produced by us, your kindly L+B overlords, and usually one or the other of us is on the hook for DJ duties. Read more about it in the Austin Chronicle. You can listen to the kind of music we play over on Brian’s Mixcloud.
PATREON THANKS
A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Lilly Ettinger, Michael Sales, Zach, Gino Scaramuzza, Erica Speegle, Jarrett Holtz, Thomas Refferson, Dale Markowitz, Bones Malones, Amy Hayes, Katie Green, Christina Jue, Colleen MB, Lena Long, Amalia Litsa, Alexander Freed, 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 catching Faux Real’s show at Hotel Vegas, attending a book launch at Justine’s, and enjoying 1-800-CLOWN-TOWN at Kick Butt Coffee. Follow Lite + Brite on Instagram to keep up with our adventures. We’re now on Bluesky too. Yay federation! 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, Concept Animals’ ATX Art for You for gallery openings + artist talks, 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 are Leila + Brian. We make this newsletter. We do our own events, most often No Lights No Lycra, + also BYOT, a party where we share very good YouTubes (here’s a playlist from the last one). We go very hard seeing bands at SxSW (here are playlists of our favorites from 2024). 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.