Lite + Brite: 24 Slamming Austin Events 4/3
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
Another week down! It’s been a busy one here at L+B HQ but we’ve still found you a couple dozen things to be out there doing in the still somewhat pleasant spring weather. Find useful plants, veg out, ply an audience with your cinematic hot takes, make finger puppets, participate in a rubber duck derby, discuss death while learning how to make baskets, or witness a bunch of donks. Don’t say we never gave you nuthin.
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Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
OUR STUFF
Last weekend, we went on a lil roadtrip out to Sherwood Forest Faire, and I think it’s “faire” to say (get it?) that a merry time was had by all. The most impressive thing we saw was the birds of prey show, but we also partook in some highly competitive jousting, a quasi-nonsensical Robin Hood reenactment, and what I’m sure was a historically accurate milkshake. There are still three weekends of the fair left this year, if you want to check it out for yourself.
Then we attended Wheatsville‘s 50th birthday party, mostly so we could see Party World Rasslin. They did not disappoint. Austin has a wealth of punk comedy wrestling troupes, and we love them all, but when it comes to lore, copywriting, and absurdity, it is hard for anyone to outshine PWR. We watched a GMO wrestler (bad) fight a spinach wrestler (good), and we even got a surprise appearance from PWR legend Timmy Quivers (a.k.a. healthcare activist Timothy Faust, a.k.a. the author of one of the best pieces of writing that VICE ever published).
On Monday, we went to BookPeople to see Brad Neely discuss his newly published collection of comics with one of the Hyperreal Film Club founders. It was weird and hilarious, like all of Brad Neely’s work. You might be thinking right now, “idk who Brad Neely is,” but I am willing to bet that you do.
On Tuesday, in honor of our space program’s recent trip to the moon, Brian played an hour of moon-related tunes on No Humans Allowed this week. Put on some muted footage of the launch and press play.
EVENTS WE’RE EYEING
Friday 4/3
- ART Bus Karaoke Tour at Almost Real Things
Tour Austin murals + bars while singing karaoke in a party bus - ASL Slam at the Highball
Slam-style performances all in American Sign Language - Learning Secrets at Lolo
Vinyl DJs spinning groovy records from all over the world - Quest Night at Scare for a Cure
“Interactive medieval action adventure” w/giant monsters + puzzles - The Happiness Gym at the Vortex
Theatrical production about mental health, working out, + pancakes
Saturday 4/4
- First Saturday at the Museum of Human Achievement
Make finger puppets, talk about yr fave websites + share indie games - Austin Witchfest at the Palmer Events Center
Which fest has Wiccan talks + vendors? This one! - Adult Easter Egg Night Hunt at Sweet Eats Farm
Not kid’s stuff, this is real-ass adults looking for eggs in the pitch black - Queer Austin Bike Tour at Cosmic Saltillo
Learn about Austin’s LGBTQ+ history from your bike’s saddle - Donk Contest and Car Show at Rosewood Neighborhood Park
See some killer Donks, aka tricked-out cars or “rolling artwork” - Spring Egg Hunt + Duck Derby at Healing with Horses Ranch
Hunt for Easter eggs, hang with horses, + race some rubber duckies - Karaoke Underground at Knomad
Sing karaoke to your favorite punk, indie + alt classics - Open Studios at Canopy
Artists at Canopy open up their studios to the public w/live DJs - All Your Friends at 29th St. Ballroom
Touring dance party w/classic indie tunes - Austin Texas Book Trail at bookshops throughout Austin
Explore 30+ local bookstores w/prizes, activations, + parties - Quest Night at Scare for a Cure
“Interactive medieval action adventure” w/giant monsters + puzzles - The Happiness Gym at the Vortex
Theatrical production about mental health, working out, + pancakes
Sunday 4/5
- Texas VegFest at Fiesta Gardens
Celebrate vegan food w/vegan vendors, speakers, live music - Austin Texas Book Trail at bookshops throughout Austin
Explore 30+ local bookstores w/prizes, activations, + parties - The Happiness Gym at the Vortex
Theatrical production about mental health, working out, + pancakes
Monday 4/6
- Chimes at Midnight at Sekrit Theater
Watch 1950’s Shakespeare film in a charming “secret” outdoor grotto - The Happiness Gym at the Vortex
Theatrical production about mental health, working out, + pancakes - (weekly thru 5/18) Kicking the Bucket Listening Club at Hampton Branch Library
Combine basket weaving, group audiobook listening, + end-of-life discussion
Wednesday 4/8
- Thought Experiments on Patios at Cosmic Pickle
A guided outdoor discussion on a series of thought experiments - The Happiness Gym at the Vortex
Theatrical production about mental health, working out, + pancakes
Thursday 4/9
- Powerpoint Night at Hyperreal Film Club
Win over a crowd of film buffs with your cinematic hot takes - Useful Plants Walk at Buzz Mill Coffee
Walk around South Austin learning about edible+useful wild plants - The Birthday Bard + Brew at the ABGB
Celebrate Shakespeare’s bday w/trivia + readings - Art in the Park at Fiesta Gardens
Kids with + without disabilities making art + enjoying live music - Austin Dance Festival at various venues
“A weekend full of modern/contemporary dance” - The Happiness Gym at the Vortex
Theatrical production about mental health, working out, + pancakes
NHA274
Moon Tunes
With the launch of Artemis II and astronauts hurtling towards our lunar neighbor, we decided to devote a show to the big blue ball orbiting our bigger blue ball. Press play for an hour of the mooniest tunes around.
Tracklist
Sean Nicholas Savage & Better Person – Moonlight Lady
Kermesse – Mrs. Moon (Telephones Edit)
Mungolian Jetset – Moon Jocks N Prog Rocks (Todd Terje Remix)
Arthur Russell – This Is How We Walk on the Moon (Youth Edit)
Sally Shapiro – Moonlight Dance
CHVRCHES – The Mother We Share (Moonboots Remix)
The RAH Band – Clouds Across the Moon
Alan Sorrenti – Donna Luna
Chris Polcyn – Lunar Dawn
FM Attack & Vandal Moon – Candlelight
RFX – 00100000
Eden Ahbez – Full Moon
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.”
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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.