Lite + Brite: 34 Dragonesque Austin Events 5/15
Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.
We are blazing our way through May like the winged drakes of our subject heading. For a little while longer the Austin rain dome will occasionally give way and we’ll get some cool wet relief. That can cause distress in outdoor event producers, but we think you’ll find plenty to do in and out of doors this week.
This week, you can see a convenience store’s snack-strewn halls filled with the medieval synthesizer sounds of Austin’s dungeon synth scene, rollerskate listening to DJs spin skate classics, engage in explicitly experimental cyborg-curious immersive art activities, purchase (somewhat) affordable art, celebrate all sorts of burlesque, say farewell to Collection Rert’s art space, or polish your Shrek impressions and knowledge. And that’s just for starters, scroll down for the rest.
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Let’s do fun stuff!
—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com
WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO
Last weekend, we went to the second annual Friends Fair, an art show where about 20 galleries—some local, some not—each took over a guest room at the Loren Hotel. We always love experiencing art in unexpected places (concerts in quarries, dance in cemeteries—this is our lifeblood), and Friends Fair definitely scratches that itch. We liked seeing how different galleries used their spaces, and we can confidently say we’ve never before seen so many sculptures in showers.
We also hit up Hyde Park Storytelling, where we sat out on a picnic blanket and enjoyed personal stories from adults and from a few brave + talented middle-schoolers. (The adults were also brave and talented, fwiw.) One of the storytellers was also one of our Patreon supporters, and he did a kickass job! The next Hyde Park Storytelling will be June 13 (and don’t worry if you forget; we will of course list it in the newsletter).
No Humans Allowed this week opened up an imaginary late night hotline packed with steamy synthy tunes about telephones and late night call lines. You can listen to the episode on the Kpiss archives here.
EVENTS WE’RE EYEING
Friday 5/15
- Neon Rainbows Spring Formal at Sagebrush
Spring formal, honky tonk-style w/live music, DJs, photobooth, S’queer Dancing - Battle of the Constellations at Alienated Majesty
Literary readings, live music, tarot, live art prints, + zodiac contest - Texas Burlesque Festival at Elysium + the Long Center
A big celebration of both traditional + boundary-pushing burlesque - Affordable Art Fair at the Palmer Events Center
Large-scale art fair focusing on affordable pieces for sale - Bite-Sized at Klerje Coffee
Short modern dance performances paired with light bites - Cine las Americas at various locations
View films of all kinds made by Latinx filmmakers from Texas + beyond
Saturday 5/16
- Wowzaramakaboom at Collection Rert
Closing party for art venue w/“art, games, music, spontaneous performances” - Cultural Currents on Red River
Learn the history of Red River’s past venues while catching DJs + live music - Paper Dragon Small Press Fair at the Highball
Buy DIY zines + art from the zinesters + artists who make them - The School-tastic Book Fair at Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex
Scholastic-style book fair for adults w/nostalgic DJs, tats, prizes, + activities - Greater Austin Book Fest at the Austin Central Library
“A celebration of books” w/local author talks, readings, panels, workshops - Emo’s Documentary Screening at Swan Dive
Screening of doc about Emo’s’ 90s era w/Q+A + networking - The Zenith Project at Moody Amphitheater
Market w/100+ vendors, live painting, DJs, games, pilates, + flash tats - Dungeon Mart at Friendly Rio Market
Live dungeon synth performances betwixt the candy + beverage aisles - Preserving Y(our) Stories at Austin History Center
Make + appreciate crafts from a variety of AANPHI communities - Spring Fae Night at Tiny Minotaur
Celebrate Spring by dressing up like a good fairy - Games Y’all at Hail Mary Social Club
Indie game devs + fans meet up to try out games in progress - PowerPints at the Highball
“Drink + learn things” at comedic talks on a variety of esoteric topics - Texas Burlesque Festival at Elysium + the Long Center
A big celebration of both traditional + boundary-pushing burlesque - Affordable Art Fair at the Palmer Events Center
Large-scale art fair focusing on affordable pieces for sale - Bite-Sized at Klerje Coffee
Short modern dance performances paired with light bites - Cine las Americas at various locations
View films of all kinds made by Latinx filmmakers from Texas + beyond
Sunday 5/17
- Divas at the Bullock Museum
Choral + orchestral arrangements of music by pop divas of past + present - Freedom Communities Social Ride at the Haskell House
Discover landmarks in Austin’s post-Civil War Black history by bike - Affordable Art Fair at the Palmer Events Center
Large-scale art fair focusing on affordable pieces for sale - Cine las Americas at various locations
View films of all kinds made by Latinx filmmakers from Texas + beyond - (weekly thru 6/14) Splash Dance at the Austin Motel
Poolside aerobics with Austin’s most creative aerobics instructor
Monday 5/18
- Underground Roller Disco at the Long Center
A skate/dance party w/DJs spinning 70s/80s/90s classics - Kicking the Bucket Listening Club at Hampton Branch Library
Combine basket weaving, group audiobook listening, + end-of-life discussion
Tuesday 5/19
- The Austin Salon at 1109 Angelina St.
Thoughtful talks + group discussions on the nature of languages - Adult Spelling Bee at Saturn
Spell some bawdy words under the influence + win prizes - Queer Trivia Shrek Night at Cheer Up Charlie’s
Shrek-inspired costume contest, impersonations, + trivia
Wednesday 5/20
- Synth Soundbath Communal Drone Session at Tiny Minotaur
BYO synths to “harmonize with the infinite” or just take it in - Another Kind of Silence at the Vortex
Deaf, hard-of-hearing, + hearing actors perform play in English + ASL
Thursday 5/21
- Flight from Extinction at AFS
Premiere of a doc about bats recovering from the brink of extinction - ATXplained at Bass Concert Hall
Learn facts + trivia about Austin via the medium of a live podcast taping - Queer Film Theory at the Highball
“Basically, we ruin films for straight people + yell about the characters that made us feel gay” - Neighborhood Block Party at ThoroughFare
Neighborhood businesses vending, plus DJs, discounts, + giveaways - Latte Art Throwdown at Lau Lau
Latte art bracket for prizes plus DJ, goody bag, + art printing - Ether Slop at Crashbox
“Become a cyborg! Or vehemently don’t!” in a variety of silly impromptu activities - Another Kind of Silence at the Vortex
Deaf, hard-of-hearing, + hearing actors perform play in English + ASL
NHA279
Hotline
Our operators are waiting for your call. It’s late, but you can call No Humans Allowed anytime for a hot time. All you need to do is press that play button.
Tracklist
No Zu – Phone Call Meltdown
Hemi Hemingway – Long Distance Lover
Special Occasion – Flyin’ to Santa Barbara (Captain’ Edit)
System Olympia – Call Girl
Glowing Palms – Midnight Request Line
Yogurt Club – Cereali & Fragola
Loose Ends – Emergency (Dial 999)
Kraftwerk – House Phone
The Village People – Sex Over the Phone
Greetings – Dream at Night
Bell Towers – Call Me, Please
Serge Posnar – Out in the Night (Skyrager Edit)
Alexander Arpeggio & OhLandy – Der Anruf
P’cock – Telephone
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, and Kristen Backor. We’re deeply grateful for your support, which allows us to do things like “pay our Beehiiv 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 Superfantastica for weird Austin places + things. 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 2026). 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.