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Fears surrounding school closures and consolidations in Austin ISD. Plus, Dripping Springs takes a community approach to mental health care. And why are there no billboards on MoPac? Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
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Jackie Venson sums it up like this: A woman, a guitar and the truth. That’s all you need to know.
Venson, an Austin-based artist who released her debut full-length LP Joy this year, is making big waves beyond the local scene thanks in part to fans’ word-of-mouth accounts of Venson’s searing guitar solos. The proof of the passion – the joy – is in the live performance. If you’ve had the privilege of witnessing Venson’s superb musicianship, you know what it’s like when the planets align as your brain explodes. As in, oh hell yes.
Tonight, Venson presents a surprise (mostly) last-minute show, featuring sensational R&B/soul singer/songwriter Alesia Lani as a special guest, at One-2-One, 1509 S. Lamar Blvd. Two rising stars in one show. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Recommended.
-Photography by Tristan Ipock for KUTX.
We may be drawn to loud sounds in the environment, but do we really know why? On this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology of volume.
A surprise announcement from a Texas congressman. We’ll take a look at what Will Hurd’s exit from Capitol Hill means for the GOP and the Lone Star State. Also, so much for the honeymoon with the new Texas house speaker Dennis Bonnen, now caught up in a scandal. More on a secret meeting and the tale of the tape. And after another fire at a petrochemical plant, how Harris county Judge Lina Hidalgo plans to get the industry to take environmental protections seriously. Plus the Texas Tribunes Evan Smith with the week that was and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
They are a sound of summer for many Texans and they were the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Remember our February 2016 Artist of the Month, Cross Record, the brainchild of Dripping Springs vocalist Emily Cross? Cross Record’s dark, unapologetic brand of indie introspection first started turning heads with their debut Wabi Sabi, an album that rooted the group as a haunting ensemble unafraid to defy expectations.
But in those three years, Cross Record has undergone some significant lineup changes and a major career shift, most notably the frontwoman’s newfound role as a death doula. These experiences with departure, mortality, fear, and separation had a notable impact on Cross, who releases her third and self-titled album today. There’s a lot to digest with Cross Record, and to get you in that ghostly, almost fatalistic, Kafka-esque mood, make way for “The Fly”!
Typically Texas Republicans donate more to candidates than do Democrats. But this year, a major shift in giving. What the numbers may tell us for 2020. Also, a death during an incident involving Dallas police in 2016. After years of refusing freedom of information requests, a disturbing video is finally released raising questions about excessive use of force, and why it’s taken so long for the public to see the pictures. Plus, was your data stolen in the Capitol One or Equifax hacks? The promise and perils of compensation and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Say what you about about hip-hop/R&B virtuoso RuDi Devino, but you can’t deny his drive. Shortly after he moved here from Portland this rapper-singer found a home with longstanding Austin outfit SubKulture Patriots. And though SKP isn’t exactly ‘heyday’ active anymore, Devino still keeps busy with his duos 5-D and Retr0gRaDe, lends his vocals to CAPYAC every once in awhile, and somehow still manages time for his solo career.
Through an infectious balance of grit, humor, and confident flow control, Rudi’s energetic-yet-laid-back lyrics are usually hard-partyin’ and full of tongue-in-cheek sarcasm, so turn up the volume on a Wavvy James-produced track that just came out at midnight, “Widdit”!
Photo by Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
Hotel Vegas has become Austin’s reliable dive bar for touring cult-music stars (Thee Oh Sees and Mark Sultan AKA BBQ most recently), and their latest bill to bear this distinction happens TONIGHT as the East Side mainstay welcomes Denver’s Dressy Bessy bringing their bessiest-brand of indie rock. Joining them are Austin’s Lola Tried, Sailor Poon solo project Whit, and Poly Action. Let your rock n’ roll feathers fly loud and proud tonight at Hotel Vegas on East 6th. Get a bit o’ rock ‘n’ roll kick from the rest of tonight’s bill below!
-Taylor Wallace, Weeknight Host