Arts & Culture

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 […]

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.