Thank you for making it out to our first KUT Festival 💞 |
I won't lie, the vibe was anxious at the station last week after we were thrown a few last-minute challenges. But we put on KUT Festival because we trust and believe in all the humans that make our community great, and man, y'all thoroughly reminded us why we do what we do – you made many of us at KUT and KUTX get a little verklempt throughout the festival.
Huge shoutout to Central Machine Works and East End Ballroom for being amazing neighbors and providing their space to us at the eleventh hour! Also, was it just me, or was the weather like, supernaturally perfect on Saturday?
Okay, okay, I'll stop gushing about how great last weekend was. I can only write so much before the SEO plugin begins yelling at me for being overly verbose. Plus, the music never stops here in ATX, and Austin Psych Fest begins tonight!
The lineup is stacked, and respect to The Reverberation Appreciation Society for booking so many up-and-coming local artists on the festival bill. Not all these Austin bands are household names (yet) so if you need an introduction, I'll be on Austin Signal to talk about some of the must-see local acts.
Oh, and be sure to tune in to KUTX 98.9 today at 1:30pm to hear festival founders the Black Angels kick off the weekend with a live performance in Studio 1A.
See you at the Far Out Lounge,
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P.S. Voting in the finalist round of the Best of Austin poll is open now through May 18 – cast your vote!
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More than 60 years after Willie Nelson brought the hippies and the rednecks together at the Armadillo World Headquarters and helped forge Austin’s identity as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” the city continues to enjoy an outsized influence on the global music scene.
As rising costs and massive growth change the city’s demographics, how Austin can continue to be a welcoming place for musicians — and keep them here — are becoming increasingly important questions for city leaders and people in the industry.
“I think our city is going through a bit of an identity crisis,” musician Alejandro Rose-Garcia, who goes by Shakey Graves, said, pointing to parallels in changes in the city and the music business. “All the arts are going through a bit of an identity crisis. When I was growing up, ‘selling out’ was a hill to die on. Now, that’s changed. The reality of the situation is that musicians can't just sit back and play music all the time; you have to be a self-marketing machine.”
Read Peter Babb's full recap of this weekend's panel with Shakey Graves; Austin City Limits Executive Producer Terry Lickona; Angela Means, director of the Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment Department; Maggie Phillips, music supervisor for Deep Cut Music; and Matt Reilly, associate general manager for programming at KUT and KUTX.
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Artist of the Month: EddieAngel |
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My ears perked wayyyy up the first time I heard Angel Estrada belt it out on "Payaso," the lead single from EddieAngel's latest EP CHICANO BLUES, and I think yours will too. Stay tuned because there'll be Studio 1A sessions, guest DJ sets, and hopefully, even more heart-wrenching croons from our May Artist of the Month soon!
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Art Beat: Local promoters hopeful after antitrust ruling |
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Artists often stick with Live Nation-connected tours and venues in hopes of landing bigger bookings and festival slots later. That dynamic was at the center of a federal antitrust case that found Live Nation and Ticketmaster operated as an illegal monopoly, a ruling that could reshape how concerts are booked nationwide, including in Austin.
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Black Austin Matters Season 4 |
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This season, Black Austin Matters continues to spotlight the voices shaping Austin’s culture, history, and future. You’ll hear from recording artist Mama Duke, a semifinalist on America’s Got Talent, Austin native and civic leader Eric Byrd, and entrepreneur and Longhorn legend Fran Harris, who helped lead the Texas Longhorns women's basketball team to a national championship in 1986.
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Sable Elyse Smith brings never-before-seen work in her first major Texas exhibition.
Now on view at The Contemporary Austin — Jones Center, Sable Elyse Smith: Clockwork marks the artist’s most robust institutional exhibition to date. Through sculpture, video, neon, and works on paper, Smith examines systems of power and their pervasive, often imperceptible, presence in everyday life.
Smith is the 2026 recipient of the Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize.
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We are the Austin Music Experience. We couldn't make this happen without you.
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Local music discovery matters now more than ever.
Consider donating today.
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