Lite + Brite: 59 Barbaric Austin Events 9/18

Hello, what’s up, and welcome to the Lite + Brite newsletter.

Hello there! You might be thinking to yourself “Halloween is about 6 weeks away, I wonder if Leila + Brian are slaving away behind the scenes to bring us their annual gigantic Halloween spreadsheet?” Well, you would be correct, we are. Expect to see more around the first of the month.

When Dolly Parton left us, you might recall we said we’d no doubt be getting lots of Dolly tribute nights once the dust settled. Well, it appears that dust has settled because next week is 9/25, a.k.a. nine-two-five, making it the Dolliest of days. It’ll feature not one, not two, but three different Dolly parties in town (that we know of). You can linedance to disco-era Dolly, watch Dolly-inspired drag, or see a huge array of live musicians pay tribute to her extensive songbook. One day it’s all quiet on the Dolly front and the next thing you know it’s an explosion.

If you’re not Dolly-pilled, there’s still a lot going on. We’re talking ballroom performers inspired by scam artists, ravers taking over a P. Terry’s, local musicians playing in H-E-B, acrobats dancing on the sides of office buildings, gnomesteaders taking over the garden, and more typical things in more typical places, but no less delightful.

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Let’s do fun stuff!

—Leila + Brian
liteandbriteatx.com

WHAT WE’VE BEEN UP TO

Last night we went to see Blue Lapis Light’s latest aerial dance performance on the exterior of a city government building. It was, as Blue Lapis Light shows always are, BREATHTAKING. These dancers are leaping and flipping 12 stories in the air and making it look graceful; meanwhile, after once watching them perform, I (Leila) took a harness class at Sky Candy and it was all I could do to simply not bash my nose into the wall. If you ever have the chance to see Blue Lapis Light, we highly recommend it—and, great news, you have six more chances this month!

The night before that, we went to the Texas Book Festival author lineup reveal. They announced the 286 authors who will be coming to Austin for the festival weekend of November 14-15—including me!

November might be two months away, but we’re already starting to get ready for it—not just for the book fest but also for the Austin Studio Tour. This week we went over to Almost Real Things HQ to do an interview about what makes the studio tour such an incredible experience for local artists and art-lovers alike.

Also this week, my mom was visiting, so we took her to our favorite out-of-town guest experience, the Eureka Room. Her review: “It made me feel like I was back in the 1960s” (complimentary). Also also this week, Brian went to a Games Y’all that was sold out. There was a line out the door! We love to see it (and to play puzzle games made with painter’s tape).

In the digital world, Brian anticipated this weekend’s Black Marble show at 29th Street Ballroom by doing a radio show full of bands doing songs where guitars and synthesizers blurred together seamlessly and delightfully. Stream it here.

EVENTS WE’RE EYEING

Friday 9/18

  • AJC’s Chilling Night at the Millennium Youth Complex
    Vintage Japanese ghost film, spooky lantern crafting + cultural lesson
  • Geekgasm: Marvel vs. DC at Kick Butt Coffee
    Burlesque performers weigh in on the great superhero pantheon debate
  • Secret Disco Society at P. Terry’s South Lamar
    Does it get any more Austin than a dance party at P. Terry’s?
  • Treasure Island Reimagined at the State Theatre
    Classic pirate story becomes a “live action graphic novel”
  • Flower Shop at ESPA
    Ballet about flowers w/live original classical piano score
  • Blipswitch: An Orchestra of Supergiants at 1106 Clayton Ln.
    “Site-specific dance performance” in an anonymous office space
  • ATX Trans Pride at various locations
    Celebrate trans pride w/ trans live musicians, DJs, workshops, + drag
  • Blue Lapis Light at One Texas Center
    “Site-specific aerial dance work” about the fragile beauty of existence

Saturday 9/19

Sunday 9/20

  • Austin Museum Day at museums throughout the city
    Museums across town open up for free self-guided tours
  • Austin Museum Day Social Ride at the Bullock Museum
    Explore Austin’s Black and Hispanic museums from your bike
  • Fall Equinox Celebration at Festival Beach Food Forest
    “Solar oven cooking contest,” demos, panels, + more activities
  • Sea Dragonsss Pop-up at Hail Mary Social Club
    Purchase sea dragons of multiple sizes or make your own so you can BYOSD
  • Ballet Folklorico: Mexico de Colores at ESB-MACC
    “Folklore, dance, theatricality, + humor” celebrate the diversity of Mexico
  • Grand Opening at 3rd Eye Pilates
    Obtain free goody bags, cacao servings, + “build-your-own bouquet bar”
  • Blue Lapis Light at One Texas Center
    “Site-specific aerial dance work” about the fragile beauty of existence
  • ATX Trans Pride at various locations
    Celebrate trans pride w/ trans live musicians, DJs, workshops, + drag
  • (weekly thru 9/27) Splash Dance at the Austin Motel
    Poolside aerobics with Austin’s most creative aerobics instructor

Monday 9/21

Tuesday 9/22

  • HAAM Day at venues throughout Austin
    Hundreds of local musicians perform free shows all across town, even H-E-B
  • The Austin Salon at Flower Hill Center
    Hear talk on the psychology of our environments w/group discussion
  • Astronomy on Tap at Celis Brewery
    Gather + talk astronomy w/fellow enthusiasts in the orbit of beer
  • Austin Home Editor’s Preview at 1224 East 12th
    Hear about feted Austin architects + preview upcoming magazine

Wednesday 9/23

Thursday 9/24

Friday 9/25

  • Stargazing Party at St. Elmo Springdale
    See the stars through big fancy telescopes, plus food trucks
  • Full Moon Party at OMG Squee
    Celebrate mooncake season w/mahjong, vendors, giveaways, + seasonal sweets
  • Wild Shape Night: Fun Guys at Tiny Minotaur
    “Is fungus a animals?” asks Tiny Mino. Fungal puns + mushroom costumes abound
  • Latino Moonlight Serenades at Lady Bird Lake
    Paddle out for a floating moonlit live musical performance
  • Dolly Parton Tribute Show at C-Boys
    Benefit w/tons of live musicians covering music from across Dolly’s career
  • Stampede: Dolly Disco Night at the Highball
    Get to linedancing to music from departed Dolly’s fertile disco phase
  • Dolly Day at Stoney’s Good Time Ranch
    DJ + drag performers inspired by the many works of Queen Dolly
  • Deep in the Heart 2 at AFS
    Learn about Texas’ waterways in this new doc full of otters + alligator turtles
  • The Dumbest Show on Earth at Hole in the Wall
    Live music celebrating all things britpop + comedy, theatre, + “drum battles”
  • WaterWork at Seaholm Intake Facility
    Projection mapping transforms a building into a work of light art
  • Austin Boulderfest at Austin Bouldering Project
    Win prizes for climbing, watch pro climbers, + check out vendors
  • New Media Art + Sound Summit at the Cherrywood Center
    Festival of experimental music + new media art and sound
  • Texas Woodworking Festival at the Palmer Events Center
    “Keep woodworking weird” w/furniture makers, antique dealers, + live music
  • Hyde Park Storytelling x Austin Unconducted at KMFA Studios
    Orchestral musical performances paired w/storytellers
  • Texas Tribune Festival throughout downtown Austin
    Big names in national + state politics descend upon Austin for talks
  • TUBU Fest at Ground Floor Theater
    Theatrical short works featuring creatives with disabilities
  • The Big Queer Weekend at various Austin venues
    Films, music, drag, + art by Austin’s Queer creative community
  • Textures of Opacity at Crashbox
    Modern dance performance examines immeasurability + assimilation
  • Blipswitch: An Orchestra of Supergiants at 1106 Clayton Ln.
    “Site-specific dance performance” in an anonymous office space
  • Blue Lapis Light at One Texas Center
    “Site-specific aerial dance work” about the fragile beauty of existence

NHA295
You Got Your Synthesizers in My Guitars

Lots of songs feature guitars, lots of other songs feature synthesizers. Fewer songs manage to seamlessly bring both together, so this week on No Humans Allowed we’re paying tribute to songwriters who got chocolate in their peanut butter, so to speak, but where the results end up being better than the sum of their parts. Press play for lush assemblages of indiepop, post-punk, + synthpop.

Stream You Got Your Synthesizers in My Guitars

Tracklist
The Cars – Heartbeat City
The Comsat Angels – Lost Continent
Altered Images – Think That It Might
Choir Boy – Shatter
The Field Mice – It Isn’t Forever
My Favorite – Homeless Club Kids
Black Marble – Private Show
The Wake – Melancholy Man
Even as We Speak – Goes So Slow
Pulsars – Tales from Tomorrow
XTC – This World Over

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, Robert B., Roman Gonzalez, Nick Ivons, Molly Fonseca, Lilly Ettinger, Michael Sales, Zach, Erica Speegle, Thomas Refferson, Bones Malones, Katie Green, 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 classic video game fest, admiring a flock of Purple Martins, and checking out some of the unique activities we could find in the UK. 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.

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK, CHAMPIONS

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