Between the house party and the club show lies the nebulous House Show, a tricky hybrid that attempts to straddle the world of booking, touring, sound checks and bartenders with your average party, the kind punctuated by loud talk, dark rooms, and limited toilets. At face value, a house show really just requires two things: a band or musician willing to play, and house to host him or her. Even electricity isn't a given, as many acoustic-based, un-miked shows have flourished in Austin living rooms, to be sure more ›

Simon Joyner is one of the originals, a folk singer-songwriter whose first solo effort, 1992’s Umbilical Chords, placed him square inside a burgeoning and exciting world of lo-fi guitar wonders making humble cassette tapes and simultaneously inspiring a generation. Like John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats (with whom he has collaborated) or records by early K Records luminaries Beck or Calvin Johnson himself, the influence of Joyner’s confessional style have reverberated throughout independent music - and not just in Omaha, either, where Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst has taken it upon himself to enjoy the mainstream success that Joyner has eschewed for so long. more ›

They might not go down quite like this, but the Natrix Natrix house parties have been pretty righteous shindigs. In its brief existence, it has been host to shows by both local acts (Moth!Fight!) and visitors from beyond Austin (Friendship Hurricane, The Shivers). more ›

In the tradition of house/venues like the departed Jesse’s Bed and Breakfast and Natrix Natrix (a label as well as a venue, who are also co-presenting this show), the up-and-coming Rancho Relaxo is poised to take its part to promote music in residential spaces in Austin, at least until the neighbors call the cops. The venue has already played host to Sir Richard Bishop and Yellow Fever, and will hopefully continue to sponsor creative performances for some time to come. more ›