Lite + Brite Monthly: December

Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the monthly edition of the Lite + Brite newsletter.

December has been swallowed whole in the ever hungry maw of the Christmas industrial complex, but local event folks have still put together an impressive array of festive + non-festive activities for you. As for us, we’ve got our annual guide to Austin holiday markets, and the approach of the end of 2025 means it’s time for our also annual playlist of our favorite music of the year, so we picked out some good ones including a few Austin-based favorites.

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.

  • Dec. 3: One-Day Choir For Good at Violet Crown City Church
    Join an ephemeral show choir + perform songs from Wicked
  • Dec. 4: The Art of Low and Slow at Vintage Books + Wine
    Check out books on Texas BBQ + wine, and sample both
  • Dec. 4: Ho Ho Hoedown at Elysium
    “Yuletide linedance lessons” w/drag, go-go, DJ, vendors
  • Dec. 6: Wizard Rodeo at the Long Time
    Live music + vendor market w/incredible vibes + website
  • Dec. 6: Holiday Stroll at Congress Ave.
    Live music, singalongs, vendors, Santa pics, + tree lighting
  • Dec. 6: Mortified at the Highball
    Folks share their teenaged diaries in a new comedic light
  • Dec. 6: Cowboy Xmas at Co-Lab Projects
    “Anti-soiree” w/live music, art show, bull rides, + Xmas karaoke
  • Dec. 6: The Lawn Party at Shady Springs Party Barn
    “Sketch comedy series featuring live comedy, standup, + games”
  • Dec. 6: Holiday Book Fair at the Byrne-Reed House
    Texan authors raise money for libraries w/their latest books
  • Dec. 6-7: Horror for the Holidays at the Palmer Events Center
    Evil Santa, Krampus parade, elf races, photo ops + signings
  • Dec. 7: A Christmas Memory at Austin Central Library
    Staged reading of a Truman Capote Xmas story
  • Dec. 7: Holiday Card Printing Party at the Press Room
    Print your own holiday cards at an immersive workshop
  • Dec. 7: Light It Up at Central Machine Works
    Join in caroling w/choral concert + classical music trivia
  • Dec. 7: Big Queer Wedding Party at the Cathedral
    “Music, Texas drag, weddings, vow renewals, joy, + LOVE”
  • Dec. 10: The Moth at the Paramount
    “Daring” touring show from storytelling trailblazers
  • Dec. 11-13 + 18-20: The E(Xmas)ist at Crashbox
    “A campy queer Christmas parody of The Exorcist”
  • Dec. 12: Light Show Opening Night on 37th St.
    Neighborhood light show w/cat elections + “Diagon Alley rumors”
  • Dec. 12-14: Celtic Yuletide Festival + Highland Games at Sherwood Forest Faire
    Festive medieval celebration w/live music, archery, + storytelling
  • Dec. 13: Mini Horses + Cocoa at Westbank Library
    This event is exactly what you want it to be (also it has balloons)
  • Dec. 13: Lamp Show at Highland Collective
    Local artists gather to create artistic lamps + lamp-shaped art
  • Dec. 13: Black for the Holidays at the Carver Museum
    Local Black vendors, art pop-ups, photo ops, + Black Santa pics
  • Dec. 13: Winter Ball at Highland Lounge
    Ballroom performers + wrestlers tag team w/fashion + fierce action
  • Dec. 13: A Nightmare Before Christmas Gothic Ball at Elysium
    Throw a little Halloween into Xmas w/costumes, vendors + goth DJs
  • Dec. 13: Fat Bottom Cabaret at the State Theatre
    “POC burlesque, cabaret, debauchery + unapologetic joy”
  • Dec. 14: Winter Fest at St. Elmo Brewing
    Live jazz, gift wrapping, festive photo ops, classes, + vendors
  • Dec. 14: 55th Birthday Celebration at Whole Earth Provision Co.
    70s themed party w/DJ, costume contest, giveaways, tie-dye station
  • Dec. 15: Getting in Bed with the Pizza Man at Allday Pizza
    One-woman pizza-centric comedy where the theater is a pizza parlor
  • Dec. 15: Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite at the Paramount
    Retelling of the holiday ballet classic only set in Harlem’s jazz era
  • Dec. 18: Kate Bush Christmas Special at We Luv Video
    Kate Bush’s Xmas special from ‘79 w/original music + witchy dancing
  • Dec. 18-20: The Summer Sauron Turned Pretty at the Museum of Human Achievement
    Xmas play reimagines LotR as Livejournal fanfic w/sexy wizards
  • Dec. 19: America’s Next Top Lesbian at the Vortex
    “Austin’s first lesbian pageant” based on Q+A, talent, + runway
  • Dec. 19: Ghost Stories for Christmas at Alienated Majesty
    Live music + short film accompanies festive phantom storytelling
  • Dec. 19 – Jan. 3: The Muttcracker (Sweet!) at the Vortex
    An all-dog not-at-all-ballet production of the holiday favorite
  • Dec. 20: The Jing-a-Ling Super Sing at the Vortex
    Seasonally festive tunes sung by classically trained vocalists
  • Dec. 21:JK’s Just Kidding Variety Hour at Trinity St. Playhouse
    Variety show w/live music, drag, modern dance, + performance art

It’s almost the end of 2025, so we’ve begun the fun yet laborious task of figuring out which of the many songs released this year we loved the best. Once again we got some new songs by beloved favorites and some total curveballs in our own worlds of discovery. Check out our list and see if there’s something you might have missed. (Note: Spotify is missing music because musicians don’t like ’em. We don’t either, honestly. We’re giving you the option, but consider listening somewhere else).

Listen on: Spotify / Apple / YouTube

Tracklist

Nation of Language – “I’m Not Ready for the Change”
Gelli Haha – “Normalize”
Jet Cemetery “Melt Away”
Modernform “Hourglass”
Stealing Sheep “U F33l M3”
Robyn “Dopamine”
Saint Etienne – “Brand New Me” ft. Confidence Man
Goldenfang Records – “Replace You” ft. Palace
Dog+night “Reuben’s New Digs”
Richard Ashcroft “Lover”
HAIM “Relationships”
Taylor Swift “Father Figure”
T-Pain, Yaeji, + Girl Talk “Believe in Ya”
Tom A. Smith “I Don’t Blame You”
CDSM “This Is My New Hell”
Preoccupations “Focus”
Foliage + .com “Everything’s Okay”
Nuclear Daisies “Infinite Joy”
Harsh Symmetry “Quiet Pill”
Soulwax “Run Free”
Tame Impala “End of Summer”
Avalon Emerson “Don’t Be Seen with Me”
Fcukers “I Like It Like That”
Proper Monday Number “High Horse”
Total Fucking Darkness “Good Times”

Lite + Brite’s Guide to 2025 Holiday Markets

As we do every year we have compiled a list of holiday markets for you to check out. We’re a little rushed this year so we reserve the right to keep adding to this list. You can see anything we do add on the dedicated page for this guide. Also we’ don’t mention it here’ve only listed it sporadically but Blue Genie Art Bazaar happens every day of the month up to and including 12/24.

Dec. 6

Dec. 7

Dec. 13

Dec. 14

Dec. 18

Dec. 20

Dec. 21

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.”

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.

See you next time, champions

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