Lite + Brite: 30 Celestial Austin Events 3/27
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
Something you might not know about me (Leila), but also will find extremely unsurprising, is that I’m involved in the world’s largest annual scavenger hunt, which happens each spring in Chicago. (I even once edited a book about it.) In 2003, this scavenger hunt included a parallel parking competition. It was so tense! High-stakes! I think about it still. Which is why I’m psyched that, this weekend, a parallel parking competition is happening here in Austin! This is your chance to win a unique trophy (or to rack up some more scratches on your bumper).
Also this week, we have an exuberantly free annual festival of brass bands; emo, screamo, and “emotional chiptune” bands playing at a convenience store and a bookshop; a summit for and about Austin’s arts community; a bunch of puppets in a secret backyard; punk comedy wrestling and emo puppet bands at a grocery store; a full day of paranormal adventures; an outdoor celebration of Austin Black freedom communities; and lots more. You should go to any or all of it (if you can get out of your parking space, that is).
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Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
OUR STUFF
Leila is teaching a class about crafting nonfiction book proposals at ATX Writing Club on Sunday. If you want to sell a nonfiction book to a traditional publisher, this is an hour-long session that will explain how to do it. Reserve your spot here.
In the upcoming April Monthly edition of this newsletter, we will have a playlist with a whole new helping of songs by SxSW bands that we heard at the festival. As good as the playlist getting us amped was, this one is even better. This week on No Humans Allowed, Brian played some of the synthier selections from our South by Southwest favorites, like the oblique dancepunk of Adult DVD, David Lynch soundtrack-inspired Hemi Hemingway, babyfaced UK sensation Tom A. Smith, + lovelorn janglers Foliage. Listen to it here.
EVENTS WE’RE EYEING
Friday 3/27
- Bananarama Dance Party at Juiceland Barton Springs
Ride a looooong banana car w/a DJ, banana toss, + free smoothies - Shadowrun at Tiny Minotaur
Fantasy cyberpunk / techno goth shenanigans-themed costume night - Indie Doc Fest at 2940 Eckert St.
Premieres of short indie docs w/director Q+As - Philly Pre-Skate at Alienated Majesty + Friendly Rio
Music fest w/many styles, staged in a convenience store + bookstore - Shrek Rave at Emo’s
“Dance” “party” that proclaims “cool is dead” - The Big We at Asian American Resource Center
Talks, workshops, + discussions on Austin’s arts community - Short Film Showcase at Hyperreal Film Club
Hyperreal-curated night of short films complete w/awards ceremony - Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles at the Long Center
Ballet performance inspired by 18th century vampires + dress - Honk!TX at various Austin locations
Raucous outdoor celebration of brass w/LOTS of bands from all over
Saturday 3/28
- Strange + Extraordinary Fest at KMFA Studios
Stranger Things/horror/paranormal-inspired fest w/speakers, vendors, + “haunted items” - ATX Parallel Parking Competition at Canopy
Put your parallel parking skills on display + win an artist-made trophy - Creative Departures at Guerrero Colorado River Metro Park
Phone-free conversations on art + art-making environment - Spring Market at the Baker School
Vendor market inside a 1940s cafeteria + letterpress studio - Celestial Dreamland at Hive Mind Studios
“Immersive art gallery + experience” w/live music, DJs, + stuff that glows - Trans Day of Visibility Picnic at Grassroots Leadership
“Community, gentle live music, + artwork” celebrate Austin’s trans communities - Futch Fetish at Elysium
Vendors, drag, lesbians, + “chubby bunny contest w/a twist” - Lady Gaga Birthday Ball at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Gaga-inspired DJs + drag performers, plus a Lady Gaga lookalike contest - Drag Me to the Tavern at Tiny Minotaur
Drag kings, queens, + knights perform in fantasy costumes - Birding Man at ArtUs Co.
Avian-inspired art, poetry, talks, meet birds of prey + enter bird costume contest - Story-oke at the Highball
Sing a song + talk about it. Basically DIY VH1 Storytellers - The Big We at Asian American Resource Center
Talks, workshops, + discussions on Austin’s arts community - Short Film Showcase at Hyperreal Film Club
Hyperreal-curated night of short films complete w/awards ceremony - Vibe Artisan Market at Distribution Hall
Vendor market w/vinyl DJs, cocktail/espresso bar, + activations - Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles at the Long Center
Ballet performance inspired by 18th century vampires + dress - Honk!TX at various Austin locations
Raucous outdoor celebration of brass w/LOTS of bands from all over
Sunday 3/29
- Rise Fest at Pease Park
Live choral performance, DJ, speakers, poetry, vendors, + interactive booths - 50th Birthday Party at Wheatsville
Celebrate 50 yrs of Wheatin’ w/live bands, puppets, + Party World Rasslin - Sapphic Spring Fling at Highland Lounge
Drag, dancing, superlatives, + sapphic community resources - Block Party at the UT Co-ops
Campus co-ops give tours + sponsor bands, DJs, vendors, freebies - Marie Antoinette: Vampire Queen of Versailles at the Long Center
Ballet performance inspired by 18th century vampires + dress - Honk!TX at various Austin locations
Raucous outdoor celebration of brass w/LOTS of bands from all over - The Happiness Gym at the Vortex
Theatrical production about mental health, working out, + pancakes
Monday 3/30
- The Happiness Gym at the Vortex
Theatrical production about mental health, working out, + pancakes
Tuesday 3/31
- The Happiness Gym at the Vortex
Theatrical production about mental health, working out, + pancakes
Wednesday 4/1
- Crazy Clown Time at the Tiny Minotaur
Watch clowns tell bad jokes + attempt not to laugh - Word Perv at Smelt House
Storytelling + variety show about gender + sexuality - The Happiness Gym at the Vortex
Theatrical production about mental health, working out, + pancakes
Thursday 4/2
- Happy Accccdent in an unannounced backyard
Just a secret backyard puppet show, no big deal - Double Heads Live: You’re the Host at Hyperreal Film Club
“Experimental late-night talk show where anyone can be a host” - The Happiness Gym at the Vortex
Theatrical production about mental health, working out, + pancakes
NHA273
South by Southwest 2026
We saw over 50 bands this year at South by Southwest. This episode is a recap featuring the best of the best. Click play to hear them.
Stream South by Southwest 2026
Tracklist
Marijuana Deathsquads – O No
CDSM – What Do You Make
Tipa Tipo – Grifo
Chalk – Can’t Feel It
Almost Heaven – Fever Trying to Blow
Adult DVD – Bill Murray
Tom A. Smith – I Don’t Blame
Slash Need – Art Gallery
Foliage – Sophia
Hemi Hemingway – Promises ft. Georgia Gets by
Packaging – In Your Pocket
Swimwear Department – We Need a Place
Stare Away – Faithless Hum
The Haunted Youth & Max Fry – Deathwish
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.
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 and Side by Sideshows 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.