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for Fri., Aug. 2
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  • Community

    Events

    Austin Tattoo Festival

    More than 200 skin artists from around the world converge on the heart of Austin to celebrate the centuries-old art form. Book an appointment with a local or traveling artist to get a new tat or find an artist taking walk-ups. You might even walk away with the Tattoo of the Day award. The needle-averse can observe the pros practicing their craft and appreciate the varied styles and finished products. Day passes cost $30, or pay $65 for a three-day weekend pass. – Aaron Sullivan
    August 2-4
    • Qmmunity

      Nightlife & Parties

      Body Mechanics

      These party people round up their rave faves for one last event before taking a well-earned break. Highlighting the Nerve Damage and Truestep crews, Body Mechanics throws a celebration of “this special DIY scene we have in Texas.” A reminder from the Mechanics’ Insta: “PLUR or GTFO.”
      Fri., Aug. 2
      4211 Todd Ln.
    • Music

      Dallas Burrow & Kelly Willis song swap (10:00)

      Kelly Willis’ third act is shaping up as her most intriguing yet. From her Nineties emergence as alt.country sweetheart through the string of duets with former husband Bruce Robison to her current creative rejuvenation with Brennen Leigh and Melissa Carper as the Wonder Women of Country, Willis’ songs cut with an honest and raw emotion contoured by her sharp twang and sharper melodies. Her latest work rates among her best. Willis sits for song swap in the Saxon’s late-night slot with the low, languid drawl of New Braunfels native Dallas Burrow, riding last years’ fourth LP Blood Brothers. – Doug Freeman
      Fri., Aug. 2  
    • Music

      Haunt, Savage Master, Mean Mistreater

      Scions of pioneering music-makers rarely outdo their parents – Ziggy Marley, Natalie Cole, Inhaler’s Elijah Hewson – but Trevor Church might have his old man beat. Alongside Ronnie Montrose, Sammy Hagar, (uncle) Denny Carmassi, and Bill “The Electric” Church, Seventies rockers Montrose set the template for Van Halen: superstar guitarist, producer Ted Templeman, Warner Bros. Records. Trevor’s Cali valley quartet Haunt rides galloping NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) on March’s Dreamers, which joins 18 releases since 2018: singles, EPs, splits, full-lengths. Covering Real Life’s “Send Me an Angel,” its nervy metallurgy opens the accompanying tour in Austin with decade-plus Louisville, Ky., occultists Savage Master, led by dark mistress Stacey Savage. – Raoul Hernandez
      Fri., Aug. 2, 8pm. $15 advance, $18 day of show (21+).  
    • Music

      L.C. Franke (performance and record signing)

      If L.C. Franke seems anachronistic in sound, consider that in a world spinning out of control, maybe the anchor of a smooth croon and earnest angst is precisely what we need. For Jeff Klein, the musical reinvention from the dark rock of My Jerusalem into the easy listening, string-strafed Sinatra pop of L.C. Franke provides a salve of nostalgia mixed for modern anxiety, a balm between Scott Walker and Richard Hawley. Franke goes in-store at Waterloo Records ahead of the Sunday release show at the State Theatre for his immaculately suave debut album, Still in Bloom. – Doug Freeman
      Fri., Aug. 2, 5pm
    • Arts

      Visual Arts

      Quarters Pop-Up Gallery Opening

      One of the best places to view up-and-coming artists is actually on the walls of local coffee shops, if you’re able to look up from the laptop. Luckily, Civil Goat Coffee on Guadalupe is actively highlighting its wall art, from 6-9 on Friday as it holds an art raffle complete with beer and wine. Kicking off a residency at Civil Goat, Quarters is a new organization curating group show pop-ups at different participating spaces “designed to bridge the gap between resources,” they write on the flier. “We offer residencies and local partnering businesses and public spaces, providing artists the opportunity to showcase and list their work. Think of us as a pop-up gallery!” This opening highlights local artists Danielle Iemola-Devereux, ZARA, and Tegan Milan. – Lina Fisher
      Fri., Aug. 2  
    • Film

      Special Screenings

      The Red Shoes (1948)

      Timed to the release of new documentary Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, AFS Cinema revisits three of the duo’s very best. They’re all consumed with crazy, in their own bewitching ways: 1948’s The Red Shoes, about a ballerina torn between art and love; 1947’s Black Narcissus, about a sect of nuns in Nepal going a little mad (from the isolation? the altitude? their suppressed sexual urges?); and 1945’s perfectly wonderful romance I Know Where I’m Going!, about a pragmatic woman in danger of derailing her best laid plans when bad weather puts her in the path of a charming naval officer. Catch one or all of ’em – you can’t go wrong. – Kimberley Jones
      Fri., Aug. 2, 3:45pm
    • Arts

      Dance

      Ventana Ballet and The Cathedral Present: Night Birds

      The organizers at the Cathedral ATX implore you to “fly again” with the fourth iteration of their Night Birds ballet experience. Described as “an avian-themed, 360-degree performance featuring nine dancers, three cellists, and vibrant art from the atxGALS collective,” Night Birds allows the freaky and fanciful of Austin to fully immerse themselves, becoming one with the birds with themed cocktails and bites. A pleasant surprise for the event, this year includes two children’s interactive matinee performances – giving kids fantastical visions before being tucked in for the night – as well as a youth art show, featuring select works from kids under 18. – Cy White
      August 2-4
    All Events
    • Arts

      Comedy

      2024 Funniest Person in Austin: Preliminary Round

      Hundreds of comics enter, only one comedian leaves … with the crown that means they can call themselves the Funniest Person in Austin. Who will ascend to the throne currently being kept warm by last year’s winner Dylan Carlino? We won’t find out until the finals later this year, but there are still plenty of chances to discover your favorite new funny-hilarious local talent in these opening rounds. With as many as 16 of Austin’s best funsters on any night, it’s all jokes, no waiting. – Richard Whittaker
      Through Aug. 13
    • Music

      35 Drive

      Fri., Aug. 2, 8:30pm  
    • Music

      Adam Johnson

      Fri., Aug. 2, 6:30pm. No cover (21+).
    • Music

    • Music

    • Community

      Events

      Austin International Folk Dancers

      Join AIFD for an evening of dances from around the world with no experience or partner required.
      Fridays, 7-9:45pm. $5 (under 18, free).
    • Community

      Events

      Austin Public Pools Opening

      Hoo-wee! Does anything feel better than a dip in the pool during a hot Texas summer? While some among us may be privileged to own private watering holes, most of us get to enjoy the great Austin PARD’s work at the 44 public aquatic facilities to choose from this summer. You’ve got regional, neighborhood, and community pools; a wading pool; splash pads; and the crown jewel: Barton Springs. Check austintexas.gov/pools-splashpads for up-to-date info on which pools are open, what their entry fee is, and whether you have what it takes to be a public pool lifeguard. Now, outta the way if you don’t wanna get wet: I’m gonna do a cannonball! – James Scott
      Through August 18
      Multiple locations
    • Arts

      Visual Arts

      “Carros y Cultura: Lowriding Legacies in Texas”

      Thanks to Seventies funk band War, the word “lowrider” often calls to mind the unforgettable sax riff of the band’s 1975 No. 1 single. But lowrider can mean a snazzy customized car with hydraulics or a person who works on such a vehicle, and the culture around these cars has strengthened Mexican American communities in the Southwest since the Forties. Learn more about them at this exhibit featuring an interactive touchscreen mural, cars and bikes on display, and stories about the people who make lowriding a community. A member reception takes place May 18. – Kat McNevins
      Through Sept. 2
    • Arts

      Visual Arts

      “Hearts: How Deep Is Your Love”

      Running till August 16, Xavier Alvarado’s solo exhibition at 2324 Gallery features one of the most enduring themes in art: love. Raised in Texas “with deep Trinidadian roots,” as he notes on his website, Alvarado has collaborated with big names like Austin FC and Louis Vuitton, and his work spans multiple different media from painting to installation. With both new and old pieces in the show, Alvarado emphasizes “the transformative power of sharing in relationships and communities,” the exhibition text reads. Alvarado says this body of work “represents the heart’s capacity to connect, give, and enrich others” and “invites reflection on how sharing shapes our experiences of love and deepens our understanding of the heart.”– Lina Fisher
      Through August 13  
      2324 Gallery, 2324 E. Cesar Chavez St.
    • Arts

      Visual Arts

      “Temperate Grasslands”

      We’re in that liminal space of summer, where life is lush and blooming, right before it succumbs to death by heat. Big Medium’s curator Coka Treviño has collected an exhibit full of garden scenes representing that magical explosion of garden growth. In her own words, it’s a way “to forget how heavy it feels to be a human.” There’s constant discovery in the wide variety of works, from dozens of artists like the established Dawn Okoro and up-and-comers MuthaGoose. Join the opening reception this Friday to view interpretations of glorious greenery. – Cat McCarrey
      Through August 4
    • Music

    • Arts

      Theatre

      Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

      Carole King is one of those once-in-a-generation songwriters, the kind who absolutely deserves not just a jukebox musical, but this type of theatrical biography on stage. A lot of folks know her seminal album Tapestry and her collaboration with longtime platonic soulmate James Taylor. But she had a thriving songwriting career beforehand. Beautiful tracks her stunning girl group anthems (“One Fine Day” or “Loco-Motion,” anyone?) and her fraught relationships with male collaborators. Can they keep this “natural woman” down? Of course not, but watch her rise while grooving to King’s victorious anthems.
      July 31-Sept. 8
    • Music

    • Arts

      Visual Arts

      Bending Light

      Taylor Davis might have the coolest job description I’ve ever heard. She’s an independent curator (dream) and a landscape designer. So basically, she finds beauty in everything she touches. For “Bending Light,” Davis has accumulated work by four BIPOC artists, multidisciplinary masters “illuminating the nuanced experiences and collective memories of queerness and femininity in Black cultural production,” to quote the exhibit description. A weighty task, but one the artists – Kaima Marie Akarue, Ciara Elle Bryant, Catherine Martinez, and Chandrika Metivier – pull off with fascinating aplomb. Through mediums including but not limited to sculpture, video, collage, and photos, the viewer glimpses unique experiences. It’s a fresh reflection of this world. – Cat McCarrey
      Thursdays-Saturdays. Through Aug. 22
    • Film

      Special Screenings

      Black Narcissus (1947)

      Three Anglican nuns attempt to transform a Himalayan palace into a convent, but in addition to the physical challenges of the landscape, they are constrained by their own emotional demons.
      Fri., Aug. 2, 9:30pm
    • Music

      Boone Carter

      Fri., Aug. 2, 6pm
    • Music

    • Music

      Buffalo Sons

      Fri., Aug. 2, 7:30pm. Free (all ages).
    • Film

      Special Screenings

      Burden of Dreams (1982)

      This documentary about the benighted film production of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo provides an extraordinary peek behind the curtain.
      Fri., Aug. 2, 6pm
    • Arts

      Comedy

      Cap City Comedy Club

      That's right: Cap City Comedy Club, the longtime cornerstone of Austin's comedy scene for nearly four decades is at a new venue in the Domain. And here's Valerie Lopez with a closer look at what's in store for the scene via the venue. Click for details!
    • Film

      Special Screenings

      CatVideoFest (2024)

      Yes, you could stay home alone and mindlessly scroll Reels in the hopes that the Algorithm Gods serve you cat content. Or you could leave the house for the CatVideoFest’s guaranteed 75 minutes of feline filmic action – everything from home videos, animated shorts, music videos, and classic memes. That’s a lotta lulz to enjoy in the company of other cat fans. Even better, a portion of ticket proceeds are pledged to local shelters and other animal welfare orgs. – Kimberley Jones
      Fri., Aug. 2, 11am
    • Music

      Cazayoux, The Point

      Fri., Aug. 2, 10pm. $12 cover (21+).

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