There was some consternation last summer when longtime east side blues joint TC's Lounge shuttered its doors after thirty three years of dive bar camaraderie and boozy, sweat-soaked dance marathons. But. BUT. New ownership soon took over the space, renaming it The Sahara Lounge. There's the same comfortable vibe and uniquely themed music nights: Saturday is African Night, at which two of the owners play, and Wednesday is Psychedelic Night. All is well. more ›

Home to historical psychedelic luminaries the 13th Floor Elevators and Shiva's Headband among others, the New Year's weekend will see Austin playing host to an entirely different axis of psych and progressive music. German percussionist, improviser, and theatrical force Mani Neumeier - late of the seminal Krautrock ensemble Guru Guru - will be performing the kickoff show for the 2012 Church of the Friendly Ghost concert season. Neumeier will be featured in the duo Guru Mania with guitarist Jürgen Engler (Die Krupps), as well as directing a large ensemble improvisation and sitting in with local lysergic warhorses ST37. Multi-instrumentalist and composer Jacob Green (Gary Wilson, New Music Coop) will also be performing with members of Pataphysics and Brekekekex koax koax. more ›

As we are all still weeping into our Lonestars over the closure of Emo's on Red River, there are, as we drink, a handful of new venues that are booking the kind of music and creating the same sort of weird local music history that Emo's once did. 29th St. Ballroom is doing just this. more ›

Shrugging off the confines of typical music and art en masse, the second annual New Media Art and Sound Summit (NMASS) takes place this weekend. Looking to shake up the festival scene with a new approach, NMASS highlights local spacerock favorites such as ST37 and instrumental rock group Bee vs. Moth, as well as other types of media such as art, film and sound design installations. The coordinator of the festival is the local community-based, non-profit organization Church of the Friendly Ghost. A note from the curators gives insight into the festival: "We hope these performances will stimulate curiosity, elicit discussion, inspire high fives, and in some cases, potentially transform thought." Sounds like a worthwhile way to spend a weekend. more ›

Chestnuts are roasting on an open fire, but at the Parish Room’s Winter Wonderland of Noise, we get to be the chestnuts, on a fire made out of sound. Avant-garde noise artists Leila Bela and Douglas Ferguson will break open the boundaries of frequency and reveal that the holiday spirit can be haunting, terrifying, and cheerful by turns. Turkish Delights, served at the show alongside Christmas candy, assure a multisensory experience that promises to expand what your eardrums can take. more ›