Local Business Spotlight: Drop In Dating!
You know that I love me an awesome local business; my favorite type of sponsor by far. (And yes, I see y'all clicking on the singles events!) So, I'm very happy to have you meet Avery, the founder behind Drop In Dating. It's a new twist on meeting people that's all about going out with your friends in Austin!
She was inspired by her grandmother, who told her how much more casual, fun and social dating used to be. Avery was excited to get back on the scene after a breakup, but then of course, her own first match on a dating app turned out to be a literal bot. "It was horrible," she says. "But it was also like, wow, I really don't know who anybody is on here."
She moved to Austin shortly after, found new friends in our music and arts community, and started building the thing she wished existed: a way for two friends to drop into an event and meet another two, without the one-on-one pressure of other dating apps.
What I love about Drop In, of course, is how deeply it's integrated into Austin. Avery's made it so it's not just another boring dinner date: You drop in on a Sahara Lounge show, a Shakespeare play staffed by volunteers, or even a Cap Metro takeover written by a local playwright. Her philosophy threads through the whole thing: "Everyone's doing what they love. A band should be busy making music, a playwright should be busy writing plays." Drop In encourages connection while also helping to support the creatives in our city! And another awesome plus: 100% of beta participants rated Drop In a 5 out of 5 for feeling safer than going on a solo date.
Yours truly and Avery, @ Opa!
Coming up, Avery is working on "find your wings" events for people new to Austin or between friend groups who need a wingperson before they can drop in. In the meantime, the easiest way to try it is to call a friend, pick a show or a some other awesome event on their calendar, and make a plan to go! Worst case, you're already out with your friend doing something you wanted to do anyway. Best case, you walk away with a date, a new friend, or even a new obsession: a band, a show, or new hobby! dropindating.com
Lots of opportunities to see music that truly pushes the boundaries this week; noise experimental, indie classical, andean shamanic, even contraptions that let you listen to the music of the trees … not to mention it’s World Goth Day!
Plus, don’t miss our announcement about our event coming up at the end of the month 🐦 ☀
Tuesday, May 19th
Sip & Solder Flowers: Stained Glass Workshop with Contracommon
6–9 PM @ Meanwhile Brewing – $80 solo / $140 for two
Contracommon's Deke Cameron leads a single-session stained glass class where you'll build a flower-themed garden stake using lead came construction, choosing your own glass from a wide range of colors. All materials included, beer available from Meanwhile's taproom, and the whole thing is supported by an Elevate Grant from Austin Arts. Book your seat here. A useful two-seat discount makes this a strong date option.
A.I. vs Music: A Panel & Protest
7 – 8:30 PM @ The Far Out Lounge & Stage, FREE!
As part of a coordinated nationwide day of action in NYC, LA, Nashville, and Austin, the Music Workers Alliance and ATX Musicians are hosting this panel on what generative AI is doing to songwriters: without consent, compensation, or protection. Nine panelists including Grammy-nominated producers, entertainment attorneys, UT professors, and independent venue operators square off on IP rights, ethical AI training data, and what artists can actually do about it. Given that Austin's entire identity is wrapped up in live music, this one matters. Free to attend.
The Yoga Ride
6:30 PM @ Doug Sahm Hill, FREE!
Meet at Doug Sahm Hill for a mellow 5-mile no-drop bike ride that ends with a free all-levels yoga class. It's exactly the kind of casually beautiful Austin thing that doesn't need more explanation than that. Details on Facebook.
Bats: An Illustrated Guide to All (Some) Species
6:30–7:30 PM @ Austin Public Library Terrazas Branch. FREE!
Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation sends science specialist Melissa Donnelly to walk through decades of field photography from six continents; covering the surprising diversity of bat life, from micro insect-eaters to giant fruit bats, and why they're almost certainly living in your backyard. Free, bilingual (English/Spanish), and just genuinely interesting. The Terrazas branch is at 1105 E. César Chávez.
Late at the Lake
7:30–11:15 PM @ Mozart’s Coffee & Roasters, FREE!
A lakeside open mic that pulls in poets, musicians, singers, and performers every Tuesday for a loose, anything-goes creative showcase. Mellow energy, water nearby, live creativity; the kind of thing that sounds too good to be a weekly recurring event, and somehow is. Facebook event here.
More interesting events on Tuesday @ WhatsGoodATX!
Wednesday, May 20th
Synth Soundbath: Collaborative Drone at the Tiny Minotaur Tavern
8:00 PM – 11:00 PM @ Tiny Minotaur, $5 non-members
Bring your synthesizer, your acoustic instrument, or literally anything that can sustain a tone, and harmonize with the infinite in The Rift alongside TM Bards Guild Leader Stevie of Raveon. No percussion, no harsh noise, just communal drone in a fantasy tavern. Participation optional, costumes also optional, altered states presumably encouraged.
South Austin Song Circle: Goldpine, Gritty Sunset & Beth//James
7:00 PM (doors) @ The 04 Center, $20+
A proper songwriter showcase with three genuinely distinct acts: Goldpine's "aggressive Americana" (NPR's Mountain Stage, KC Chiefs National Anthem), Gritty Sunset's Brazilian-meets-global art pop, and Beth//James, the Austin duo who had a song in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman and just dropped a debut album James Petralli of White Denim produced. Rare triple bill.
🐦 We are so excited to put on an event this month! We’ve teamed up with Jorge, an incredible birding photographer, to do an awesome Birding 101 session on May 30th. There’s only a few spots left, because we can’t have too big of a crowd as to not disturb the birdies. BUT, we’ll have a bird nerd social afterwards, so either way, please join us! https://luma.com/gzg83qb9 |
Silly Billies: An Evening of Clown
8:00 PM @ ColdTowne Theater, $7.77
Devised clown work plus open signups for live direction from the stage; a format that guarantees complete unpredictability. ColdTowne's experimental improv space is exactly the right room for this kind of joyful, slightly unhinged physical comedy. Under eight bucks.
Kundalini Life Force & Non-Dual Transmission
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM @ 3317 Manor Road, $71
An energy transmission session designed to work beyond the mind. It clears blocks, deepens awareness, expands consciousness. For the spiritually adventurous who want something more hands-on than a meditation app. The East Austin location keeps it grounded, barely.
Faux Stained Glass @ Lefty's Day & Night
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM @ 1813 C East 6th Street, $33.85
A low-key craft night where you walk out with your own faux stained glass piece! No experience required, drinks flowing, bar atmosphere. East Sixth, early evening, creative output. The ideal warm-up to the rest of Wednesday's chaos.
More interesting events on Wednesday @ WhatsGoodATX!
Thursday, May 21st
ATXplained Live + ATXpo
6:00PM (ATXpo) / 7:30PM (show) @ Bass Concert Hall, $22.80+ 🔥
KUT's award-winning investigative storytelling project returns to the stage at Bass Concert Hall with brand-new community-sourced stories brought to life through words, images, and surprises. The free ATXpo plaza party kicks off an hour early with live music, local vendors, H-E-B samples, and Meals on Wheels Central Texas; basically Austin civic pride condensed into one evening.
Fantasy: A Whimsy Anime Drag Show
9:30PM @ The Highball, FREE!
Mochi Mochi presents a drag show inspired by fantastical and whimsical anime and films, featuring queens @louisiannapurchase, @leiasakura, @execute.cos, @targetthequeen, and @arinnaxooo in full cosplay drag glory at the Highball's iconic screening room. This follows the Queer Film Theory event at the same venue: back-to-back queer programming all night long, free of charge.
Song Circle with Raging Grannies
7:00PM–8:30PM @ Canopy, FREE!
Older women who "raise their voices to protest cruelty against the marginalized" co-host an intimate community sing-along inside the "Activists of Austin" portrait show. 28 original works pairing artists with democracy, immigrant rights, trans, and mutual aid advocates. No auditions, no sheet music, no getting it right; just collective voice as resistance. Limited to 40 people; arrive early.
Lip Service: An Advice Show
9:00PM @ East Austin Comedy Club, $13.54
Billed as "your weekly group therapy session: you spill the tea and we serve the advice (with love & just the right amount of chaos)." Part comedy show, part community confessional. Bring a problem, leave with perspective.
APA! Thrift: 5 Days. 5 Stores. 50% Off Everything.
12:00PM–7:00PM @ All 5 Austin Pets Alive! Thrift locations, FREE!
The week-long mega-sale kicks off today: 50% off vintage clothing, furniture, and hundreds of new items daily across all five APA! Thrift stores. Every purchase directly funds Austin Pets Alive!'s lifesaving animal programs, which means your thrift haul is also doing something good.
Fusebox May Artist Salon
7:00PM–9:00PM @ dadaLab, $17.85
Fusebox Festival's monthly salon gathers artists and colleagues for drinks and real conversations about art-making in Austin. Not a networking event, not a panel; just the kind of room where the people who make Austin's weird creative culture happen are actually in it together.
Find more fun stuff on Thursday @ WhatsGoodATX!
Friday, May 22nd
BarrioFest – Wellness Market, AfroPunk & Cumbia
6:00 PM – 11:30 PM @ Vesper, $12.51
Celebrating two decades of community, BarrioFest packs a full evening at Vesper with a wellness tianguis (acupuncture, limpias, mehndi, herbal workshops), live painting, a harp raffle, tamales, piñatas, a bounce house, and a music lineup running from folk harp to Afro-punk to cumbia. It's the kind of multi-realm community bash Austin built its reputation on: family-friendly from 6 PM, then the dance party takes over.
Veil/Unveil Opening Reception at Haus Obscura
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM @ Haus Obscura (2511 E. 6th St)
Haus Obscura opens this two-person exhibition by Austin artists Erin E. Freeman and Albion Moonlight: obscured figures and reimagined ancient myths collide in contemporary figurative painting. The opening comes with live music by Honey Son and aura photography by Soulglow, making it a full-spectrum East Austin art event.
Pac-Man Day Tournament at Pinballz
7:30 PM – 9:30 PM @ Pinballz Original Arcade, $5
May 22 is National Pac-Man Day, and Pinballz is going all in with back-to-back tournaments: a classic high-score bracket followed by a head-to-head face-off on the World's Largest Pac-Man cabinet. Come in costume for bonus door prizes, and bring $5 per tournament.
MASTER BOOT RECORD
7:00 PM @ The Far Out Lounge and Stage, $24+
MBR is a Computer Metal project blending heavy metal with chiptune and demoscene music: think shredding guitar solos over 8-bit BIOS aesthetics and floppy drive percussion. Check the Facebook event for details. It's the most genuinely weird music on this list, and that's saying something.
SE7EN WAVES: Sunset Floating Sound Bath
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM @ Renaissance Austin Hotel, $100
Float on a comfortable mattress at the Renaissance Austin Hotel while immersive sound waves guide you into deep relaxation: an indoor oasis surrounded by nature as the sun sets. An unusual Friday night wind-down before the rest of the night kicks off, or just a genuinely restorative 90 minutes before the long weekend.
World Music: Atash, Caravan Strange, System Positif & Paula Maya Bossa Nova
7:00 PM – 1:30 AM @ Sahara Lounge,$12+
A rare six-hour world music marathon at the Sahara, kicking off with bossa nova at 7, moving through Persian folk-dance fusion with Atash at 8:30, then Caravan Strange at 10:30, and closing with System Positif at midnight. If you've never danced to every continent in one night for under $15, tonight's your chance.
TUFF ATX Sweat Memorial Weekend
10:00 PM @ Kingdom Nightclub, $42.15+
LA's hottest leather party makes its Austin debut for Memorial Day weekend. Presented by Queen Butch and TUFF, it's explicitly a gear party — dress to impress, distress, or undress, with coat check available for everyone else. The full lineup is still TBA, which honestly makes it more intriguing.
More amazingness on Friday @ WhatsGoodATX !
Saturday, May 23rd
Here Be Monsters: Austin's Indie-Classical Music Fest
6PM (doors) @ Radio/East, $31.50+ (through Sunday)
Here Be Monsters returns for its third year with 27 acts, 20 minutes each, 10 world premieres. All in one Friday/Saturday sprint at one of Austin's most comfortable live music rooms. Named a KMFA Top 12 Event two years running, this is the fest for people who want their experimental jazz, math rock, glitch, and orchestral composition without the mud and wristbands. Night two of two.
IGI NI SÒRÒ – The Trees Are Speaking
1PM–5PM @ Mueller Lake Park & Amphitheater, FREE!
An outdoor listening ceremony using plant-wave technology that translates tree activity into audible sound, paired with a Capoeira Angola music workshop, Kora performance by Ibrahim Aminou, and guided movement by the Ara Ede performing arts collective. It's exactly the kind of hyperlocal, nature-rooted community event that Austin does better than anywhere else! Bring a lawn chair and your own refreshments.
QUADRANT v9.0
7:30PM @ dadaLab, $18 general
Four speakers positioned in a 360-degree ring around the audience: that's the premise of dadaLab's quadraphonic electronic music series, now in its ninth edition. QUADRANT v9.0 features SOUNDCULT with A/V performance, AIDA SHIRAZI + JUSTIN BERNARD WILLIAMS with visuals, and DEVRAS PLEXI rounding out a seated evening of spatial sound and real-time video art. Tickets are capped to protect the listening experience, so grab yours online.
SporeCorps: Mushroom Cultivation 101: Learn to Grow Wood Ear Mushrooms
10AM–12PM @ East Austin, $35
SporeCorps teaches you to cultivate Wood ear mushrooms from scratch — one of the more specific and genuinely useful things you could learn on a Saturday morning. Mycelium nerds, foraging enthusiasts, and curious beginners welcome.
LORDS OF ACID: Cheeky Freaky Tour
6PM @ Come and Take It Live - $38.22
Belgian industrial-acid monsters Lords of Acid bring the Cheeky Freaky Tour to Austin with a stacked lineup including Dead on a Sunday, Princess Superstar, Tony & the Kiki, and Mz Neon. Grab tickets here for what is essentially a sweaty, provocative, costume-mandatory Memorial Day weekend blowout.
The Andean Sound Journey
7PM–8PM @ Lizard Yoga, $15
A one-hour sound healing ceremony drawing from Andean shamanic traditions of Peru: intimate, inexpensive, and genuinely transportive if you're in the mood to decompress before the later-night chaos. South Lamar location makes it an easy warm-up for the evening.
Free Falasteen Fest – Sin Fronteras
2PM–9PM @ The Museum of Human Achievement, $30
Viva Palestina Orchestra's second Free Falasteen Fest centers this year's theme around "Sin Fronteras" (cultures without borders) with a full day of music, spoken word, food and art vendors at MoHA. From 2–9pm, this Elevate Grant-supported event builds solidarity across Palestinian, Mexican, and indigenous communities through performance. One of the more culturally meaningful shows happening this weekend.
Y2K Rewind: A Dance Party Benefiting Jane's Due Process
6:30PM–9:30PM @ 29th Street Ballroom - $20
DJ Dragonnqueen spins the best of the early-2000s iPod era while 100% of ticket sales benefit Jane's Due Process, which helps Texas teens navigate parental consent laws to access abortion and birth control. Bring the burned CDs in your heart, leave with the knowledge you actually did something useful on a Saturday night.
The Widdler: Midnight Mass Tour
9PM–4AM @ Regal Rooms, $30
"This is a gathering for the low frequency lovers, underground soldiers, mainstream misfits & creatures of the night," says Yoni, and he means it. The Widdler's Midnight Mass is a seven-hour live performance concept built around dark, spacious bass music — the mood of late-night solo studio sessions, brought into a room full of hood-up devotees. "Put your phones away" is the instruction.
World Goth Day Dance & Bazaar
9PM–2AM @ Elysium, $10
Austin's goth community marks World Goth Day with a dance and bazaar at a proper Red River club — velvet encouraged, dramatic eyeliner mandatory in spirit. A night with a built-in cultural hook and exactly the right venue for it.
Other cool stuff happening on Saturday @ WhatsGoodATX !
Sunday, May 24th
Mulholland Drive in 35mm — 25th Anniversary
6:00PM (doors) @ Paramount Theatre, $15
David Lynch's hallucinatory masterpiece back on the big screen in actual 35mm, celebrating 25 years of confused, haunted audiences. Betty. Rita. The diner. The blue box. Grab your ticket before this sells out — the Paramount is showing Rear Window in 35mm at 3PM the same day if you want a full Hitchcock-to-Lynch double feature of cinematic obsession.
Austin Greek Festival
Noon – 10:00PM @ Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, $5
The 7th Annual Austin Greek Festival closes out its Memorial Day weekend run with lamb on the grill, loukoumades (Greek donuts), live music from a band flown in from Greece, professional dance troupes, audience dance lessons, and guided Byzantine art church tours. Full schedule at austingreekfestival.com, and the free admission for rideshare arrivals is a legitimately good deal.
Saul Ravencraft at Nature's Treasures
11:00AM @ Nature's Treasures Texas
Austin's most celebrated crystal and rock shop hosts Saul Ravencraft for readings: set up an appointment to skip the walk-in wait. Whether you're a true believer or just enjoy the aesthetic of being told your future in a room full of amethyst geodes, Nature's Treasures is a genuinely weird Austin institution and this is a perfect excuse to go.
Puff N Paint: Mushroom Edition
4:00PM @ The Green Room, $25
Guided painting class on a woodland mushroom theme, inside a speakeasy lounge, BYOB welcome (plus $10 BYOB fee), led by instructor Coryn Hauk. Reserve your seat now; the listing notes it always fills fast, and the vibe ("elevated speakeasy lounge" + "let your creativity sprout") is exactly what it sounds like.
Swing Dance Double Header: Sammy's Satin Sounds & Austin Django Project + Lesson
7:00PM @ The Highball, $10
Two swing bands, one dance lesson, one of Austin's best mid-century-themed venues. The Austin Django Project brings the Hot Club of France sound while Sammy's Satin Sounds covers the big band end — the lesson means you have zero excuse to just stand there.
More interesting events on Sunday @ WhatsGoodATX!
A huge shoutout to our amazing WhatsWeirdATX supporters: weLuckyFew, Gary, Jess, Dr. Smithersteen von Dubstep, Alesa, Gary, Lily, Olboi, Darien, Anonymouse, Alyssa, Christina J, Nick, Doug Neary, Walker, Lyndsay, Scott B, Jess Rose Clark, Kevin, Crescent Gray, JB, Anthony, Anthony Stokes, Rebekah, Laurie, agnikai, Nick W, Just Jason, Santos, Kat, Britt, Stephanie, LoganJ, Yvette, Connor, Leslie, Praveer, Christina, Emily, tags-09, and /u/runthistownatx!
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