Lite + Brite: 44 Shuffled Austin Events 2/13
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
I’m at the Valentine’s Day. I’m at the Friday the 13th. I’m at the combination Valentine’s and Friday the 13th. That’s right it’s time to celebrate being scared and being in love or to celebrate both or celebrate neither because it’s a made up holiday to sell greeting cards + also I’m scared.
Whether you do or do not observe either of these religious holidays, come join the two of us, some of our friends, and your fellow readers at our reader meetup on Sunday! We don’t know most of you in person and we love hearing about how our newsletter has been helpful and how it could be improved, so come tell us, and maybe meet some like minded individuals. Also we have both begun our monthlong dive into listening to an ill-advised amount of music in an effort to find all the juiciest South by Southwest performers. We’ll share our favorite finds over the next few weeks so that you don’t have to do all the work. This week both our picks were VERY adult so scroll down to see them (+ don’t google either band name, trust me).
Speaking of work, let me lay out this week’s lavish helpings of incredible events for you to gobble up. Craft chainmail doodads, dissect the bimbo stereotype, reimagine VHS box art, take part in horror themed speed dating, blush to bodice-rippers, pray at an altar to love, give a middle finger to love, engage in slasher PvP, decorate pupcakes, celebrate Fat Tuesday, Lunar New Year, or watching a bunch of people run a very long way.
If you’re not already a subscriber to this newsletter and you want to be, click here. We do one newsletter a week, usually on Fridays, plus a bonus edition around the start of each month. If you enjoy this newsletter, 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
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
Earlier this week, we went to see FronteraFest’s Best of the Fest showcase, including five wonderful new, locally produced short plays covering topics including grief, AI, teenage sexual politics, and death and dying. (This was not all as heavy as it sounds, promise.) There were puppets, musical numbers, and improv comedy, all in a small black box theater.
Over the weekend, we celebrated Sabadeaux Quesaux (haven’t posted photos yet, but here’s what we have from last year), and we drove around town with our buddy Mike Michaels in search of unique Austin places and things to photograph. We made it to the Chili’s at 45th and Lamar (naturally), Mayfield Park (though we didn’t see a single peacock there), Laguna Gloria, We Luv Video, and Susie the T-Rex’s house.
We’ve been watching lots of Winter + other sports thanks to the Olympics and the Super Bowl. You may recall our monthly L+B playlist for February was our reimagining of Jock Jams. This past week, Brian reimagined Jock Jams yet again on No Humans Allowed with a bunch of hip house, future funk, + 90s rave anthems.
EVENTS WE’RE EYEING
Friday 2/13
- All the Dead Dears at Flower Hill
“Hauntingly beautiful night” of Sylvia Plath poetry reading - Dark Ritual at Capt. Quack’s Soundspace
DJs spinning goth, post-punk + darkwave w/accompanying visuals - Happy Valoween at Hotel Vegas
Some of our fave local bands perform + host a live dating show - Anti Valentine’s Day Burlesque Show at Come + Take It Live
Give a metaphorical middle finger to love w/burlesque performers - Lunar New Year Opening Ceremony at Bolm Arts
Mark the beginning of LNY w/vendors + Asian American artists - Paranormal Investigations at Pioneer Farms
Investigate some spirits on a moonlit living history farm + environs - Slasher Night at Tiny Minotaur
Celebrate slashers + slasher flicks w/trivia, PvP combat, “ZERO drugs” - Til Death Do Us Party at Ani’s Day + Night
Horror-themed speed dating, live music, + vendor market - Galentine’s Day at Vacancy Brewing
Bring your bestie for glamour shots, palm reading, “lip gloss charm bar” - Neon Rainbow’s Midnight Rodeo at Chess Club
“Advanced” country dance party for “Sapphics, Trans, Cowtheys + more” - Mortified at the Highball
Folks share their teenaged diaries in a new comedic light - Masc4Match at the Vortex
Celebration of queer masculinity w/drag performers + camp - Variations on a Love Theme at East Side Performing Arts
Love-inspired ballet + classical chamber performances - FronteraFest Best of Fest at Hyde Park Theatre
“Alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre”
Saturday 2/14
- Local Video at Something Cool Studios
Artists reimagine posters + VHS boxes of their favorite films + TX short films - Boner Bizarre at Come and Take It Live
Stephen King-themed “perverse, grotesque, + socially unacceptable” burlesque - Horny Book Faire + Romantasy Night at Tiny Minotaur
Blush as you hear some “bodice-rippers” read out loud - Cupid’s Shuffle at Jackalope South Shore
Dog-friendly wiener dog races, “dog kissing booth,” costume contest - Gothic Hearts Ball at Elysium
DJs spinning gothic tunes w/ love altar, go-go dancer, + vendors - Vampentine’s at Hyperreal Film Club
“Immersive Twilight Exxxperience” w/giveaways, “4D moments,” themed drinks - Used Book Sale at Cherrywood Center
“Beloved, unusual, + hard-to-find” books from vendors, + V-day art, printing press - Lez Prom at 29th St. Ballroom
“The queer prom night you deserved” w/DJ, prom portraits - Three Ways to Say I Love You at 506 Congress
Love-themed art + 80s prom w/DJs + live music - La La Land in Concert at Bass Concert Hall
Watch a romantic flick w/live symphony accompaniment - Dog Party at St. Elmo Springdale
Dog-themed DJ, vendor market, photo ops, + “pupcake decorating” - BimboCore at Valhalla
“Dissect the bimbo stereotype” via burlesque, raffle, + games - Lover’s Lane at Flat Track Coffee
Themed Valentine’s vendors, “pup cups” + dog portraiture - In Love + Art at the Blanton
V-Day-themed art talks, card making, flower arranging, live music, + typewriting - Body Mechanics at 4211 Todd Ln.
DJs happily blurring the lines between a dance party + a fetish party - Opening Hours at Sherwood Forest Zine Library
An extensive library of zines in someone’s house, friendly cat included - Mortified at the Highball
Folks share their teenaged diaries in a new comedic light - Masc4Match at the Vortex
Celebration of queer masculinity w/drag performers + camp - Variations on a Love Theme at East Side Performing Arts
Love-inspired ballet + classical chamber performances - FronteraFest Best of Fest at Hyde Park Theatre
“Alternative, offbeat, new, and just plain off-the-wall fringe theatre”
Sunday 2/15
- Lite + Brite Reader Meetup at Tweedy’s
Shoot the breeze w/L, B, + yr fellow readers about Austin events you love - Austin Marathon throughout Austin
Cheer on athletes + masochists alongside live music + food vendors - Lunar New Year at ArtUs Co.
Celebrate LNY w/traditional dances, storytime, raffle, + vendors - Auntie’s House at the Pershing
Black cowboy + family gathering-themed party w/DJs, vendors, games - Mortified at the Highball
Folks share their teenaged diaries in a new comedic light - Masc4Match at the Vortex
Celebration of queer masculinity w/drag performers + camp
Monday 2/16
- Election Bae at Antonelli’s Cheese
Letter writing, speakers bring “community, crafts, + voter education”
Tuesday 2/17
- Mardi Gras on East 6th
Celebrate Fat Tuesday w/marching band, parade, traditional eats - Year of the Fire Horse at Alienated Majesty Books
LNY celebration w/live music, tarot, fiction readings
Wednesday 2/18
- Synth Soundbath Communal Drone Session at Tiny Minotaur
BYO synths to “harmonize with the infinite” or just take it in - OUTsider Festival at the Vortex
“Austin’s queerdo arts fest” w/film, dance, theater, music, performance art
Thursday 2/19
- Experiments in Spiritualist Table Tipping at First Spiritualist Church of Austin
“Spirit communication experiments” delve into the history of table tipping - Kinky Candyland at Swan Dive
“Deliciously deviant” pole + aerial showcase - Heavy Metal Hardware at Tiny Minotaur
Learn to craft your own chainmail doodads in guided, relaxed environment - Queer Media Theory 101 at the Highball
“Basically, we ruin films for straight people + yell about the characters that made us feel gay” - Say That Again at Dougherty Arts Center
Street dance-inspired choreographed + community dances w/live hip hop - OUTsider Festival at the Vortex
“Austin’s queerdo arts fest” w/film, dance, theater, music, performance art
NHA269
Jock Jams
Get your hands up! D-fence! U-S-A! As promised: nonstop jock jams tonight on No Humans Allowed. Bombastic french touch, hip house, future funk, 90s rave anthems + more.
Tracklist
The KLF – Last Train to Trancecentral
Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk – Love Can’t Turn Around
Loleatta Holloway – Strong Enough (Cap’ Edit)
Baby Ford – Beach Bump
D Mob – It Is Time to Get Funky
Saint Pepsi – Better
Eddy Grant – Walking on Sunshine (Tim Simenon Mix)
Thony Ritz – Star Riders
Kylie Minogue – Do You Dare (YPS Italia Edit)
Missy Elliott – Lose Control (Machinedrum Remix)
RFX – Lock the Program
Louis la Roche – On the Floor
Buffalo Bunch – T.I.T.T.S.
Barracuda – Besame
Discorockets – Running to You
Apparel Wax – LP001D1
No Humans Allowed is Brian Blackout’s award-winning, 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.
Lite+Brite’s SxSW 2026 Picks
SxSW is nearly upon us, and Music Festival wristbands are now available for $149 apiece. This year, you DO NOT need to be an Austin resident to purchase a wristband, and there will be no Film Festival wristbands. Here are some of the bands we’re excited to see at this year’s fest:
Brian’s Pick of the Week
Adult DVD
UK synth sickos who aren’t afraid of ghilly suits and bombastic catchy tunesLeila’s Pick of the Week
Adult Leisure
Bristol-based indie band with catchy melodies, RIYL the 1975, the Midnight
PATREON THANKS
A huge thank-you to our Patreon subscribers Liz, Melissa Dunn, Kat, James Gray, Emily Heddleson, Andrew Creswell, Robert B., Roman Gonzalez, Nick Ivons, Molly Fonseca, Lilly Ettinger, Michael Sales, Zach, Gino Scaramuzza, Erica Speegle, 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.
SOCIALS
Recent weeks found us attending a dance party in a storage unit, marching in a Greek mythology-themed Halloween parade thrown by a bat crew and a rat crew, and watching a troupe of gigantic leftist puppets from New England. 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, ATX Theatre for plays, 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.