Lite + Brite: 37 Romping Austin Events 5/1
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
We’re both traveling this weekend, which is a bummer because it means we’re missing the first KUT Festival, which promises talks + panels with government officials, journalists, business owners, film producers, university professors, community organizers, authors, musicians, podcasters, and a bunch of other people whom we are SO SAD to miss. Honestly, look at this list of presenters and try to tell me you don’t care about any of these names.
What else are we missing this weekend? Well, we won’t be partying with pigs, watching dachshunds run, parading with bugs, taste-testing brisket in a community park, reviving junk, dressing up as a character from Three’s Company, enjoying a drag ball, or dancing at the state capitol. Devastating! Please go do at least one of these things and tell us just how jealous we should be.
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Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
This week was quieter than the last few, but we still found ourselves out in the world checking out a few events. We’ve occasionally mentioned the Baron’s Men, Austin’s troupe of historically minded thespians (they’re putting on a Shakespeare film series at Sekrit Theater that includes a showing this week). They’re currently putting on one of Shakespeare’s lesser known works, a comedic play about love, infidelity, + trickery called The Merry Wives of Windsor. The casting was excellent + the actors helped to make us laugh repeatedly despite the fact this play was nearly 500 years old. The costumes were delightfully silly and they made use of the Scottish Rite Theater’s collection of vintage hand painted scrims of castles and forests. Also of historical note, Leila checked out the Austin Archives Bazaar at the venerable Saengerrunde Halle, which featured historical info from tons of local archives. Two highlights were St. Edwards’ archive of Texas beer-related ephemera, and a reading by the author of a book about Austin’s 90s underground cultural history touching upon venues, bands, + Linklater’s Slacker.
Also, this week, Brian delved once again to the well of the imaginary robots-only nightclub (except that one time it briefly materialized at dadalab) Club Dongle. You can check it out in the Kpiss archives here.
EVENTS WE’RE EYEING
Friday 5/1
- Body Mechanics at 4211 Todd Ln.
Spring-themed fetish-loving DJ crew w/live bands - Secret Disco Society at the Texas State Capitol
DJs take over the capitol + we find out just how funky politicians get - ASL Slam at the Highball
Slam-style performances all in American Sign Language - Montucky Knights of the Cold Snacks at Tiny Minotaur
Celebrate horse-themed cheap beer w/knights, D&D, + jousting - May Market Opening Day at Blue Genie Art Bazaar
Buy from local artists + crafters without the holiday pressure - The KUT Festival at Central Machine Works + East End Ballroom
Live music + speakers in “celebration of the Austin community” - Bloom at East Side Performing Arts
Flower-inspired ballet performances set to live classical music - Malum Malus at the Vortex
Samhain-themed “occult-based burlesque performance art” - Doc Days at AFS
Non-fiction award-winning shorts docs curated by AFS - Bridgerdown at the Vortex
Commedia dell’arte troupe’s bloody take on Bridgerton
Saturday 5/2
- Minor Mishap Bug Parade at Alamo Rec Center
Brass band-led parade where participants wear bug costumes + bug puppets - First Saturday at The Museum of Human Achievement
Chill creatives connecting, art opening, experimental video, + “junkyard hospital” - Violet Crown Festival at Brentwood Park
Party in the park w/live music, brisket cook-off, art market, + food vendors - Cinco de Mayo Festival at Republic Square
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo w/interactive booths, live music, + food - CelebrASIA at the Asian American Resource Center
AAPI dancers, live musicians, food vendors, + tabling - Bike Month Kickoff Party at Mendez Rec Center
Bike-themed activities, swap, awards, tabling, demos, + games - Free Comic Book Day at comics stores throughout Austin
Support your local comic shop + pick up a free comic book - The Blue Ball at Elysium
Fundraising ballroom event w/drag, vendors, + live music - Queer Austin Bike Tour at Cosmic Saltillo
Learn about Austin’s LGBTQ+ history from your bike’s saddle - Dachshund Dash + Kentucky Derby Watch Party at Jackalope South Shore
Celebrate Derby w/speedy wiener dogs, hat contest, glizzies, + derby on a screen - Roper Romp at Lefty’s Brick Bar
Dress up to celebrate an unlikely 1970s style + feminist icon across multiple bars - Austin Is a Poem at the Central Library
Poetry readings from Austin’s poet laureate + others - Austin Outdoor Living Tour at homes throughout Austin
Check out Austin residences w/fancy outdoors for fun + inspiration - Flower Hill Fete at Flower Hill Foundation
“Relaxed, outdoor gathering” w/live music, garden party fits, museum plans - Bookwyrms Book Faire at Tiny Minotaur
Free + all-ages book faire w/local vendors w/optional costumes - Open Studios at Canopy
Artists at Canopy open up their studios to the public w/live DJs - The Front Market at Distribution Hall
Big multi-day craft market w/DJs, art galleries, giveaways, demos - The KUT Festival at Central Machine Works + East End Ballroom
Live music, speakers, in “celebration of the Austin community” - Bloom at East Side Performing Arts
Flower-inspired ballet performances set to live classical music - The Amazing Acro-Cats at the Rollins Theater
Cats: the world’s least cooperative acrobats - Malum Malus at the Vortex
Samhain-themed “occult-based burlesque performance art” - Doc Days at AFS
Non-fiction award-winning shorts docs curated by AFS - Bridgerdown at the Vortex
Commedia dell’arte troupe’s bloody take on Bridgerton
Sunday 5/3
- SnoutFest at Central Texas Pig Rescue
“A concert for the pigs, with the pigs” means a party w/live music + live pigs - Nostalgia at Hyperreal Film Club
Film screenings, silent auction, panels, raffles, + audience awards - The Phantom May-nace at BookPeople
Trivia, scav hunt, photo ops, + costume contest for Star Wars fans - The Front Market at Distribution Hall
Big multi-day craft market w/DJs, art galleries, giveaways, demos - The Amazing Acro-Cats at the Rollins Theater
Cats: the world’s least cooperative acrobats - Malum Malus at the Vortex
Samhain-themed “occult-based burlesque performance art” - Doc Days at AFS
Non-fiction award-winning shorts docs curated by AFS
Monday 5/4
- Kiss Me Kate at Sekrit Theater
Unique outdoor screening of this Shakespeare film adaptation - (weekly thru 5/18) Kicking the Bucket Listening Club at Hampton Branch Library
Combine basket weaving, group audiobook listening, + end-of-life discussion
Wednesday 5/6
- Prosper XO Town Hall at Capital Factory
Frank talks on the mental health challenges of musicians + artists - Word Perv at Smelt House
Storytelling + variety show about gender + sexuality - Bridgerdown at the Vortex
Commedia dell’arte troupe’s bloody take on Bridgerton
Thursday 5/7
- Yiddish Life Through Song at the Terrazas Branch Library
Recounting Holocaust stories through storytelling, puppets + music - Testify at Barrel O’ Fun
Storytellers tell true stories about pets + furry critters
NHA277
Welcome to the Dongle
We return to the deliriously imaginary robots-only nightclub Club Dongle for the 16th time. You’d think by this point they’d figure out we were human, but nope! Press play for an hour of clubby tunes you might hear from Dongle’s robotic DJs.
Tracklist
Barracuda – Barracuda
Beat Pulse Mecca – Murder
Fontaines D.C. – In the Modern World (Tom VR Edit)
Apparel Wax – 0006A1
Auragraph – Heatwave
Jackpot – Ragazza
Cassius – Hey Babe
Covenant – No Man’s Land
CRYYS – Forget About Me
Summer Junkies – I’m Gonna Luv U (Captain’ Edit)
Few Boys – Secret Times
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.