Lite + Brite Monthly: October
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the monthly edition of the Lite + Brite newsletter.
We’ve been waiting for this moment all year. The onset of October marks the beginning of spooky season, and we’ve decided to steer even harder into Halloween, like some crazed member of the Spirit Halloween C-suite. Once again we’ve created a spreadsheet of spooky events all across town. This year we’re starting early, as in right now. We’ve already got over 100 unique events and we’re adding to it constantly, so we’ll probably crack 200 by All Hallow’s Eve. Also making a return is our playlist of seasonally appropriate bops. With 31 songs, one for each day of the month, it dwarfs last year’s playlist (although that one still sounds spooky as hell). Lastly, as usual we’ve got some events tucked away in this monthly for you to plan out your month. Mostly they’re the less spooky events, while the more seasonally appropriate events can be found in our Halloween spreadsheet.
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 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 are planned for the next month. We’re giving you the heads up now in case you want to pre-buy tickets or block off the time.
- Oct. 3-4: Thee Cuntry Fair at the Museum of Human Achievement
“Variety show + expo hall featuring all trans and gender-expansive artists” - Oct. 4: Slam Portal at Celis Brewery
Interdimensional wrestling with ridiculous characters + lore dumps - Oct. 4: Fortlandia Opening Day at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Annual interactive installation art exhibition w/ play fort theme - Oct. 7: A Night in Stars Hollow at the Hotel Vegas
Local bands perform the Gilmore Girls soundtrack w/trivia, karaoke, photo ops - Oct. 10: Elfsong Tavern at Tiny Minotaur
Burlesque, drag, + fantasy performers inspired by Baldur’s Gate - Oct. 11-12: Lone Star Zine Fest at Blue Genie
Zines + comics fest w/vendors, prizes, + all-ages “Zine Creation Station” - Oct. 16: The Bread + Puppet Circus at the Museum of Human Achievement
Get empowered + politically motivated through the art of puppetry (+ bread) - Oct. 16-19: aGLIFF’s PRISM 38 at Galaxy Theatres
Fest devoted to films about + relevant to the LGTBQ community - Oct. 17-19: Encuentro del Corazón at various venues
“Weaving together art, memory, seeds, + community” through food, music, + film - Oct. 18: Jurassic Parque at Sky Candy
Aerialists provide “high flying, high brow take on the 90s classic Jurassic Park” - Oct. 18: Dog Beard and Moustache Competition at the Little Darlin’
Moustachioed pooches compete for charity + vendors, raffles - Oct. 19: Pallbearer Press Four-Year Anniversary at House of Stuff
Celebrate four years of horror movie fandom w/vendors, live printing, + live bands - Oct. 23-30: Austin Film Festival at venues throughout downtown Austin
Our city’s dedicated festival for moving pictures + those who write them - Oct. 24: Secret Show at an undisclosed East Austin location
Walk or bike to a performance in a secret location w/music playing before, during, + after - Oct. 25: Fight Opera at Austin Beer Works Sprinkle Valley
Pro wrestlers DEFINITELY will not turn this talk show into a no holds barred cage match - Oct. 25: Viva la Vida at Congress + 4th St.
Celebrate Día de los Muertos with parade, street fest, ofrenda, vendors, traditional food + dance - Oct. 25: East Side Mini Open at bars throughout East Austin
An ephemeral DIY mini golf course scattered across East Austin - Oct. 26: The Very ‘Rary at Laguna Gloria
“Surrealist safari” w/magicians, musicians, face painting, + commissioned musical - Oct. 29: ATXplained at Bass Concert Hall
Learn all about Austin in the medium of a live podcast taping - Oct. 31: Ghost Almanac at Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex
Vintage silent horror films re-soundtracked by live synthesizer enthusiasts - Nov. 1-2: Texas Monthly BBQ Fest at Lockhart City Park
Sample the best of the best in Texas BBQ (according to Texas Monthly)
With spooky season upon us, we’ve got a mix of sinister tunes to get everyone in the spirit of vampires, ghost discos, possession, abominations, mysterious voices from the beyond, black cats, witch covens, + other things that go bump in the night. This time we have a song for every day in the month of October. We also made a mix last year for Halloween, so if you find yourself wanting more there’s even more music to inspire your costume work or the time spent figuring out which scary movie you should watch.
Listen on: Spotify / Apple / YouTube
Tracklist
Tame Impala – Dracula
Simonetti – Morante – Pignatelli – Tenebre
The Bollock Brothers – Horror Movies
Pink Floyd – Lucifer Sam
The Poppy Family – There’s No Blood in Bone ft. Terry Jacks
Pulsallama – The Devil Lives in My Husband’s Body
Cerrone – Supernature
Q – The Voice of Q
San Serac – What Price Revenge?
Gunship – Dark All Day ft. Indiana + Tim Cappello
Gerard McMann – Cry, Little Sister
Type O Negative – Love You to Death
The Shortwave Set – No Social (Optimo Espacio Remix)
Glass Candy – I Always Say Yes
Kate Bush – Waking the Witch
Jimmy Scott – Sycamore Trees
Eleven Pond – Watching Trees
Addrisi Brothers – Ghost Dancer
Skatt Brothers – Walk the Night
Book of Love – Witchcraft
Love Command0 – Night Creep
Gatekeeper – Chains
Moving Units – Anyone
Duke Lake – Do You
Still Corners – Lost Boys
Oppenheimer Analysis – The Devil’s Dancers
Jackpot – Ragazza
Joy Peters – Don’t Lose Your Heart Tonight
Body of Light – Time to Kill
Nuovo Testamento – Heartbeat (Curses Remix)
ABBA – Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (a Man after Midnight)
Lite + Brite’s Guide to ATX Halloween 2025
Check out our Halloween spreadsheet here
For the third year running we have a spreadsheet of Halloween events we’re tracking. We’ve been laboring in the darkness on our annual spreadsheet, and now is the time for its unveiling. This year we’re tracking events across the whole month. Therein ye shall find the haunted and the macabre, pet costume contests, graveyard themed burlesque, interactive activities with werewolves and humans infested with brain worms, darkwave dance parties, screenings of horror films, + so much more. In addition to our weekly newsletters where we’ll highlight some of our favorites, we’ll be adding to our Halloween spreadsheet profusely as the month continues, so bookmark it and prepare thyself for an entire month of spooky times.
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 with an afternoon when nothing special seems to be going on, you could consider checking out one of these evergreen options.
- Mesmerize
An interactive dream-like world made of site-specific installations by 15+ local artists - Hyperreal Film Club
A clubhouse for weird cinema, with oddball screenings four nights a week - 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 James Gray, 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.
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, like No Lights No Lycra and 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’s a playlist of some 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.