In a city that hosts ACL and South by Southwest, it's easy for smaller, more genre-targeted festivals to get overlooked. Not that people aren't taking notice of Chaos in Tejas, though. This year's iteration of the punk/hardcore/noise festival is its seventh, and features more bands than ever before swarming into the Red River district. Timmy Hefner has curated the festival's strongest lineup yet, replete with big names in the scene from across the globe. more ›

Show-going this weekend is understandably limited by the amount of Austinites out of town, out of sorts, or otherwise taking a vacation from the live music grind that makes our town so special but occasionally overwhelming. But that doesn't mean you can't score a good performance or two during the holiday hubbub. Choose wisely, and you may be in for a show far better than the tattoo display at your third cousin's porch post-dinner. more ›

Though Beerland is frequently the go-to joint for straight outta the garage pop/punk, this evening Emo's is hosting a bunch of local and touring bands who prefer the gritty and gummy. Ty Segall is in town from San Francisco, and are currently on a big tour through the States and Canada. more ›

• Whole Foods will soon have more stores in Austin.
• There’s a heat advisory issued for Houston. That means it’s too bloody hot this week!
• Houston has a cool indie-county scene? Who knew?

Sick in a good way, of course. A nod and thank you is owed to our friends at Brooklyn Vegan for noting this week's announcement of bands. The festival takes place May 27th to the 30th at Emo's, Mohawk, Red 7 and Beerland. more ›

The speed of light is just under 300,000 km/s. It takes about 8 seconds for the sun’s light to reach us on earth, and that’s about how long it should take you to find Lightspeed Champion (aka Dev Hynes) completely charming. After his days in the short-lived, dance-core group Test Icicles, Hynes began this folked-out, playful, indie-pop project. His debut full-length, Falling Off the Lavender Bridge, comes out February 5th, and it’s full of players that provide the perfect accent to his earnest twang and sweetly-sung melodies. For the album, the American-born, U.K.-raised Hynes struck out for Omaha and decided to enlist Mike Mogis as producer to add that Saddle Creek sound. It was here that he found his additional players for the record in Mogis, Nate Walcott, Clark Baechle from the Faint, as well as members of Cursive and Tilly And The Wall. He keeps good company, even on tour. He’s been out with Bright Eyes, Final Fantasy and Patrick Wolf. While touring, Hynes enlists a rotating cast of accompanying musicians pulled from a list of his musician friends. more ›

Didn't Beerland already have Ground Zero Fest like three weeks ago? Didn't half these bands play Emo's Free Week? Well, you can't have too much of a good thing: in what promises to be another all-night blowout, Beerland and Emo's are co-hosting Megon Fest, featuring Austin garage-punk stalwarts Manikin, The Young, The Hex Dispensers, and nihilistic Latin punks Deskonocidos, with out-of-towners headlining each night. more ›

Emo’s Free Week bites back tonight with a smorgasbord of sounds from a variety of acts. Lions draw blood on the outside arena with chant-along chorus’ and scorching guitars. Their 2007 release No Generation allowed the band to voice their political views as well as display their rock n’ roll chops, and their live shows aptly roar with energy and fervor. Lions’ “Heavy Metal Lady” currently encourages the masses in homes everywhere to “unleash your inner rock legend” via Guitar Hero III and you can do the same at Emo's tonight! more ›

Image courtesy of Nacional RecordsThe first annual Ground Zero Texas fest kicks off their weekend schedule of events on Thursday, with the opening ceremony at Sound On Sound Records at 6 p.m. (featuring a performance by the official GZT mascot NOBUNNY), followed by opening night action at Beerland with music from The Spits, The Wax Museums, and The Hibachi Stranglers. Denton’s The Reds will also re-unite and rock this special evening. The plethora of local... more ›

FRIDAY [25] party • The Onion's "Summer Fun Blast Blowout Extravaganza!" Party with Clap!Clap!, Crash Gallery, Devil in the Choir, DJ Rubix, Prince Klassen, and a chance to win a scooter from Scooter Revolution at Beauty Bar ($2, 9:30pm) theatre • Rubber Repertory presents A Thought in Three Parts at The Vortex (8pm) music • Emissions From the Monolith Fest at Emo's music • Voxtrot, Au Revoir Simone, The Black, Zykos at Emo's music... more ›

FRIDAY [27] music • While You Were Out, presented by Bueno Music Bureau, with The Unbearables, She Sir, The Scripts, Friday After Dark at Club de Ville ($5) books • Anita Gonzalez, Ph.D., presents Dancing Between Myth and Reality at CAAAS (UT - Jester A232) (3:00pm) comedy • Tig Notaro and Steve Burr at Cap City Comedy Club comedy • Punchline, open mic stand up comedy at ColdTowne Theater (10pm) dance • Fetish and Other... more ›