Rock the Park: Geto Gala

Friday 19, Mueller Lake Park

Having avoided a third consecutive snowpocalypse, Austin’s enjoying a spectacular spring, so KUTX’s four-part Rock the Park concert series continues soundtracking perfect weather and a seasonal music harvest akin to wildflowers. Lesly Reynaga whipped up millennial mariachi pop the week following SXSW and now Austin rap duo Geto Gala follows up HonkTX! at Mueller lakeside. Jake Lloyd’s genre-blind soul rock and Deezie Brown’s upbeat rhymeslaying double down. “Interspersing tuneful hooks with clever, inspired bars, the project spotlights struggle as subtext to a rejoicing of Black excellence, perseverance, and ownership,” opined the Chronicle upon Geto Gala’s debut EP in 2021. Singing zoologist Lucas Miller opens.   – Raoul Hernandez

She23, Ayo Tamz

Friday 19, Flamingo Cantina

Though it’s technically one day before 4/20, mashup organizers the Just Because Company promise “a night of music, edibles, blowing O’s, shopping and overall good vibes” – plus free ice cream for the first 30 folks. We’d be sold on the music alone: Austin native She23 recently released a live version of pop-sided R&B deep-dive “Live My Life,” while Keira Nova evolved her Inglewood-raised soul inspiration from past duo project Kaleidoscopes to slow-jamming solo work. Don’t forget unabashedly bratty rapper Ayo Tamz’s latest Latin-oldies-sampling “Talk My Shit,” genuine East Austin wordsmith Envy N, upbeat MC and sax-wielder Maurvice, and conversational charisma bomb Caleb Lemons.   – Rachel Rascoe

Courtney Santana B-Day Soiree

Friday 19, Monks Jazz Club

Courtney Santana is a staple of any part of Austin’s music scene that requires singing: jazz, R&B, rock – you name it. As such, she’s performed with everyone from Nakia, Patrice Pike, and Shinyribs locally to Musiq Soulchild, Salt-N-Pepa, and, erm, Hootie & the Blowfish nationally. She’s also a mainstay of the ATX theatre scene, performing in any musical worth its salt. On her own, Santana frequently graces the Monks Jazz stage, which is why she’s throwing herself a birthday party alongside keyboardist Marcell Coleman, bassist Jimmy Blazer, and drummer Justin Hights. Expect a preview of her long-awaited debut album.   – Michael Toland

The OUTlaw Pride Fest

Friday 19 - Sunday 21, multiple locations in San Marcos

Y’all, it’s about to get real country in Central Texas. Okay, more country than it already was, which was fairly country. Rustled up once more by the indomitable Julie Nolen, this year’s lineup for the LGBTQ-centric country music festival features artists like Emily Herring & the FM Band, Ruby Dice, Montana Sands, Rock Bottom String Band, Julie Bouchard, and Kairos. But wait! There’s more: the Bizarre Bazaar with karaoke, a vendor market, and silent auction; a scholarship fundraiser featuring Los Gatos 512; and not one, but TWO drag events. Malibu Imported puts on a show after Kairos’ set, and Sunday morning rings in a drag brunch featuring Eileen Dover, Amy H. Graves, Scarlet Sagamore, and Serena Blake. Why, it’s enough to make you shout, “What in tarnation!”   – James Scott

Austin Reggae Festival

Friday 19 - Sunday 21, Auditorium Shores

This year marks the event’s 30th anniversary (initially called the Bob Marley Reggae Festival) benefiting the Central Texas Food Bank. The lineup celebrates the music’s glorious past and its vibrant present and future. Friday’s headliner, the award-winning Ghanaian Afropop superstar Stonebwoy, has been called the king of dancehall in Africa. Saturday looks to the future with Jamaican singer-songwriter Lila Iké topping the bill that also includes Italian reggae ambassador Alborosie. Old-school roots royalty reigns Sunday night with the Legendary Wailers featuring Marley guitarist Junior Marvin and one of reggae’s greatest bands ever, the original Soul Syndicate, who will pay tribute to Peter Tosh. From the early Seventies, when they were reggae’s premier studio band, and well into the Eighties, Soul Syndicate backed virtually every Jamaican artist of note. As always, the irreplaceable Jah Ray will emcee. And don’t forget to check out Charlie’s Dub Corner.   – Jay Trachtenberg

Doomy Folks 420 Smokeout

Saturday 20, The 13th Floor

Spark up and tune in to Doomy Folks’ 4/20 celebration featuring sludge metal trio Perro Amargo, indie rock quartet Rocking Chair Reality Room, and hardcore foursome BÖNDBREAKR. The stacked lineup also counts in Kansas City noise rockers (The) Medicine Theory, former Melvins bassist Mark Deutrom, Americana multi-instrumentalist Randall Conrad Olinger, and more. Don’t miss a blazin’ activation from green-thumbed Play to the Plants. Music starts at 4:20 sharp. Tickets are on sale for $14.20. And don’t forget your eyedrops and earplugs!   – Miranda Garza

Two Step Inn

Saturday 20 - Sunday 21, San Gabriel Park, Georgetown

Last year’s inaugural Two Step Inn brought together indie country superstars and Nineties legends to find a sweet spot in the evolving country music landscape, and this year’s return replicates the formula. Cody Johnson and Turnpike Troubadours hold down the headlining slots, while Hank Williams Jr., Martina McBride, Lee Ann Womack, Clint Black, and John Anderson provide the classic soundtrack. Ryan Bingham teams with the Texas Gentlemen, and Colter Wall slings Little Songs in his low prairie croon – while Charley Crockett and Sierra Ferrell showcase new albums alongside rising songwriters like Wyatt Flores and Vincent Neil Emerson.   – Doug Freeman

Decapitated

Sunday 21, Come & Take It Live

Vader invading Come & Take It Live earlier this year crisped the metal HQ's log cabin interior and thus sets the stage for another of Poland’s Big Three of death metal. Vogg and Vitek Kiełtyka formed Decapitated at ages 16 and 12, respectively, jackhammering out a furiously technical battering cut short by the latter sibling’s death in a tragic tour bus accident. No Organic Hallucinosis (2006), whose promo trek included a sweat-soaked visitation on the original Emo’s, 2022’s eighth full-length Cancer Culture blisters nonetheless, the surviving axe fiend and muffler larynx Rafal Piotrowski rippin’ & roarin’. Symphonic DM Greeks Septicflesh, Quebecois DM melodians Kataklysm, and symphonic-melodic DM Coloradoans Allegaeon support.   – Raoul Hernandez

Beatles Full Moon: Concert in the Dark

Tuesday 23, ATX Unplugged

On the April full moon, violinist Will Taylor and cellist Ryan Murphy – both with decades of experience playing in Austin – continue the Concerts in the Dark series with a candlelight performance of Beatles repertoire. Bring your yoga mat or pillow if you want and settle in with a free cup of tea or cocoa. The evening will begin with a short connection activity led by Taylor. In this all-around soothing evening, you may also hear a poem or two. The event is free, with donations welcomed.   – Maggie Q. Thompson

Curren$y

Monday 22, Empire Garage

Curren$y has one of the most stacked résumés in hip-hop. After stints with Master P’s No Limit Records and Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment, the New Orleans MC struck out on his own, founded Jet Life imprint, and has since garnered a cult following for his levitational brand of stoner rap. Hailed as a godfather of the blog era, he’s continued to carve out his own lane through collaborative albums with the likes of the Alchemist and Wiz Khalifa – further cementing status as an underground king. Syracuse newcomer Stove God Cooks is also slated to appear.   – Elizabeth Braaten

Sweet Pill

Tuesday 23, Parish

Hailing from Philadelphia, emo fivepiece Sweet Pill adds a new experimental edge to pop-punk nostalgia. The group’s latest EP, Starchild, simmers with breakneck riffs, tug-of-war tempos, and bittersweet lyrics. In just over 11 minutes, their Good Charlotte-reminiscent melodies tread the early 2000s with sharply stacked vocals (“Chewed Up”) and steadfast drumming (“Sympathy”). The Hopeless Record signees further showcase their range with the mellow-paced plucks of “Eternal,” just before bringing the project to an all-or-nothing electric end with “Sympathy.” The night features support from Venezuelan post-rock foursome Zeta and hardcore heavy-hitters Equipment.   – Miranda Garza

Austin Psych Fest Kickoff

Thursday 25, Empire Control Room & Garage

If a weekend’s worth of brain-melting Psych Fest debauchery at the Far Out Lounge isn’t enough to satisfy your reverb quota, get a head start at Thursday night’s pre-festival kickoff. Recent teasers from jazz fusion duo the Point, including rollicking instrumental “Máquina Pura,” are sure to please groove-hungry audiences. Intercontinental ninepiece Cazayoux excels in celestial Afrofunk, while neo-soul connoisseur JaRon Marshall meshes virtuosic swagger with quiet introspection. Post-cumbia supergroup Caramelo Haze is an obvious choice for the psychedelic pregame, and the fully immersive Golden Dawn Arkestra is a dream you won’t want to wake up from – until the next day, of course, when Psych Fest kicks into high gear.   – Genevieve Wood

Austin Blues Fest Late Show

Thursday 25, Antone’s Nightclub

To kick off Austin Blues Festival’s Saturday and Sunday expansion at Waterloo Park (doubling the dates for their second year of relaunching the 1999-founded Antone’s Blues Festival), the club headquarters invites shades of blues guitars, guitars, guitars. No longer a teen sensation, Kilgore, Texas, shredder Ally Venable arrives after last year’s home-state-loving Buddy Guy duet “Texas Louisiana.” A Seventies gospel funk innovator as guitarist for the Relatives, Dallas native Gypsy Mitchell keeps his immaculately branded solo revival rolling with latest Paul Wall collab “I’m Still Standing.” Houston guitar phenom Mathias Lattin, who won last year’s International Blues Challenge at 20 years old, completes the next-gen sandwich.   – Rachel Rascoe

Wonder Women of Country Album Release

Thursday 25, The 04 Center

New Texas-rooted supergroup Wonder Women of Country – Kelly Willis, Melissa Carper, Brennen Leigh – have shared many bills before as solo acts. Now, with the release of their debut album, they’re formalizing the partnership. The devotees of classic country melded their sensibilities on a six-song EP, which they’ll celebrate at the 04 Center. Based on their easy, fluid songwriting chops and years of touring on similar circuits, the chemistry between the three is already balanced, tested, and ready for crowds.   – Abby Johnston

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Music Notes

by Derek Udensi

Lonestar Round Up

Friday 19 - Saturday 20, various locations

Check out hot rods and custom cars with music as a backdrop at this year’s Lonestar Round Up. Thursday night kicks off for the event primarily occurring on South Congress with Louisville’s the Get Down (C-Boy’s) and North Carolina’s Southern Culture on the Skids (Continental Club). Festivities formally begin on Friday at a multitude of venues, including night shows at the aforementioned SoCo spots and day sets at central hub Travis County Expo Center. Performers include Austin-based siblings the Peterson Brothers and England’s Black Kat Boppers.

Taméca Jones Album Release

Saturday 20, the Courtyard ATX

Nicknamed the “Queen of Austin Soul,” Taméca Jones left for sunny Los Angeles in 2022 after expressing the hardships she battled as a Black woman yearning for more industry-related opportunities in the “Live Music Capital of the World.” She returned home last summer. Debut album Plants & Pills, a vibrant co-production with Jon Deas (Gary Clark Jr., Sketch.Band), touches on her time in California (“So Gone,” “Hot Mess/Hollywood Games”). A celebration of the February record earns support from local MC Blakchyl.