Lite + Brite: 33 Legendary Austin Events 8/29
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
With the return of UT students to Austin and the end of the first week of classes, it’s a bit livelier out there. And maybe not coincidentally there’s a whole lot going on. You can dig mud spas for pigs in wigs, win stuff or hear DJs at Waterloo Records’ grand reopening, watch teens produce a scifi play by Fahrenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury, observe competitive fantasy-themed aerialists + burlesque performers, roll a giant d20 to affect dungeons + drag, attend a lights out ice cream dance party (so basically with NLNL but with ice cream? Alright you’ve got our attention), wear a witch costume and listen to live darkwave, attend a magic show for adults, get free yoga classes, participate in a stongest lesbian contest, watch a “totally real” drag band, or check out photos and musicians from Austin’s 70s punk past. And that’s just scratching the surface, trust us, scroll down for the rest.
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Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
EVENTS WE’RE EYEING
Friday 8/29
- Legend of the Realms at Sky Candy
Competitive fantasy-themed aerialists, drag, burlesque, + vendors - Witch Night at Tiny Minotaur
Which night features magical costumes + live darkwave music? This one - Look Mama We Made It at Bolm Arts
Artists, vendors, + live performers celebrate their support networks - Community Art Show at Moontower Cider Company
“Come share your art or just soak it all in” - Horse Meat Disco at Kingdom
UK superstar disco DJs join forces w/Austin locals - Nightshift at Amy’s Ice Cream Sixth Ave.
You had us at “Ice cream dance party,” Amy’s - Sterling Morrison’s Birthday at Tweedy’s
Celebration of Austin concert photos w/Austin punk alums performing - PowerPints at Radio East
“Drink + learn things” at comedic talks on a variety of esoteric topics - Float-In Theater at Mozart’s
Watch movies deck-side or while floating on the lake - The Front Festival at various venues
Films, music, + experiences by Texas women + LGBTQ+ folks - Pillar of Fire at the Vortex
Teen-produced scifi play written by Fahrenheit 451 author
Saturday 8/30
- Slam Portal at Celis Brewery
Space-themed interdimensional wrestling teleports to a new locale - World Oddities Expo at the Palmer Events Center
A convention of oddities + curios w/vendors, performers, + speakers - Grand Reopening at Waterloo Records
Austin’s biggest vinyl emporium moves to new digs w/DJs + giveaways - Block Party at 2210 S. 1st
Vinyl DJ, cold plunges, vendors, tooth gems, tats, + voter registration - Drag Me to the Tavern at Tiny Minotaur
Drag kings, queens, + knights perform in fantasy costumes - BEWM for the People at Something Cool Studios
“Interactive street art” + food bonanza inspired by Daniel Johnston - Scissor Soakher at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Sapphic party w/slip n slide, water fight,+ strongest lesbian competition - Volunteer Day at Central Texas Pig Rescue
Volunteer to dig mud spas + smash watermelons w/pigs in wigs - Whiplash at Chess Club
Local + touring post-punk / dark synth bands, DJs, + dancers - Opening Hours at Sherwood Forest Zine Library
An extensive library of zines in someone’s house, friendly cat included - We Need to Do Something at Crashbox
DIY play about a family trapped in a bathroom surrounded by evil - The Front Festival at various venues
Films, music, + experiences by Texas women + LGBTQ+ folks - Pillar of Fire at the Vortex
Teen-produced scifi play written by Fahrenheit 451 author
Sunday 8/31
- TXRD Calvello Cup Championship at the Palmer Events Center
Banked track roller derby finalists collide in season finale - Hot Loäd and the Glamcöcks at the Vortex
Rock n roll drag w/”totally real” bands + loads of umlauts - Yeehawties at the Austin Motel
Austin’s favorite queer 90s country DJs hit the pool w/drag performers - Kids Stand Up Comedy at the Museum of Human Achievement
Watch kids 6-12 try standup (w/the help of some adult comics) - We Need to Do Something at Crashbox
DIY play about a family trapped in a bathroom surrounded by evil - The Front Festival at various venues
Films, music, + experiences by Texas women + LGBTQ+ folks - Pillar of Fire at the Vortex
Teen-produced scifi play written by Fahrenheit 451 author - (weekly thru 9/21) Splashdance at the Austin Motel
Poolside aerobics with Austin’s most creative aerobics instructor
Monday 9/1
- Free Day of Yoga at studios throughout the city
Free yoga classes for every level of experience across town - Monday Night Jammie Jam at Kick Butt Coffee
Watch “Magically delicious variety of new burlesque + variety acts” in soft pants
Wednesday 9/3
- Big Trouble at the Tiny Minotaur
Interactive dungeons & drag show w/giant d20 + audience interaction - Magical Mind Mysteries at the Vortex
Alliterative magic show for adults w/Magical Mystical Michael
Thursday 9/4
- Jigglewatts Burlesque at 29th St. Ballroom
Burlesque, drag, + comedy performances inspired by radio hits through the ages - Pillar of Fire at the Vortex
Teen-produced scifi play written by Fahrenheit 451 author
No Humans Allowed 247
Chill Out Room
Inspired by the chillout rooms of late 80s + 90s rave scene, we’ve concocted a mix of trippy mellow tunes + reverby samples across a bunch of genres.
Tracklist
Dreamfish – School of Fish
Keisuke Sakurai – Fugaku “Beyond the Scene”
Dizzy Dee – War (Abel Nagengast Edit)
Roger – Emotions
Heavy D & the Boyz – Somebody for Me (Jazz Lover Mix)
The Grid – Floatation (Subsonic Grid Mix)
Speedy J – De-Orbit
Eric Serra – Learning Time
Flamingosis – Cosmic Feeling
Dog+night – Zane’s Daydream
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.
PATREON THANKS
A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Robert B., Roman Gonzalez, Nick Ivons, Molly Fonseca, Lilly Ettinger, Michael Sales, Zach, Gino Scaramuzza, Erica Speegle, Jarrett Holtz, Thomas Refferson, Bones Malones, Amy Hayes, Katie Green, Christina Jue, Colleen MB, Alexander Freed, Kristen Backor, Timon A., 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 getting ready for Prick Up Your Ears, watching the Buda Wiener Dog Races, and experiencing a toy art exhibit at Collection Rert. 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 (where we sometimes post stuff early too).
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 2025). 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.