A pirate radio station broadcasting from inside an art gallery, a cowboy who refuses to be a conqueror, and mirrors positioned so carefully throughout the space that you can’t look at the work without looking at yourself. That’s ‘The Neon Republic’ — and it might be the most urgent art show happening in Austin right […]
Category: Arts
Posted inCulture
PBS Was a ‘Cultural Life Vest’ for Kids Like Me Before the Internet. The Fight to Keep Public Media Alive Feels Personal.
It was the ‘80s, and I was a kid who had trouble sleeping. In the wee small hours of the morning, there was one station that remained on the air: PBS. Watching on my black-and-white TV with a screen no bigger than a deck of cards, I remember wondering who the hell “Doctor Who” was. […]
Posted inOpinion
A Moment With Rob Reiner That Meant Everything
The year was 2015. I was not in a good place. I had quit my lucrative (ha) job in newspaper journalism to enter the equally lucrative world of local television, hosting a late-night comedy show on The CW in Austin. It was exhilarating, but I had no idea what I was doing. I was the […]
Posted inCulture
Black Dandyism, the 2025 Met Gala Theme, Grew Out of Southern Churches
André Leon Talley is the patron saint of the Met Gala. A Black gay man who grew up in the Jim Crow South, he became one of fashion’s biggest stars. Before his death in 2022, Talley helped dress Michelle Obama as first lady, served as creative director and editor at large at Vogue, and judged […]
Posted inArts
Austin’s Plotting a Comedy Rebellion. Welcome to The Anti-Kill Tony Show.
For a few years now, the Austin comedy scene has been dominated by a new ecosystem led by Joe Rogan and Tony Hinchcliffe. The city is now nationally known as a haven for their style of “say whatever shitty thing you want, it doesn’t even need a punchline” comedy. For these guys (and their disciples […]
Posted inArts
Before She Was a Scary Drug Dealer on ‘Euphoria,’ Martha Kelly Was the Funniest Person in Austin
Years ago, Martha Kelly told one of the most unsettling jokes I’ve ever heard. It involved her cat dying — and Kelly sobbing while holding her body. Still, the punchline was very funny (she was secretly happy because, when alive, the cat never let Kelly hold her). “There is a part of me that delights […]
Posted inArts
A Dripping Springs Artist Talks Serendipity, Love of the Craft, and the ‘Fire in Her Belly’
On a recent Friday morning, I drove my daughter and four of her classmates from their school in central Austin to Dripping Springs for a seventh grade field trip. Three rows of girls yell-sang Olivia Rodrigo as I contemplated my life choices. Fridays are supposed to be my writing day. Two years ago, I quit […]
Sponsored
Posted inArts
Austin Arts to Watch for: The XOXO Photography Fellowship
There’s no denying Austin’s growth. In the last two decades, the skyline has changed from one that looked not all that different in 2021 than it did in 1975 to a beautiful, crowded, modern silhouette cast in a burnt orange glow when the sun sets over the paddleboarders on Town Lake. With that architectural evolution […]
Sponsored
Posted inArts
The Photographer Capturing the Soul of Austin
“There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.” – Robert Frank Forgive us for opening with a quote from Robert Frank – the famed Swiss-American photographer and documentary filmmaker. It would no doubt be better if these inspiring words came from Tommy Lee Jones, Selena, DJ Screw, or another member […]
Posted inMusic
The ‘Soul’ That Carried ‘Beyoncé Bowl’: The Show Was ‘Electrifying’ to the Students Who Shared the Stage
If there’s one thing Beyoncé’s Christmas Day performance had, it was soul. On Dec. 25, during the halftime show at the Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens game, the winningest-ever Grammy Award recipient wasn’t just joined by chart-topping celebrities and world-caliber vocalists. Beyoncé also invited 197 students from Houston-based HBCU Texas Southern University’s marching band, called […]