For Drag Performers, Court Ruling Brings Fears of Enforcement of Restrictive New Law

byErika González

As Senate Bill 12 takes effect, drag performers and organizers in Austin are adjusting their shows, venues and creative choices amid changes to state law and its implementation.
The law, recently upheld by a federal appeals court, restricts certain drag performances deemed “sexually explicit,” particularly those held in public spaces or in the presence of minors. Venues face fines of up to $10,000, while organizers or performers could be charged with misdemeanors.
“Even saying that I do drag is something I think twice about now, at work, at family events, walking around the city,” drag king Sir Maxim said. “I don’t know who might see me as a ‘villain’ or a ‘pervert.’ ”

Austin’s New Initiative Will Produce Murals and Pay the Unhoused Community for Helping to Paint Them

byIsabel Neumann

A new public-art initiative aims to beautify Austin while providing employment for the city’s growing unhoused population.
“The goal is to turn the library garage site into a city-funded program for unhoused people,” said Tiffany Kowalski, director of project and artist management for Raasin in the Sun.

Brazilian Funk, World Music’s New Darling, Hits Austin Clubs

byOisakhose Aghomo

Sometime close to midnight, as the bass to MC Joao’s “Baile de Favela” dropped, a group of people in business casual hurried across the Coconut Club’s dance floor, drinks in hand, to dance — hooked by the electric beat of Brazilian funk.
Brazilian funk is the latest Latin genre breaking out from TikToks and into the clubs – a testament to Americans’ growing interest in global music.
“I’ve been DJ’ing for maybe 12 plus years here on Sixth Street, and man, like 10 years ago, it was nothing but hip-hop and like pop, Top 40,” said Austin DJ Ray “All Day Ray”  Rivera. “You couldn’t play much Latin. You couldn’t do anything like that.”

Bouldin Creek’s Peacocks: Old Austin’s Feathered Locals

byMikhelia Williams

Long before tech bros and $8 matchas, the South Austin neighborhood of Bouldin Creek had wandering peacocks in its front yards. Nearly six decades later, the colorful birds are still strutting through driveways, shrieking at sunrise and sunning themselves on porch railings. 
And in true old-Austin, keep-it-weird fashion, most residents like it that way.
Neighbors slow to a stop on Oltorf and Fifth streets to let the peahens saunter across the street. Some even leave birdseed on their steps just in case one decides to drop by. But not everyone who moved to 78704 understood the culture when they arrived.

Rio Market

byJohn Melendez

Mingling within the aisles of Friendly Rio Market are rows of imported snacks, basic toiletries and everyday groceries essential to the residents of UT Austin’s West Campus.  However, in the center aisle, a rarer commodity can be found: local bands and artists performing live music for all ages, free of charge.  Since 2022, Rio Market […]

As a New Texas Law Clamps Down on School Libraries, ‘Librotraficantes’ Fight Back

byIsabel Neumann

Just two months after a new Texas law expanded parents’ power to challenge school library books, authors gathered at the Texas Book Festival’s Banned Book Bash to read from titles that have been banned or challenged, or which might face future restrictions. The festival’s Librotraficantes: Banned Book Bash, held Saturday at Cheer Up Charlies, brought […]

‘You’re Living in a War Zone Now’: Four Latina Writers on Life in South Texas

byNoemi Castanon

Four authors featured in the new anthology “¡Somos Tejanas!” told the Texas Book Festival Saturday that they will not be silenced in times like these, when many Latinos feel threatened. “The reason that this book was made is because women are under attack in the United States and Latinos in general are being kidnapped,” said […]

Author Shea Serrano Is Changing the Game for Independent Publishing

bySarah Gonzales

There wouldn’t be a Halfway Books if Shea Serrano had never inspected his royalty statement in the mailbox. Serrano, a critically acclaimed writer and journalist from San Antonio, thought he was receiving “free money” when he opened the check for his New York Times best seller “The Rap Yearbook.” But when Serrano sat down and […]

In a Booming City, ‘Making a Place Where We Would Want to Hang Out’ Keeps the Lights On

bySarah Gonzales

When four longtime friends maxed out their credit cards and depleted their savings accounts nine years ago to open a bar, they had no idea who would turn out to see their vision become a reality.
“The goal, the whole time as we were getting things going, is just making a place where we would want to hang out, and I mean that’s still kind of our MO,”  Mike Sanchez said.
Those four friends named the place The Little Darlin’, a South Austin staple off William Cannon Drive — one of a handful of beloved dive bars that define their neighborhoods and manage to hang on as other bars and restaurants come and go.

A Conference on UT Campus for ‘Pro-Natalists’ Draws Ire

byAlex Lamb

In April 2024, state and local police cracked down on University of Texas students protesting Israel’s invasion of Gaza, following calls for intervention by university administrators. As with protests on other college campuses, university and political leaders accused the pro-Palestinian protesters of antisemitism.
Almost a year later, one of the same groups involved in those protests, the Austin Chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, took part in another protest — this time to oppose the presence of alleged neo-Nazis and eugenicists at a conference held on the UT campus. The activists highlighted what they called a disconnect between the treatment of two groups accused of connections to antisemitic views

‘I Am Gonna Scribe the Beauty of This City I Grew Up In’: Austin’s First Poet Laureate Vows to Tell Hard Truths

byShunya Carroll

  As he was inaugurated as Austin’s first poet laureate, Zell Miller III said last week that he will use the platform to promote literacy and tell the hard truths of the city’s history. “I am gonna scribe the beauty of this city I grew up in,” Miller said during a ceremony at the Austin […]

Uniquely Austin Radio Station KOOP Celebrates 30 Years on Air

byAmber Williams

“Happy Birthday KOOP,” Shinyribs’ frontman Kevin Russell announced from a purple-lit stage at Antone’s Nightclub. The tightly packed crowd swayed like sea grass as waves of reggae-sprinkled soul-funk flowed from the eight-piece band. “Never trust anyone over 30, though,” he joked. On this February night, attendees celebrated three decades of Austin’s only cooperatively run radio […]

Big Medium, creator of the Austin studio tour, goes dark after 22 years

byShunya Carroll

The future of the Austin studio tour is uncertain after the event’s founder and organizer, the arts nonprofit Big Medium, announced its closure last week. “The gaps are massive,” said Shea Little, a founding member of Big Medium. “There are a lot of artists, a lot of creativity, but not a lot of opportunities for […]

Tacos Around Austin

byUT students in Food Journalism Class

Students in School of Journalism and Media’s J337L Food Journalism reported on and wrote this guide to tacos in Austin (and one place in Buda). They paid for their own meals and ate anonymously.  CJ’s Tacos Taco de Pescado ($4.50)  Who knew a fried fish taco could be dripping in color? The Taco de Pescado […]

Plans for New Dougherty Arts Center Move On Despite Increased Costs, Funding Uncertainty

The Austin Parks and Recreation Department is moving forward with replacing  the Dougherty Arts Center in South Austin despite uncertainty over funding for the two-phase development plan, the parks department said in a recent memo. The proposed arts center’s campus would include a Smithsonian-caliber gallery space, a 2,600-square-foot black box theater and studio spaces and […]

Sole Mates: How Running Clubs Are Stepping Up When Dating Apps Stumble

byLuke Lawhorn

Sarah Spitler was ready to give up on dating apps after feeling nothing special was coming from her matches.  “I just felt they weren’t working for me,” she said.
Then as the COVID-19 pandemic eased and people resumed social interaction, Spitler found the Austin Beer Runners group, where she met Matt Russo, a computer engineer.  Their running club meeting led to three years of dating and now plans for a wedding in March.
They join a growing number of people finding social connection in running clubs. According to a research article from the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, couples who work out together can improve their relationship. 

For Identical Twin R&B Duo, Big Dreams Come with Big Plans for Giving Back

byAnissa Sanchez

The Austin-based identical twin R&B duo THEBROSFRESH may be on the verge of stardom.
Torrence and Thurman Thomas, 34, have yet to sign a deal with a record label, but they regularly fill popular Austin music venues such as C-Boy’s and Continental Club, and they have inked contracts as brand ambassadors with Nike and Volkswagen.
Torrence, who plays bass and sings, envisions achieving success as a staircase. At the very top of it sits their goal of selling out stadiums and mentoring others to do the same.
“We’re stepping towards it,” Torrence said.

Arts Education Groups Are Struggling. Austin Is Looking for Ways to Help.

byIsabella McGovern

In late 2023, 19 Austin arts education organizations received a total of $475,000 thanks to the Arts Education Relief Grant, Austin’s first arts education grant program. But gaps in funding for the arts remain, and groups focused on education are looking for new sources for money.

Giant Troll Highlights Recycled Art in Austin

byIsabella McGovern 

The piles of Douglas Fir and cedar sat in Pease Park, waiting to be repurposed into Austin’s newest public artwork. The Douglas Fir had once been a research test tank at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus of the University of Texas. Now it was destined to be an 18-foot troll — and a testament to recycling.
While the trend of making art from recycled materials is not new, Dambo’s troll artwork proved to be a good match for environmentally conscious Austin benefactors. 

As Younger Drinkers Forgo Alcohol, Bartenders Are Mixing Up More Booze-free Cocktails

byKatrina L. Spencer

“A cocktail is interesting whether it has alcohol or not,” said Armando Garza, a bartender at the Roosevelt Room.
The Roosevelt Room and other Austin bars are tapping into the trend of consumers forgoing alcohol when they go out for happy hours, gatherings and celebrations. A 2023 Gallup report found that only 62% of 18- to 34-year-olds said they had occasion to drink in 2021-23, down from 72% two decades ago.