This week’s big concerts are packed with mini-festivals: country, hip-hop, pop and more to watch – Music

Cow Country Music Festival

Friday 12 – Sunday 14, The Boot, Gonzales

The Boot ranch outside Gonzales kicks off the inaugural Cattle Country Music Festival with a lineup headlined by Texas stars. Koe Wetzel leads Friday’s country-meets-alternative-rock fusion and opens for red dirt superstar Whiskey Myers and the Randy Rogers Band on Saturday with new country HOFer Tanya Tucker. Fittingly, Sunday brings Eric Church, as well as Austin Yellowstone’s breakout Shane Smith & the Saints. The card is deep, though, including Colby Kelat, War & Treaty, and William Beckman (Saturday) as well as William Clark Green, Hayley Whitters, and Tanner Urie (Wednesday) day). Come and take it away. ——Doug Freeman

Zilker Brewing Co. 9th Anniversary

Friday the 12th through Sunday the 14th at Zilker Brewing Co.

Zilker Brewing Co. is celebrating nine years of barley production with a colorful celebration that includes local food and a nearly endless supply of beer. Twangy country band Lonesome Heroes will bring a Southern flair to Friday’s festivities with their honky-tonk ballads. A number of live acts are expected on Saturday, including psychedelic trio DAYEATER, energetic genre-fusion sisters The Tiarras and new age art-rock band The Cuckoos. Soul rock wordsmith Chief Cleopatra joins the line-up for a deconstructed riff on “Butter & Jam” with funk-inflected vocals. Spend Sunday with the family and participate in activities of your choice including arcade games, face painting and balloon art. —Miranda Garza

Texas Community Music Festival

Friday 12th to Sunday 21st, Central Market North

More than just a simple weekend extravaganza, a smorgasbord of live bands sets the stage for your April calendar with 10 days of free, family-friendly music at a beloved Austin patio outside North Lamar Central Market . Presented by the Austin Civic Band since 2006, the spirit of this event is embodied by the names that everyone knows: Try Armadillo Swing Band, ACC Jazz Ensemble I, Girl Scout Harp Ensemble, Austin Banjo Club, Kat’s Porch Jam, the Skylarks, Or blow. The 17th annual concert kicked off Friday with an Austin Blues Night, led by singer-songwriter Woot Talley’s band and horn-assisted Rhythm Congress. —Rachel Rascoe

Artio Perados

Saturday 13th, Mohawk

In February, during Circuit of the Americas’ annual Besame Mucho festival, I swam in a sea of ​​Latinism, firing off telepathic salvos at Aterciopelados. Enanitos Verdes spans decades of alternative rock, Molotov bounces off decades of rap rock, and Cafe Tacuba plays on decades of Spanish-language rock. But where are Julieta Venegas, Juana Molina and Eli Guerra? Argentina’s answer to Stereolab finally brings back principals Andrea Echeverri y Héctor Buitrago. Pandemic Relief Tropiplop retains Echeverri’s androgynous tone, a mysterious tenor laced with feminine quips – never artificial, nor anything intrinsic. The Colombian brass band Superfónicos opens, and luckily Dios Mohawk doesn’t have a roof. ——Raoul Hernandez

ATX Queer Music Festival

Saturday 13th, Knomad Bar

ATX Queer Music Festival, launched in 2022 by drummer and Technicolor Booking principal Genesis Vasquez, is back with continued impressive genre diversity. In this week’s free showcase, offerings include Thelonious Love, whose cheeky bars dishevel about stingy exes and his unparalleled grind on bouncy bass; MVVN, whose airy indie-pop sounds reminiscent of Oggs era dance rock; and Vasquez’s own Female Gallery, which combines classic post-punk bass lines with psychedelic guitar riffs. Bluegrass picker Montana Sand, Puerto Rican rapper Stephy Lee, alt-soul quintet Telefaze, Lavender Scare, Tommietee and Calmer Seas also round out the list. Take a taste—er, hear—the rainbow. ——Carice Anderson

DiscoTex at ABC Kite Festival

Sunday 14th, Zilke Park

We understand the dissonance swirling in your head: yes, the ABC Kite Festival is the ultimate spring celebration, but where are the disco hits from the seventies charts? This year, you get the full experience. DiscoTex, the “ultimate ABBA cover band”, will perform for 40 minutes on the Zilker Park stage at 11:30 a.m., with kites snaking in the sky.[Editor’s Note: For folks more interested in kites than classic Seventies hits, the festival starts at 10:30am with tons of all-ages activities in addition to the kite contest and showcase. Pets are welcome, too, and they and kiddos can enjoy a special activity area.]——Brent Bingamon

Austin Symphony Orchestra’s Old, New, Borrowed, Blue

Sunday the 14th, Luis “Chico” Portillo Performing Arts Center

As the name suggests, the next concert by the Official City of Austin Orchestra will celebrate classical music, old and new. The group of more than 90 woodwind and brass players, led by musical director Kyle Glaser, curated Hailstork’s “New Wade’n Water,” Biebl’s “Ave Maria” and Ticheli’s “Blue Shades”; and even more special, they will make their Hill Country Festival debut, a tribute from Clifton Jones to longtime assistant conductor Bill Haehnel tribute piece, and “(Delusions of) Grandeur” by Christopher Lowry, winner of the band’s Young Composers Competition. The UNT graduate will accept the award from the organization at the show. ——Carice Anderson

Kamaiya

Sunday 14th, Parish

For Auckland presenter Kamaiyah, energetic new album Another Summer Night is nothing short of a victory lap. Joins XXL’s highly anticipated 2017 freshman class and appears on West Coast tastemaker YG’s lavish hit “Why You Always Hatin?” With Drake, the stars seem to be in her favor. Instead, the next few years were dominated by label mismanagement, project launch delays, and ongoing roadblocks. As a result, the artist broke away from Interscope and 4Hunnid to start her own independent imprint GRND.WRK, where she now champions the next generation of underground waves and blazed her own trail to become one of the Bay Area’s best. ——Elizabeth Braaten

Madonna

Sunday 14th to Monday 15th, Moody Center

Do you like Boogie Woogie? The pop star has now recovered from a bacterial infection suffered in 2023, returning to complete her previously postponed celebratory tour. As Madge’s first live retrospective, the exhibition covers every corner of her 40-year career. Recent setlists show that classics “Material Girl” and “Vogue” remain live staples, while the artist has also revived long-overlooked deep cuts like “Live to Tell” and “Die Another Day.” The one that excites me the most is the millennial hit “Music,” which the tireless singer once performed live at the age of 43, doing 15 squat jumps. Decades later, the dance remains groundbreaking, recently inspiring a TikTok fitness challenge. ——Carice Anderson

Arihonig Trio

Tuesday 16th, Parker Jazz Club

Philadelphia/Brooklyn-born Ari Hoenig became a drummer to watch early on. His commitment to polyrhythmic exploration and drumming as a musical co-leader, not just timing, has made him an astute leader, a respected educator, and a partner with people like veteran Cameroonian ivory enthusiast Kenny Weir An excellent partner with diverse artists such as Kenny Werner. Natural multi-instrumentalist Richard Bona and French piano giant Jean-Michel Pilc. As demonstrated on their latest album, Golden Treasures, the drummer trio along with pianist Gadi Lehavi and bassist Ben Tiberio play with empathy, communication and a commitment to experimentation without losing sight of melody and rhythm. ——Michael Tolan

tenth emperor

Tuesday the 16th, Coral Snakes

If Daniel Johnston were addicted to Red Bull, the ensuing aural chaos might sound a bit like the geek-folk patron saint X Emperor. The brainchild of Jacksonville-raised nomad Chad Matheny, the project combines glitchy tape loops with the twangy charisma of a lengthy songwriter. Prismatic’s 2011 bender Western Teleport stands out as a sight of strange beauty that only a Berliner passing through Florida could imagine. Opener KindKeith provides superb piano accompaniment with their recent super-dance track “Can You Trust Me?”, while shoegaze DIYers Middle Mass completes the task with a driving post-punk melody. ——Genevieve Wood

Concept, YUNG MO$H

Come live on Wednesday the 17th

Like a mini, sub-genre spin on the insane $uicideboy$ lineup Austin saw last year at the Moody Center, five artists from the trap metal scene hit Texas for their Planet APE tour. Austin band Notions, a regular member of Riverside outfit Come & Take It, continue to explore cloud rap and nu-metalcore—reimagining early Slipknot and Korn influences within current R&B sensibilities. Cincinnati rap-rocker Yung Mo$h co-headlines, while Dizasterpiece, HateWaker, After Dark Society and Release the Captive add to the sinister bill. —Rachel Rascoe

Tortured poet department listens and smokes sesh

Thursday 18th, MARYJAE Social Club

Seven albums in four years isn’t enough for newly minted billionaire Taylor Swift. Her new album, The Tortured Poets Department , dropped late Thursday night, and to enjoy it all, Local Queer ATX and MARYJAE Social Club teamed up to host a cannabis listening party. The 21+ event will include cannabis drinks and pre-rolls. The dance starts at 9pm and the album is released at 11pm. Tickets are $13. ——Maggie Q. Thompson

Flood Album Released

Thursday the 18th, Vegas Hotel

Three years after the release of their debut album Repeater, experimental bassist Water Damage welcomes In E to their discography. Featuring the likes of Thor & Friends’ Thor Harris, Spray Paint’s George Dishner and DarkEye’s McCann, the supergroup blended industrial noise rock with textural distortion. Check out the three lyricless arrangements that preceded Repeater , which offers 22 minutes of epic electric reverb, sharp accents at every turn, and a rhythmic, static-filled atmospheric finale. The night was joined by electronic rock band Blank Hellscape, experimental multi-instrumentalist and Water Damage member More Eaze, and alternative quartet Fire Boys. —Miranda Garza

Zoom Live with Ben Kweller, Kalu and Electric Joint

Thursday 18th, Scoot Hotel

Season 1 just ended in 2024, and it was politically unbelievable. Coronavirus charity donations are finally trickling out. For 17 years, Amplify Austin, whose slogan is “I Live Here, I Give Here,” helped grow local giving to more than $80 million last month. Grunge pop star Ben Kweller also performed at the Austin Music Awards, which concluded in February. In honor of his late son, Dripping Springs’ famous ginger established a deeper connection with Austin by presenting the first-ever Zev Award. He headlines pop songs alongside Nigerian soul rocker and Austin mainstay Kalu James and towering Texas roots singer THEBROSFRESH. I rock here, I anchor here. ——Raoul Hernandez

Author: Derek Udensee

Taiga

Thursday 11th, Mark

Although River Fest returns after a hiatus of many years and is an exclusive event for Texas State University students, the event’s protagonist, Tyga (“Rack City”), will host an after-party at the Marc, which is open to the public. Remaining general admission tickets start at $40.

Tim McGraw

Thursday 11th, Moody Center

The country music staple is touring in support of his 16th full-length, Standing Room Only.

Speaker collision feast

Saturday the 13th, Far Away

Ben Buck turned Austin’s famous Ben Buck Day into a hip-hop festival with his “Speaker Bump” promotion. The 2024 Austin Music Awards winner for Best Hip Hop has invited New York City’s Homeboy Sandman, Los Angeles’ Vel Nine, Chicago’s Palmer Squares and more to join him at the event. You can also catch Buck performing with Nick Cruz and Jamar Equality the night before at the Flamingo Cantina. The trio released their first collaborative project, “Low Brow Purist,” last month.

urban heat

Wednesday 17th, Mohawk

Jonathan Horstmann and his band wrap up the final leg of their tour with a support show for Brownsville duo Twin Tribes.