If you're like us, you're ready for winter to go ahead and die already. Since there's no real way to predict when winter will wither away (thanks for nothing, Groundhog's Day), we might as well warm up together with some supersonic electronic pop. SPEAK is sure to bring some warm fuzzies Friday night when they celebrate their EP release at the Independent at 501 Studios. The spanking new Hear Here was released earlier this week just before the band gave an in-store performance at Waterloo Records. more ›

Much to our delight, L.A.’s Little Joy, a band who are casually referred to as a Strokes side project but are truly so much more, return to Austin tonight to help brighten up your Monday evening. They’ll be on hand to help break in our fair city's newest venue, the Independent at 501 studios (here’s what we had to say about the new club back in May). The L.A. trio, which features Los Hermanos’ Rodrigo Amarante - Little Joy’s principal songwriter and lead singer - multi-instrumentalist Binki Shapiro, and Strokes’ drummer Fabrizio Moretti, played an exuberant and absolutely charming set of their breezy, MPB-inflected, Strokes-esque tunes at the Parish Room in November. Expect more of the same tonight, as it should be a perfect early summer show augmented by the Independent’s intimate space. more ›

The Independent sits on the corner of I-35 and E. 5th Street, just blocks from downtown destinations like Emo's, Red 7 and Beauty Bar. It's also a short walk to emerging east side hot spots like Shangri-La and Rio Rita. Its unassuming (and a bit office-like) presence has, until recently, been rolled into the Pilate and Latte vibe produced by its neighbors -- lawyers, designers and Progress Coffee regulars -- but that's all about to change. more ›