Friday, March 6, 2026
The Cosmic Clash

The Bright Light Social Hour

Case CockrellLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Free Week starts January 9 with over 80 bands

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Free Week in Austin’s Red River Cultural District returns this coming weekend on January 9 and 10, bringing yet another array of cover-free showcases to the downtown area to kick off 2026 with live music from the city’s fruitful scene. The event will feature a baker’s dozen venues and over 80 performing artists to showcase Austin’s nightlife. The RRCD is managed by the Red River Merchants’ Association, a coalition of over forty local small businesses found within the District, which include not only live music venues, restaurants, hotels, retail shops, and other small businesses, but also the Austin Symphony Orchestra, First Baptist Church, German-Texan Heritage Society, and Waterloo Greenway.​

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Greg AckermanLive MusicPreview

Live music preview: Love is for Evermore benefit with Shinyribs, Sara Hickman at Radio East

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Saturday, October 25 marks the third annual Love is for Evermore benefit at Radio East. The event supports Evermore, a national bereavement non-profit that advocates for benefits, education and resources for all Americans coping with the death of a loved one. One example is the group has gotten paid bereavment leave for military members. This year’s concert features Shinyribs, a rare live appearance by songwriter, Sara Hickman and special guests, Carruthers & Roush (members of The Bright Light Social Hour). There may even be some surprise guests onstage stage. Tickets for the event are currently on sale. There are VIP options which include a meet and greet with artists before the show.

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Amanda QuraishiLive MusicReview

Live music review: A joyous solstice fest by The Bright Light Social Hour

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The summer solstice is upon us, and that can mean only one thing: a hometown performance by Austin’s The Bright Light Social Hour.  This year, the band was joined for their one-night Endless Light Festival at Mohawk by four other outstanding Austin bands; Megafauna, Bruce, LLuvii, and Grandmaster on June 21 at the longtime downtown Red River Cultural District venue. 

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Amanda QuraishiPremiereSong

Song Premiere: Starflake releases single Cuando Tomas (In My Head Again) today

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Now, O’Brien and his long-time collaborative compadres are back with a new song titled “Cuando Tomas (In My Head Again)” and it does not disappoint. Once again O’Brien (vocals, bass, guitar, Roland JX-8P, Wurlitzer) is joined by Zac Catanzaro (drums) and Juan Alfredo Ríos (electronic percussion), delivering a track that swings like a cosmogonic pendulum between the ethereal and the funky.

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The Bright Light Social Hour
Greg AckermanMusic VideoPremiere

Video Premiere: The Bright Light Social Hour release “Call My Name” today

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Austin’s The Bright Light Social Hour release a brand new video for the track “Call My Name” today at The Cosmic Clash. The song is from their latest release, Emergency Leisure which dropped August 2, 2023. The band soon followed with their most ambitious tour in five years, playing dates across North America from September of last year through May of this year. The 36 city tour took the band as far north as Canada and across the United States. This exceptional act has put in a ton of miles, making new fans and bringing old ones back into the fold with a stellar new record and a long overdue extended tour. The new video highlights a track that stood out when the album dropped last year so it makes sense the band would make a corresponding video.

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Amanda QuraishiPremiereSong

Song Premiere: Starflake Has Landed With Single NuBooty

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Instead, O’Brien is running head-first into a brand new project – an experimental tropi-punk ensemble called Starflake. He is joined by two of the hardest working musicians in the Austin music scene, drummer Zac Catanzaro (Walker Lukens, Song Confessional) and percussionist Juan Alfredo Ríos (Como Las Movies, Easy Compadre!), both also members of The Bright Light Social Hour; as well as bassists/synth-psychonauts Ben Nelson (Molly Burch, A. Sinclair) and Alex Holeman (Chroma Phase).

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The Bright Light Social Hour at Scoot Inn
Amanda QuraishiLive MusicReview

Live Music Review: The Bright Light Social Hour headlined stellar Scoot Inn performance last Saturday

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The band played Austin for a few SXSW-adjacent shows this spring and now they’re back on the road, taking Emergency Leisure eastward – but not before one more local show at Austin’s Scoot Inn on Saturday, April 13. Local favs The Mammoths opened early, followed by Mo Lowda & the Humble who are scheduled to continue on tour with The Bright Light Social Hour through the end of spring. By the time Mo Lowda was done vibing, the crowd was primed and the mood shifted in anticipation. 

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Austin Music Awards 2024 marquee
Case CockrellLive MusicReview

Live music review: Austin Music Awards performances featured the best in local music at Antone’s

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Every musical calendar year in Austin is special. The countless live gigs, new albums released, and fresh talent that emerges every year make Austin one of the most significant music stops in the world. For local publication Austin Chronicle, the alt-weekly curates an evening that captures each respective year in the scene’s prolific, often positively saturated body of work. For 2024, The Austin Chronicle showcased an event that covered essential bases to magnify the widespread musical range of the city and pay homage to Austin legends along the way. For this year’s event, the Chronicle took to the world-famous Austin music staple, Antone’s Nightclub for a 3-hour event that benefited Austin non-profit, SIMS Foundation to support mental health and substance use recovery services and programs for musicians, music industry professionals, and their dependent family members.

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The Bright Light Social Hour
Amanda QuraishiLiveLive Music

Live Music Review: The Bright Light Social Hour Works Magic at Mohawk

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The Bright Light Social Hour is currently on tour following the release of their new LP, Emergency Leisure but the band made a pitstop in their hometown last Saturday night, playing The Mohawk before a throng of loyal, exuberant fans. 

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AlbumAmanda QuraishiReview

Album review: The Bright Light Social Hour’s new record Emergency Leisure is here to cure what ails us

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Fans of The Bright Light Social Hour have been waiting patiently for their new album, Emergency Leisure (Escondido Sound) to drop ever since it was announced earlier this spring. It’s been three years since the release of their last LP, Jude Vol. II, and a lot has changed with the band since then. 

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