Lite + Brite Monthly: November
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the monthly edition of the Lite + Brite newsletter.
Has everyone recovered from Halloween? Good, because we are not looking back. The big events keep coming this month since the weather has turned, with many of our favorite annual gatherings coming up. One of those events is Austin Studio Tour, and as usual, Leila has written a guide to the best things you can see there. Some of them will make it into our weekly editions as well, but we can’t possibly fit everything in. This month we’ve also got a playlist of some of our favorite Austin musicians to share with you, so pop that in your headphones and check out some art.
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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.
- Nov. 6-8: Unconducted x Hyde Park Storytelling at KMFA + Batch
Orchestral musical performances paired w/storytellers - Nov. 6-8: The Way of Water at Hornsby Bend
Storytelling, live music, poetry, + site-specific performances - Nov. 7: Power of a Planet at Central Presbyterian Church
Live ambient music performance set to projected planetarium show - Nov. 7: Secret Show at Davis/White Northeast Neighborhood Park
Walk to a performance in a secret location w/music playing throughout - Dec. 8: The Dark Unseelie Gala at Tiny Minotaur
Dark faeries gather in immaculate grounds w/live bards + themed food - Nov. 8: Lit Crawl at Speakeasy + Cheer Up Charlie’s
Themed readings, collaborative storytelling, trivia, + Literary Death Match - Nov. 8-9: Texas Book Festival on Congress Ave.
Authors + book fans descend upon downtown for talks + signings - Nov. 8-9: Kinda Good Tattoo Convention at Kinda Tropical
Kinda modest tattoo artists, vendors, drag, DJs, + glizzies - Nov. 8-9 + 15-16: Austin Studio Tour at venues throughout Austin
Artists across Austin open up their studios + hold wacky activities - Nov. 8-9 + 14-16: Surreal Luck at Luck Ranch
“Dimension-bending neon art experience” w/art installs + live music - Nov. 9: Evil Dead in Concert at the Paramount
Watch a fan fave horror film w/live orchestra score performance - Nov. 9: Trad-ATX Party at Fair Market
Fundraiser for tradl archery club w/demos + “archery-curious” lessons - Nov. 11-16: Hynafol Grand Gathering at Sherwood Forest
“Immersive medieval fantasy experience” w/large-scale LARPing - Nov. 13-15: Texas Tribune Festival on Congress Ave.
Big names in national + state politics descend upon Austin for talks - Nov. 13-15: 44th Madrigal Dinner at the Texas Union
“Renaissance-style comedy play” w/orchestra, + dinner served - Nov. 14: Art Bazaar Opening Day at Blue Genie
The opening of Blue Genie’s local art-themed holiday market - Nov. 14-16: Ethereal Horror Fest at AFS
Film fest w/horror screenings + industry panels - Nov. 15: Passport to the World Festival at Austin Central Library
Learn about our sister cities w/global food, dance, + fashion - Nov. 15: Carnival O’ Pizza at Home Slice SoCo
Pizza-themed carnival w/eating + sub hardbody contests - Nov. 15: The Games Y’all Roundup at Kick Butt Coffee
Play new indie games, hear game-themed live music + DJ - Nov. 15: Austin Opera Festival at KMFA Studios
Live performances of new operas written in central TX - Nov. 15: WordplayFest at Coldtowne
Live hip hop, puns, storytelling, + improv workshops - Nov. 16: Queer Soup Night at Fast Friends Brewing
“Platonic speed dating,” DJs, live music, soups, + spoon swap - Nov. 20: Music for the Ocean at the State Theatre
“Nature doc for the concert hall” w/live classical + animations - Nov. 21: One Year Anniversary at Mesmerize
Anniversary party w/interactive art installations + surprises - Nov. 21-22: Spanksgiving at Kick Butt Coffee + Sky Candy
Tgiving-themed burlesque, drag, comedy, + veggietales parodies - Nov. 22: Slam Portal at Central Machine Works
Interdimensional pro-wrestlers’ warped take on Terminator - Nov. 22: Strange + Extraordinary Fest at KMFA Studios
Paranormal/crytpid-themed fest w/panels, vendors, + museum - Nov. 22-23: The Front Market at Moody Amphitheater
Giant assemblage of vendors, DJs, demos, live art, + art gallery
Formerly Austin-based musical artist Patrick Keel, aka the Pool, is having something of a moment these days. Though he passed a few years back, people have been rediscovering his catalog of musical work from the early 80s for decades now, and it’s really picked up to a fever pitch of late. With reissue label Dark Entries putting out a new copy of his best known work this month, we decided it was a great time to revisit some of our favorite songs by Austin artists over the years. This playlist is by no means comprehensive, it’s just some of our favorites, some known, some not. The playlist is chronological so you can watch the musical trends twist and turn from 1983 til 2025.
Listen on: Spotify / Apple / YouTube
Tracklist
The Pool – Dance It Down
Daniel Johnston – Speeding Motorcycle
Sixteen Deluxe – Idea
Bedhead – The Dark Ages
Knife in the Water – Party (for the People of the Open Wound)
I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness – According to Plan
Voxtrot – Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, + Wives
Spoon – You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
S U R V I V E – Omniverse
Night Drive – Rise + Fall
Golden Dawn Arkestra – Allo Allo Boom
San Gabriel – Tape Machine
Good Looks – Broken Body
Skateland – Sunset Cinema
Past Model – Memory
Holy Wire – Phantom Nihilism
Nuclear Daisies – Body Turns Blue
J’cuuzi – Fame by Death
Modernform – Snooze
Jet Cemetary – Melt Away
Lite + Brite’s Guide to Austin Studio Tour 2025
We list hundreds (thousands?) of events over the course of the year, but Austin Studio Tour may be our favorite. It’s a dizzying collection of FREE events and art shows that take place over two weekends—this year, that’s 12-6pm on November 8-9 + 15-16—at venues throughout the city. These venues include traditional art studios and galleries, but also ordinary people’s houses and yards, theaters, office buildings, parks, condemned buildings, and anyplace else you can think of. Here’s an interactive map of all the official spaces. Artwork is for sale everywhere at a huge range of price points, and it doesn’t cost anything just to explore and admire.
There was a brief period earlier this year when the future of this phenomenal event was uncertain. It seemed, for a couple months, like our favorite event of the year might be no more. So we were THRILLED when Almost Real Things announced that they would be taking it over. If you’re a regular reader of Lite + Brite, you know we love Almost Real Things. We could not have hoped for better inheritors of this incredible tradition.
Like SXSW, AST is overwhelming. This year boasts 723 artists at 317 venues across the city. You will not see it all. We created this guide to help you focus your energies, but honestly you can’t go wrong (unless you stay home). Park somewhere, walk to every nearby stop, and see what you find. You are bound to be delighted.
Our picks for East Austin:
Cloud Tree, RichesArt, Bolm Arts, Something Cool Studios, Almost Real Things Studios, and The Cathedral are all truly fantastic artspaces presenting lots of artists across many media, usually offering music, snacks and drinks, experiences, vendors, + overall great vibes. If your time is short, these are some of our top choices for one-stop shops.
We go to Grackle House every year. It’s an artist’s backyard filled with eight local creators, cute animals to pet, live music, free drinks, and good vibes.
Big Blue House is another of our favorite artist’s residences, hosting half a dozen artists. Last year we got a beautiful ceramic menorah here from Abby Rose Mandel.
We’ll take any opportunity to visit Co-Lab Projects because it’s literally an art gallery in a culvert.
Similarly, we’ll take any reason to go hang out in Kenny Dorham’s Backyard. It’s just a great community spot.
The Museum of Human Achievement is one of our favorite creative venues. Their 2018 “Selfie Gauntlet” remains among our fondest AST memories. This year they’re hosting an art show, a vendor market, and a “compliment booth.”
The last time we saw interdisciplinary artist Hannah Spector, they were breaking up with 15 people in a performance art piece at Shedshows. For AST, Spector is taking over Women & Their Work.
DadaLab will be home to a delightfully bizarre-looking interactive experience, Object Solutions. “Browse our groundbreaking products, watch hypnotic retail videos, and consult with the CEO in an Oracle Session for a proprietary invention process that will unlock your personalized future.” Y’all, this is PEAK Austin Studio Tour.
Respect to Sassy Miss Waxy, who’s offering “an immersive art haven,” complete with “performance art, live music, body painting, figure drawing, self care services and more.” (The “more” appears to include “menstrual art.”)
Blackshear Elementary is Austin ISD’s first elementary school dedicated to the fine arts. “A student art gallery where our students will perform their musical instruments, dance routines and the drama club will perform Shakespeare. We will also host a Trashion (Fashion) Show.”
The Mosaic Workshop promises “hands-on workshops, live demos, and artist talks. Contribute to a large-scale collaborative mosaic mural, or make your own mosaic memento.”
Two Goats Pottery is an artist’s residence that’s home to four artists, “live music all day, free food, mulled wine and beer, GOAT PETTING and a bonfire, all in a lovely garden setting.” (The all-caps on GOAT PETTING is theirs, not ours.)
_OFCOLOR is taking over Pershing with “large-scale works, film photography, and immersive collections,” plus “live art activations, DJ sets, and music performances.”
Justine’s is one of our favorite Austin restaurants for vibes, and if they served brunch year-round, we would be there every weekend. Unfortunately, they serve brunch only during Austin Studio Tour, so if you’re in need of some pain perdu or perhaps a croque madame, this is your chance. They’ll also have a Parisian flea market and a DJ.
If you’re up for driving even farther east, our pals at ALT have taken over Sign Bar with the Critter Corrall, a “post-nuclear Texas frontier” combining “immersive art installation, interactive storytelling and a quirky gift shop full of collectible creations.”
Click here for our top picks for the rest of the city.
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! - 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, Emily Heddleson, Andrew Creswell, Robert B., Roman Gonzalez, Nick Ivons, Molly Fonseca, Lilly Ettinger, Michael Sales, Zach, Gino Scaramuzza, Erica Speegle, Jarrett Holtz, Thomas Refferson, Bones Malones, Katie Green, Christina Jue, Colleen MB, Alexander Freed, Kristen Backor, and Timon A. 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.”
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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.