Classic Rock, Classic Country: As per usual, Willie Nelson will play two nights at The Backyard for both locals avoiding SXSW and tourists willing to skip one night of showcases to see Austin's most enduring music legend. Willie's shows are tentatively scheduled for 3/14 and 3/15, and will go on sale sometime in February. In another move designed to access some tourist dollars, Direct Events has announced a relatively intimate show with Van Morrison at the Austin Music Hall on Tuesday, March 11. Van the Man apparently hasn't heard about the looming recession, as tickets are priced from $102 to a whopping $257. more ›

In Austin, you can expect to find good music anywhere on a Friday night. Over at the Mohawk last Friday, the Japanese metal band Boris delivered more than just good music: most notably fog machines and a gong. Photos and copy contributed by Nash Cook.... more ›

Bag the Bags Coalition is urging city council to pass an ordinance banning the use of plastic bags by large retailers and instead require those retailers to offer compostable bags. In April, city council passed a resolution directing the City Manager to evaluate and recommend strategies within 90 days for limiting the use of non-compostable plastic bags and promoting the use of compostable plastic bags, recyclable paper bags or reusable checkout bags. 90 days... more ›

Upon arriving around 2:50pm, we found quite a bit of chaos. An unfortunate propane tank explosion had injured four ACL staffers, so fire trucks, EMS vehicles, and golf carts were buzzing everywhere. Our tickets were stuck with a friend inside, so we found a shady tree and hung out until the dust settled around 3:15. We entered to the wafting notes of Peter, Bjorn, and John, who had attracted such a huge crowd we... more ›

Austin’s rising population and stagnant housing supply have resulted in increased housing prices. Even though there are a lot of condos under construction, few have hit the market. Our pal Wells Dunbar over at the Chronicle has a nice article discussing the complicated answers to the problem of affordable housing. One undiscussed simple answer would be to get people to stop moving to Austin. Despite our commenters efforts, that plan isn't working [ed: isn't... more ›

*The views expressed in Truesday are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole. Thank heavens.* -The Editors I used to have a friend-in-drinking who worked with me, many summers passed. We were pretty tight cohorts. Stood up for each other at the work place, and then poured liquid disaster-hammer all over our livers after punching the clock. “He’s a good guy,” I’d say to anyone who tried to disparage... more ›

In Austin, all the malt shops, arcades, bowling allies, drive-ins and wherever else the hip kids hang out these days will be empty May 13th. Instead, they’ll all be gathered at Bass Concert Hall with their hearts in hand ready to give them freely to Bright Eyes indie folk heartthrob Conor Oberst. He’s now become a coveted American musical icon, and thanks in part to the media, we have watched him mature through breakups... more ›

Violinist Charles Yang. Photo by Eric Uhlir Three weeks ago, Austin's newest arts organization, strataTX, launched with a successful kickoff gala at the Design Center of Austin. The latest giving group of the Texas Cultural Trust, strataTX brings together enthusiastic young professionals of all industries and backgrounds to help sustain and expand the Lone Star State's arts community. StrataTX Launch Party Attendees. Photo by Eric Uhlir Amidst heavy fanfare, TCT Deputy Director Jennifer Wijangco... more ›

The first-ever Fun Fun Fun Fest is this Friday, December 1st, at Waterloo Park. Over two dozen great acts are on the bill, including Spoon, Peaches, The Black Angels, Prefuse 73, and DJ Mel. Tickets are now $25, and can be purchased at the gate. Learning Secrets perform in the Dance Party Tent at 4:30pm. -- The Editors Bonus: Download Ian's new winter mix, featuring Sebastian, The Rapture, Jurgen Paape, James Figurine and more. [mp3]... more ›

*The views expressed in Bun in the Oven are those of the author and do not represent Austinist as a whole.* -The Editors more ›

Traveling always dredges up weird nostalgia for Austin. A long list of pointless comparisons between my vacation spot and my city of residence. “Oh, look! They have mosquitoes and sunburn here too, just like back in Austin!” But I’d have to say that what I currently miss the most about Austin is the relative safety afforded the average over-imbiber who has inadvertently made their way into the shadowy world of the blackout. more ›

More than 300,000 people have died as victims of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, and millions more have been displaced from their homes and forced to live as refugees. The genocide began nearly three years ago, but only recently has the international community begun to make noises about intervening. And many people still know little or nothing about one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time. more ›

AHHHHHHHHHH YEAH! Rollerboogie returns! The Young Adorable, Daetron Vargas, and New Berlin (Teleport Door) will be slappin’ wax while you’re criss-crossin’ and reversin’ like: straight out of Xanadu or some shit. We’ve posted about this before, and we cannot stress it enough: Parties Like This In Austin Need To Be Celebrated. Really, there’s nothing more that needs to be stressed here. But we’ll stress it a bit more, just for shits n’ giggles. That,... more ›

The Hammer continues endeavoring to get his trial moved over to his home county of Fort Bend, or at the very least out of our neighborhood, complaining that here in the "People's Republic of Travis County" it'd be damn near impossible to find an impartial jury. Democratic group The Lone Star Project claims otherwise, citing figures showing that "averaging Travis County election percentages for the Democratic and Republican candidates in five top races from... more ›

Weather Update
On Fox7News this morning, the weather guy said Austin's going to dodge the scary weather dished out by Rita. Rita changed course , and it looks like it'll hit around Beaumont/Port Arthur. In Austin, that translates into some showers on Saturday. We're trying not to think about what that means for New Orleans. more ›

It is doughy and swirly and frosty and raisiny and nutty and sometimes it is our very best friend. It is the schnecken, a fancier version of the cinnamon roll, if you will. In Austin you can get the best schnecken at Russell's Bakery on Hancock (at the corner of Balcones). Russell's also makes delicious cake and man oh man do we like our cake. more ›