December in Austin is when the city completely changes its personality.

The patios are still open, but now they’re covered in Christmas lights. Restaurants begin rolling out holiday menus. Downtown becomes brighter. Bars that normally look nothing alike suddenly have one thing in common: they are covered in lights, tinsel, ornaments and Christmas decorations.

And in 2022, Austin’s holiday bar scene is bigger than ever.

This isn’t simply a city where you can find a Christmas-themed drink.

Austin has developed a full-blown holiday bar culture, with temporary pop-ups turning ordinary bars into completely different places for several weeks.

For anyone looking for something to do this month, December is essentially one giant bar crawl.

One of the biggest holiday traditions returning this year is Miracle on Fifth Street, the Christmas cocktail pop-up at the Eleanor next to the Roosevelt Room.

Miracle has become one of Austin’s most recognizable holiday drinking experiences, and the 2022 edition is returning with the over-the-top Christmas décor and specialty cocktails that have made the concept popular around the country.

But Austin has another holiday tradition that is just as important: Sippin’ Santa at Nickel City.

Instead of traditional Christmas décor, Sippin’ Santa mixes the holidays with a tropical tiki-bar theme.

Santa.

Palm trees.

Rum.

Christmas cocktails.

It shouldn’t work.

But somehow it does.

Eater Austin confirmed in November that both Miracle on Fifth and Sippin’ Santa were returning to their Austin locations for the 2022 holiday season.

And that tells you something about Austin’s holiday bar scene.

Christmas doesn’t have to mean sitting in a quiet room drinking eggnog.

It can mean a tiki drink with Santa.

It can mean a rooftop covered in Christmas lights.

It can mean a dive bar decorated like your grandmother’s living room.

It can mean a cocktail menu where every drink comes in a ridiculous Christmas glass.

That is exactly what Austin has turned December into.

Of course, if you want the original Austin Christmas-bar experience, there is still Lala’s Little Nugget.

Unlike the temporary pop-ups, Lala’s doesn’t need to install Christmas decorations every December.

Christmas is essentially part of the bar’s identity.

The North Austin institution is famous for keeping its Christmas decorations up year-round, which means you can get the holiday experience without waiting for December.

But December is when Lala’s really makes sense.

The lights are glowing.

The ornaments are everywhere.

Christmas music fills the room.

And the bar has the kind of old-school Austin personality that many newer holiday pop-ups are trying to recreate.

That contrast is worth noticing.

Miracle is polished.

Sippin’ Santa is playful.

Lala’s is authentic Austin weirdness.

All three offer completely different versions of the same idea.

And that’s what makes Austin’s December nightlife so much fun.

Another thing to watch this month is the growing popularity of holiday bar hopping.

Instead of picking one Christmas bar and staying there all night, people are making entire itineraries around them.

Start at one holiday pop-up.

Walk or rideshare to another.

Stop for dinner.

Find a regular bar.

Then finish at a late-night spot.

The holiday bar has become a destination in itself.

For groups of friends, coworkers and couples, it gives everyone a reason to get together.

It is also extremely photogenic.

And in 2022, that matters.

The holiday bar experience isn’t just about the drink.

It’s about the decorations.

The costumes.

The glassware.

The lights.

The giant Christmas trees.

The photographs.

The memories.

The experience is designed to be shared.

But December isn’t only about drinking.

Austin’s holiday food scene is also busy.

Restaurants are offering special holiday dinners, seasonal desserts, festive cocktails and limited-time menus.

The city’s breweries are getting into the holiday spirit as well, with seasonal beers and special events.

And coffee shops are bringing out hot chocolate, peppermint drinks and other winter specials.

The weather can still be unpredictable, but December is one of the few months when Austinites can actually enjoy sitting around a fire pit without sweating.

That makes outdoor patios surprisingly popular.

A heated patio.

A cocktail.

Christmas lights.

Good food.

That’s a pretty good December night in Austin.

Another major attraction is Trail of Lights at Zilker Park.

The annual holiday light display is one of Austin’s biggest December traditions, bringing enormous numbers of people to Zilker for a walk through illuminated displays and holiday installations.

For families, it remains one of the must-do events of the season.

But it also works as part of a larger night out.

Go see the lights.

Grab dinner.

Stop for drinks.

Head downtown.

Austin’s December entertainment calendar makes it easy to turn one event into an entire evening.

And if you haven’t been to Trail of Lights in a few years, 2022 is a good year to return.

The event continues evolving, with new displays and attractions added over time while maintaining the familiar Austin traditions that have made it popular.

Then, almost immediately after Christmas, attention shifts toward the biggest party of the month:

New Year’s Eve.

And Austin is ready.

The city’s official New Year’s Eve celebration at Auditorium Shores is scheduled for December 31 and will be free and family-friendly.

The event will feature live performances from El Combo Oscuro, Taméca Jones, the Texas Gentlemen and Extragrams, along with 10 food trucks.

And for the first time, a designated beer hall will allow attendees to purchase beer, wine and champagne.

At midnight, the celebration will finish with fireworks welcoming 2023.

That is a major change for people who want to celebrate downtown without spending hundreds of dollars on a nightclub package.

You can bring a blanket.

Bring friends.

Get food.

Listen to music.

Have a drink.

And watch fireworks over the city.

It is one of the easiest ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve without committing to a formal party.

But Austin’s nightlife scene is offering plenty of alternatives.

If you want something much louder, Hotel Vegas and Volstead are hosting Hotel Vegas Glitters Eve, a trash-disco and glam-rock celebration featuring music from David Bowie, the Sex Pistols and performances from Austin bands.

The event begins at 8 p.m. and is designed for people who want to spend New Year’s Eve dancing rather than sitting through a formal dinner.

Over at Mozart’s Coffee Roasters, the New Year’s celebration is taking a completely different approach.

Mozart’s is hosting a New Year’s Eve Silent Disco Party, allowing guests to dance while surrounded by the famous holiday lights.

The event runs from 9:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. and includes access to the holiday light show, warm drinks and baked treats.

For people who don’t want the traditional nightclub experience, it is an interesting alternative.

And then there is the Coconut Club.

The club’s New Year’s Eve event is particularly significant because the Fourth Street entertainment complex has been sold to developers for a planned high-rise project.

The 2022 event is therefore being promoted as “The Last Dance”, giving the celebration an additional layer of significance.

The party will feature Peligrosa, the Brothers Groove, Cyber Queen, Rue and Soullareal across the complex.

That is a perfect example of what made Austin nightlife in 2022 so interesting.

It isn’t just about partying.

The city is changing quickly.

Some of the places that defined Austin’s nightlife are disappearing or being redeveloped, while new bars, restaurants and entertainment districts are taking their place.

New Year’s Eve becomes an opportunity to celebrate what is coming while also saying goodbye to what is leaving.

For people looking for something more traditional, Esther’s Follies is offering its annual year-in-review celebration.

The show will look back at the people, events and stories that defined 2022 before counting down to 2023.

That makes it particularly appropriate for an Austin audience.

This city produces enough strange news, political drama, celebrities, musicians and local personalities to fill an entire comedy show every year.

And 2022 certainly provided plenty of material.

For something more glamorous, Austin’s New Year’s calendar also includes events such as the Gatsby Penthouse Party, complete with burlesque performances and a champagne toast.

There are also silent discos, drag parties, hotel parties, rooftop celebrations and nightclub events throughout downtown.

The options range from completely free to extremely expensive.

That’s another defining characteristic of Austin’s New Year’s Eve.

You can spend almost nothing.

Or you can spend thousands.

The city has something for both.

One of the most interesting options is actually the Hotel San José New Year’s celebration.

The South Congress hotel is hosting a disco-themed party with DJ Just Jim and a balloon drop at midnight.

It’s a much more intimate alternative to the massive downtown celebrations.

And then there are the holiday bars that continue operating after Christmas.

This is something Austin has embraced particularly well.

Christmas doesn’t immediately disappear on December 26.

People still want to go out.

Visitors are still in town.

Bars still have their decorations.

And holiday parties continue through the final week of the year.

That creates an interesting period between Christmas and New Year’s.

People are off work.

College students are home.

Families have finished their Christmas gatherings.

And everyone starts looking for something to do.

Austin’s bars are ready.

The city’s dive bars remain open.

Holiday pop-ups continue.

Restaurants are serving.

Live music continues.

And New Year’s Eve is approaching.

For Baller ATX readers, that final week may actually be one of the best times to explore Austin.

The crowds can be different from the normal weekend crowd.

The city feels more relaxed during the day.

And the Christmas decorations make even familiar places feel different.

If you haven’t visited Lala’s in years, go.

If you haven’t tried Sippin’ Santa, go.

If Miracle on Fifth is on your list, make your plans early.

If you want to see Trail of Lights, pick a night.

And if you’re planning New Year’s Eve, don’t wait until December 30 to decide.

The best events will already be sold out.

December is ultimately about two things in Austin:

celebrating the holidays and getting ready for the next year.

The city spends the first three weeks covered in Christmas lights, holiday cocktails and festive events.

Then, almost overnight, the mood changes.

The decorations stay up.

The champagne comes out.

The DJs turn up the music.

And everyone starts counting down.

At midnight on December 31, Austin will say goodbye to 2022.

Some people will be downtown watching fireworks.

Some will be dancing at Hotel Vegas.

Some will be drinking cocktails at a rooftop.

Some will be at a dive bar.

Some will be at a silent disco.

And some will be standing in a living room with friends waiting for the clock to hit midnight.

There isn’t one right way to celebrate.

That’s the beauty of Austin.

For one final month, the city gets to be festive, weird, loud, colorful and completely itself.

So grab a holiday cocktail.

Find a bar covered in lights.

Eat something great.

See the Trail of Lights.

Make your New Year’s plans.

And get ready.

Because 2023 is only a few weeks away.

November is different in Austin.

The weather finally starts cooperating, the patios become comfortable again, Thanksgiving is approaching, and the city begins settling into its favorite fall routine. But for one month, there is one thing that dominates Austin weekends more than anything else:

Texas Longhorn football.

November is when football season gets serious, and in Austin, that means game day becomes much more than what happens inside Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The entire city gets involved.

Bars fill with burnt-orange shirts.

Restaurants start opening early.

Parking lots become gathering places.

Tailgates turn into all-day parties.

Friends meet hours before kickoff.

And by the time the Longhorns take the field, thousands of people have already spent most of the day celebrating.

The 2022 Longhorn schedule gives Austin plenty to get excited about. Texas travels to Kansas State on November 5, hosts TCU on November 12, travels to Kansas on November 19 and finishes the regular season at home against Baylor on November 25.

For Austin, the home games are particularly important.

There is something about walking around campus on a Saturday morning when Texas is playing at home.

The city feels different.

The streets around the University of Texas fill with fans wearing burnt orange. Restaurants and bars prepare for crowds, and parking lots begin filling hours before kickoff.

And then there are the tailgates.

Tailgating in Austin isn’t simply about standing next to a truck with a cooler.

It can become an entire production.

Grills come out.

Speakers get turned up.

Tables get covered with food.

People bring tents.

Friends bring friends.

Someone inevitably has a television running the early games.

Someone else has a giant Texas flag.

And before long, people who weren’t planning on staying for the entire afternoon have somehow spent six hours at the same tailgate.

That’s part of what makes college football different from professional sports.

The game is only one part of the experience.

The other part is everything that happens beforehand.

For Longhorn fans, November is the perfect time for it because the weather is finally comfortable enough to spend several hours outside.

September can still be brutally hot.

October can be unpredictable.

But November brings cooler mornings and comfortable afternoons, making it ideal for grilling, drinking and hanging out before kickoff.

The best tailgates don’t necessarily require a fancy setup either.

Some of the best ones are simple.

A grill.

A cooler.

A folding table.

Some breakfast tacos.

A few cases of beer.

A portable speaker.

And a group of people who are ready to talk football.

Austin has plenty of places where that kind of gathering happens.

The area surrounding the University of Texas becomes the center of the action, but football fans can be found throughout the city.

Bars that normally open later suddenly have people lining up before noon.

Restaurants advertise game-day specials.

Sports bars put up additional televisions.

And breweries create viewing areas for people who don’t have tickets to the game.

That is important because not everyone is going to make it inside the stadium.

In fact, one of the best things about Austin football culture is that you don’t need a ticket to participate.

You can watch the game at a bar surrounded by hundreds of other fans.

You can attend a tailgate.

You can hang out around campus.

Or you can find a restaurant with a big screen and make an afternoon out of it.

The atmosphere can be almost as exciting as being inside the stadium.

One of the biggest November games is the matchup against TCU on November 12.

TCU arrives in Austin ranked among the nation’s top teams, making the game one of the most important contests on the Longhorn schedule.

The matchup is especially significant because both teams are competing near the top of the Big 12.

For Austin bars, that means another huge Saturday.

Expect restaurants around campus and downtown to fill early.

Expect sports bars to be crowded.

Expect tailgates to start long before kickoff.

And expect fans to stay out well after the final whistle.

That is what a big college football game does to Austin.

It turns Saturday into an all-day event.

And the football doesn’t have to stop when the game ends.

Austin’s live-music scene continues late into the night, giving fans plenty of opportunities to keep the evening going.

You can start with a tailgate, watch the game, grab dinner and then head downtown for live music.

That combination is one of the things that makes Austin such a good football city.

There is always somewhere to go afterward.

The city’s bar scene also benefits enormously from football season.

Sports bars become destinations, but so do neighborhood bars.

A dive bar with one or two televisions can suddenly be packed with Longhorn fans.

A normally quiet patio becomes a game-day gathering.

And bars that don’t necessarily identify themselves as sports bars may put the game on simply because they know customers want to watch.

For anyone who wants to experience Austin’s nightlife without spending a fortune, November football Saturdays are a great opportunity.

You don’t need to go to the most expensive bar in town.

Find a neighborhood spot.

Order a beer.

Get some food.

Watch the game.

Talk to strangers.

That’s often more fun than sitting somewhere polished and expensive.

Food is another major part of the experience.

Tailgates around Austin can look like outdoor restaurants.

Brisket is an obvious choice.

So are sausages, burgers, wings, queso, chips and breakfast tacos.

And because this is Austin, someone will inevitably bring something much more ambitious than expected.

A giant brisket.

Homemade salsa.

Smoked queso.

A giant griddle full of breakfast tacos.

Someone will have a smoker running before sunrise.

That’s the kind of dedication that November football brings out.

Restaurants get into the spirit too.

Game-day brunch becomes a major opportunity for restaurants and bars.

Breakfast tacos and Bloody Marys appear early.

Lunch turns into beer.

Beer turns into football.

And football turns into dinner.

It is one long Saturday.

Austin’s food scene also gives football fans plenty of options beyond the traditional game-day menu.

November is an especially good time to explore barbecue, Mexican food, burgers and other comfort foods because the cooler weather makes heavier meals much more enjoyable.

This is the season for brisket.

The season for chili.

The season for queso.

The season for burgers and fries.

The season for a cold beer after spending the afternoon outside.

And if you’re looking for something different, Austin’s growing international food scene offers plenty of alternatives.

The city isn’t just a barbecue town anymore.

New restaurants continue opening, and Austin’s dining scene is increasingly influenced by cuisines from around the world.

That makes football weekends an opportunity to try somewhere new.

Instead of going to the same sports bar every weekend, grab dinner at a restaurant you’ve been meaning to visit and then find somewhere nearby to watch the game.

That is especially easy in neighborhoods such as East Austin, where restaurants, bars and entertainment venues are close together.

November also brings one of Austin’s biggest food weekends: the Austin Food + Wine Festival, which takes place November 4–6.

The festival brings chefs, restaurants, wineries, breweries and food producers together for a weekend of tastings, demonstrations and special events. More than 50 Austin restaurants and at least 30 wine, beer and spirits producers are involved.

That gives food lovers another reason to come downtown during an already busy month.

The timing is perfect.

Austin’s weather is getting better.

The football season is in full swing.

Restaurants are busy.

And the city’s food culture is getting ready for the holiday season.

The Texas Book Festival also returns downtown in November, bringing authors, food vendors and thousands of visitors around the State Capitol and Congress Avenue.

But even with all of those events happening, football remains the defining Austin weekend experience.

And then comes Thanksgiving weekend.

The Longhorns finish the regular season at home against Baylor on Friday, November 25. Texas wins the matchup 38–27, finishing the regular season 8–4.

A Friday-after-Thanksgiving football game creates a completely different atmosphere.

Families are already in town.

College students are home.

People have leftover Thanksgiving food.

And suddenly there is a football game providing an excuse for everyone to get together again.

For tailgaters, it is one final opportunity to bring out the grill before the regular season ends.

And for restaurants and bars, it is another busy holiday weekend.

November therefore becomes a month where Austin’s different cultures collide.

Football.

Food.

Bars.

Music.

Tailgates.

Family gatherings.

College culture.

And local traditions.

That’s what makes November special.

You can spend a Saturday morning at a tailgate, walk around campus, watch the Longhorns, grab barbecue, listen to live music and finish the night at a dive bar.

You don’t have to plan every minute.

Austin takes care of the rest.

And if you haven’t experienced a Texas football tailgate in Austin, November is the month to do it.

You don’t necessarily need a ticket.

You don’t need to know the players.

You don’t even have to be a die-hard football fan.

Just find a group of people who are willing to let you join the party.

Bring something to eat.

Bring something to drink.

Wear burnt orange.

And be prepared to talk about football.

Because in November, football isn’t simply a sport in Austin.

It’s a social event.

It’s an excuse to get together.

It’s an excuse to eat.

It’s an excuse to drink.

It’s an excuse to listen to music.

And it’s an excuse to spend an entire Saturday outside with friends.

That is why November remains one of the best months on the Austin calendar.

The temperatures are finally right.

The food is getting better.

The bars are busy.

The patios are comfortable.

And the Longhorns give the city something to rally around.

For one month, Austin belongs to college football.

And on a Saturday in November, there may not be a better place in Texas to spend the day.

October is about to become one of the busiest months of the year in Austin.

The weather is finally starting to cooperate, Austin City Limits is bringing enormous crowds into town, Formula 1 is right around the corner, and then Halloween takes over the final week of the month. For anyone looking for something to do, October is basically one long excuse to get out of the house.

But Halloween in Austin has changed.

It isn’t just about taking the kids trick-or-treating anymore.

Halloween has become a major part of Austin’s nightlife, restaurant and entertainment scene. Bars are creating elaborate decorations, DJs are planning costume parties, haunted attractions are getting bigger, restaurants are adding seasonal specials and people are already thinking about what they’re going to wear.

And based on what is happening around Austin in 2022, this year’s Halloween is shaping up to be less about one giant party and more about an entire month of spooky-season events.

One of the biggest trends to watch this year is the Halloween pop-up bar.

Austin’s bar scene has increasingly embraced themed experiences, and Halloween is the perfect excuse to take that idea even further. Instead of simply putting up a few fake cobwebs and calling it a Halloween party, bars are turning themselves into complete environments.

Expect themed cocktails.

Over-the-top decorations.

Costume contests.

DJs.

Special menus.

Photo opportunities.

And plenty of reasons to stay for another drink.

This is part of a larger trend in Austin nightlife where people aren’t just looking for somewhere to drink.

They’re looking for something to do.

A bar that gives customers an experience has an advantage over a bar that simply serves drinks.

And Halloween gives Austin bars an opportunity to completely transform themselves for a few weeks.

For people who want something genuinely scary, House of Torment remains one of the biggest Halloween attractions in the Austin area.

The haunted house is returning with multiple attractions and new themes, elaborate sets, monsters and special effects. In 2022, House of Torment is scheduled to run through November 5, giving people multiple weekends to get scared.

That extended schedule is important because Halloween in Austin is no longer limited to October 31.

People want to celebrate all month.

You can go to a haunted house on a Friday night.

Attend a costume party Saturday.

Visit a pumpkin patch Sunday.

Then do another Halloween event the following weekend.

The season has become an entire entertainment category.

Another major haunted attraction is Bat City Scaregrounds, which is bringing haunted houses, live music, performances and seasonal food to more than 15 acres just south of Austin in Buda. The attraction runs October 27–31.

The combination of horror and live entertainment is particularly representative of where Halloween events are going.

People don’t necessarily want to spend an hour walking through a haunted house and then go home.

They want the night to continue.

They want music.

Food.

Drinks.

Entertainment.

And somewhere to hang out afterward.

That’s why Halloween is becoming increasingly important to Austin’s bar and entertainment economy.

The same trend can be seen in the city’s music scene.

October is already one of the busiest music months because of Austin City Limits Music Festival, which returns to Zilker Park for two weekends.

ACL brings enormous crowds into Austin, and Halloween follows almost immediately afterward.

That creates an unusual situation for local bars and restaurants.

They get a huge influx of visitors for ACL.

Then they get another wave of people looking for Halloween entertainment.

For businesses, October is one of the months where it makes sense to go all out.

And Austin does.

One of the biggest Halloween trends among younger crowds in 2022 is likely to be the return of the big group costume.

After years of disrupted social events, people are ready to go out together again.

That means expect groups dressed around a common theme.

Television shows.

Movies.

Pop culture moments.

Sports teams.

Internet personalities.

And nostalgic costumes from the 1990s and early 2000s.

The nostalgic angle is especially strong.

For many Austin adults, Halloween in 2022 is an opportunity to dress up as something they grew up with.

That could mean a classic horror character, a childhood cartoon, a favorite movie or something associated with early-2000s pop culture.

The other major trend is going to be couples costumes.

Austin’s nightlife scene is filled with young couples and friend groups looking for costumes that can be recognized immediately in photographs.

That means recognizable characters and pop-culture references are likely to dominate.

And yes, there will be plenty of people who decide what they’re wearing the night before.

That’s part of Halloween.

Another trend that is becoming increasingly important is the pet costume.

Austin loves its dogs.

So naturally Austin loves dressing its dogs for Halloween.

Restaurants and patios are increasingly dog-friendly, and Halloween gives people an excuse to bring their pets along.

Expect plenty of dog costume contests, patio parties and photographs of dogs dressed as superheroes, pumpkins, dinosaurs and other characters.

For families, Halloween looks very different.

Austin has several events designed to give children a safer and more structured Halloween experience.

One of the most recognizable is Boo at the Zoo, which returns to the Austin Zoo on multiple October dates.

Children can dress in costume, ride the train, enjoy entertainment and experience the zoo after dark, including haunted-house attractions.

That makes it one of the city’s better options for families who want Halloween without taking young children into a crowded downtown bar district.

Another family-friendly option is the Austin Symphony Halloween Children’s Concert, scheduled for October 23.

The concert is designed for children ages 2–10 and encourages kids to come dressed in costume for a Halloween-themed afternoon of music.

That illustrates just how broad Halloween has become in Austin.

You can experience Halloween through music.

Food.

Bars.

Haunted houses.

Family events.

Movies.

Costume contests.

Or simply walking around neighborhoods looking at decorations.

And then there are the neighborhood Halloween parties.

Austin’s residential neighborhoods have developed their own Halloween traditions, with decorated houses, block parties and trick-or-treating events.

Some neighborhoods go extremely far with decorations.

Others keep it simple.

Either way, October is a good month to get outside and see what different parts of Austin are doing.

For adults, however, the biggest action is likely to be in the bars.

Sixth Street will obviously be busy, but it isn’t the only place to celebrate.

East Austin is expected to have a particularly strong Halloween nightlife scene.

Bars along East Sixth, East Seventh, Cesar Chavez and surrounding neighborhoods are close enough together to create a natural Halloween bar crawl.

The advantage is that you can move around instead of spending the entire night at one location.

That fits Austin’s nightlife culture.

Start with dinner.

Have a drink.

Go somewhere with music.

Check out another bar.

Find the Halloween party.

Then grab tacos.

That’s a very Austin Halloween.

And food is going to play a bigger role than many people realize.

Austin restaurants are increasingly using seasonal events as a way to attract customers, and Halloween provides an easy theme.

Expect fall cocktails.

Pumpkin desserts.

Seasonal beers.

Spooky brunches.

Halloween-themed dinners.

And restaurants turning their patios into Halloween destinations.

Austin’s breweries are also perfectly positioned for Halloween.

A brewery already has most of the ingredients needed for a good fall event.

Outdoor space.

Beer.

Food trucks.

Music.

And plenty of room for costumes.

Expect breweries to host costume contests, themed releases and Halloween parties throughout the month.

For people who don’t want the downtown bar scene, this may actually be one of the better options.

You can wear a costume without feeling ridiculous.

Bring friends.

Order a beer.

Eat from a food truck.

Listen to music.

And still be home before midnight.

October is also a strong month for horror movies and spooky entertainment.

Austin’s independent movie culture makes Halloween particularly interesting because theaters and film venues can screen classic horror films, cult movies and newer releases.

The city’s love of weird cinema fits perfectly with Halloween.

And that means Halloween doesn’t have to be a loud party.

It can be sitting in a dark theater watching a horror movie you’ve never seen.

Or watching a classic you’ve seen twenty times.

Another trend worth watching this year is the continued growth of immersive Halloween experiences.

Instead of simply watching something happen, people want to participate.

Walk through a haunted attraction.

Solve something.

Interact with actors.

Take photographs.

Dress up.

Move from room to room.

The experience becomes part entertainment and part social media content.

That’s particularly important in Austin because people love discovering experiences that look good in photographs.

A spectacular Halloween bar or haunted attraction can become a destination simply because people want to see it for themselves.

But underneath all of the new trends, Austin’s Halloween traditions remain.

Costumes.

Candy.

Haunted houses.

House parties.

Bar crawls.

Music.

And a lot of people trying to decide whether their costume is actually good enough.

The biggest difference in 2022 is that people are ready to go out again.

Halloween feels social again.

People are planning group costumes.

Friends are making reservations.

Bars are announcing parties.

And businesses are investing more heavily in decorations and entertainment.

That means Halloween weekend is likely to be extremely busy.

If you’re planning to go downtown, make a plan.

If you’re going to a popular haunted house, buy tickets early.

If you’re going to a restaurant, make a reservation.

If you’re planning to wear a complicated costume, don’t wait until October 30 to put it together.

And if you’re driving, have a plan for getting home.

The city is going to be crowded.

But that’s part of the fun.

October is one of the rare months when Austin can be simultaneously a music city, a sports city, a food city and a Halloween city.

ACL brings the music.

Formula 1 brings the racing crowds.

Football brings the Longhorn fans.

And Halloween brings everyone together for one giant excuse to dress up.

For Baller ATX readers, the best strategy this year is not to wait for October 31.

Start early.

Find a haunted house.

Check out a Halloween-themed bar.

Go to a brewery costume party.

Take the kids to Boo at the Zoo.

Find a neighborhood Halloween event.

See a horror movie.

Try a seasonal cocktail.

And then save Halloween weekend for the big party.

Because Austin Halloween is no longer just one night.

It is an entire month.

And in 2022, it looks like the city is ready to make it bigger, stranger and more entertaining than ever.

September is when Austin finally starts getting a break from the worst of summer. The afternoons can still be hot, but the evenings become easier to enjoy, football season returns, patios become more comfortable and the city begins building toward one of its biggest annual events: Austin City Limits Music Festival.

This is also one of the best months to explore Austin’s food and bar scene before October brings enormous festival crowds.

The biggest story heading into fall is obviously ACL.

The 2022 festival is scheduled for two weekends in October—October 7–9 and October 14–16 at Zilker Park—with a lineup that includes Red Hot Chili Peppers, P!nk, Paramore, The Chicks, SZA, Flume, Lil Nas X and Kacey Musgraves.

That means September is essentially Austin’s preparation month.

Hotels begin filling.

Restaurants start planning for enormous crowds.

Bars prepare for festival visitors.

Transportation becomes a bigger concern.

And anyone who wants to experience ACL without spending the entire weekend inside Zilker Park starts making plans for the shows and parties happening around town.

The official festival is only part of the experience.

Austin’s unofficial ACL parties are becoming almost as important as the festival itself.

Restaurants host special dinners.

Bars book musicians.

Brands throw parties.

Venues schedule after-shows.

And local businesses take advantage of the thousands of people already in town.

For Baller ATX readers, September is the month to start watching those calendars.

If you wait until October, many of the most popular events will already be full.

The restaurant scene is also giving Austinites plenty to talk about.

One of the most interesting openings around town is Uroko, the Japanese restaurant from the team behind Kemuri Tatsu-Ya. The concept focuses on Japanese cuisine with a Texas influence, continuing the Austin trend of chefs blending local ingredients and traditions with international cooking.

That type of restaurant is increasingly common in Austin.

The city has become a place where chefs don’t feel obligated to choose between “Austin food” and international cuisine.

They combine them.

Texas barbecue can meet Japanese technique.

Mexican ingredients can appear in modern fine dining.

Southern cooking can be paired with Asian flavors.

And Austin diners seem increasingly interested in the results.

Another major food trend to watch this fall is the continued expansion of Austin’s food halls and restaurant parks.

These concepts work particularly well in Austin because they combine several things locals already love.

Food.

Drinks.

Outdoor seating.

Live music.

Games.

And the ability to meet a group without everyone having to agree on the same restaurant.

That’s becoming an increasingly important part of Austin’s social scene.

Instead of asking, “Where should we have dinner?”

People are asking, “Where should we hang out?”

That difference is significant.

Restaurants are increasingly becoming destinations rather than simply places to eat.

September is also the beginning of football season, which means Austin bars are preparing for one of the biggest sports traditions in the city: Texas Longhorn football.

Whether you’re a die-hard fan or someone who simply enjoys the atmosphere, football weekends create a noticeable change in Austin’s nightlife.

Bars begin opening earlier.

Restaurants advertise game-day specials.

Patios fill with fans.

And the University of Texas area becomes significantly busier.

The return of college football also adds another layer to Austin’s already busy weekend entertainment schedule.

You can watch football during the afternoon, go to dinner, catch live music and finish the night at a bar.

And in September, the weather is finally making that possible again.

The heat is still around, but the evenings are becoming more manageable.

That means patio season is getting a second life.

The spring patio season may have been interrupted by summer temperatures, but September brings it back.

Restaurants with shaded patios and outdoor seating become especially popular around sunset.

This is one of the best times of year to eat outside in Austin.

The temperature drops.

The sun sets earlier.

And suddenly sitting outside with a margarita doesn’t feel like a challenge.

Austin’s cocktail scene is also entering a strong season.

Downtown rooftop bars remain popular, but neighborhood cocktail bars are increasingly becoming destinations themselves.

East Austin continues to be one of the best areas for this.

A typical night might begin with dinner and turn into several drinks at different bars.

That’s because East Austin’s nightlife is designed for walking and exploring.

You don’t have to spend the entire night at one location.

Try one bar.

Move to another.

Find music.

Grab late-night food.

Repeat.

That’s one of the reasons the area remains so popular with both locals and visitors.

But there is another side of Austin nightlife worth exploring this month.

The city’s dive bars remain some of its most authentic places to spend an evening.

After highlighting Austin’s top dive bars last month, September is a good time to actually visit one.

Nickel City.

Deep Eddy Cabaret.

Donn’s Depot.

Lala’s Little Nugget.

The Grackle.

Barfly’s.

These places don’t need ACL or a major festival to attract customers.

They’ve been doing their thing for years.

And as Austin continues to grow, those longtime bars are becoming increasingly important pieces of the city’s cultural identity.

September is also when many people start thinking about Halloween.

It may seem early, but Austin’s bars and event venues begin planning their fall parties well in advance.

The city’s Halloween scene has become a major nightlife event, particularly on Sixth Street and in East Austin.

Costume parties, themed events and bar crawls begin appearing on calendars.

For anyone planning to host or attend a Halloween event, September is when it pays to start looking.

The same is true for restaurants.

Fall menus are beginning to appear.

Chefs start shifting away from the light summer dishes and toward richer seasonal food.

Cocktail menus begin changing.

And breweries start preparing fall releases.

Austin’s food scene is increasingly seasonal, even if the weather doesn’t always cooperate.

You may still be sweating in September, but restaurants are already thinking about fall.

And that means pumpkin, apples, roasted vegetables, darker beers and heavier cocktails aren’t far away.

Another major September story is the continuing transformation of Austin’s downtown entertainment districts.

The city’s growth is creating new restaurants, hotels, apartment buildings and entertainment concepts, but it is also putting pressure on some of the smaller businesses that helped create Austin’s nightlife reputation.

Rainey Street is perhaps the clearest example.

The neighborhood that once consisted primarily of historic houses converted into bars is increasingly surrounded by high-rise development.

That doesn’t mean the bars disappear overnight.

But the character of the neighborhood is changing.

And for longtime Austinites, that is something worth paying attention to.

The same thing is happening elsewhere.

Small restaurants are being replaced by larger developments.

Longtime businesses are moving.

New concepts are arriving.

The city is becoming more polished.

Some people love that.

Others miss what Austin used to be.

September sits right in the middle of that debate.

You can go to a brand-new restaurant with a highly designed interior and expensive cocktail menu.

Then you can drive ten minutes and sit at a dive bar that looks almost unchanged from twenty years ago.

Both are Austin.

And that’s what makes the city’s nightlife scene so interesting.

The city hasn’t completely lost its old personality.

It’s just sharing space with a very different new one.

September is also an excellent month for live music outside the ACL festival itself.

Austin’s music venues continue booking local artists and touring acts, and smaller venues can offer a much more intimate experience than a giant festival.

Red River remains one of the best places to discover emerging musicians.

South Austin continues its long tradition of live music.

East Austin’s bars mix music with food and cocktails.

And downtown venues attract larger touring acts.

You don’t have to wait for October.

Music is already everywhere.

The biggest difference is that September gives locals a chance to enjoy it without tens of thousands of festival visitors standing next to them.

That makes this month especially good for exploring.

Try a new venue.

See a local band.

Find a new restaurant.

Visit a brewery.

Check out a new cocktail bar.

Then make your ACL plans.

Because once October arrives, Austin gets busy.

Very busy.

For Baller ATX readers, September is therefore less about one giant event and more about preparing for everything that’s coming.

ACL is coming.

Halloween is coming.

Football season is here.

Fall restaurant menus are arriving.

New bars are opening.

Patio season is returning.

And Austin’s nightlife is getting ready for one of its busiest stretches of the year.

The smartest thing you can do this month is explore before the crowds arrive.

Try the restaurant you’ve been hearing about.

Visit a bar you’ve never been to.

Find a new brewery.

Check out an old-school dive.

Listen to live music.

And figure out where you’re going to eat during ACL.

Because once October arrives, everyone else will be trying to do the same thing.

September is your head start.

August in Austin is a month of survival—and knowing where to go makes all the difference.

The temperatures are high, the afternoons are hot enough to make a short walk feel like a workout, and most Austinites have figured out that the best summer plans involve cold drinks, air conditioning, swimming pools, live music and restaurants that don’t require you to spend much time standing outside.

But August is also a surprisingly interesting month for Austin’s food and nightlife scene. New restaurants are opening, established local businesses are expanding, new concepts are arriving from outside Austin, and the city’s legendary neighborhood bars continue doing what they have always done: providing a place where you can grab a cheap drink, sit down, listen to music and forget how hot it is outside.

One of the biggest restaurant stories this month is the arrival of Paris Baguette, the South Korean bakery chain that has opened its first Austin location in the Highland neighborhood. The bakery brings together French-inspired pastries and Korean bakery traditions, with items including croissants, cakes and mochi doughnuts.

For Austin, this is another sign of how international the city’s food scene has become.

The traditional Austin food conversation usually begins with tacos, barbecue and breakfast tacos. Those foods remain essential, but the restaurant scene has grown dramatically beyond them. International chains and independent restaurants are increasingly looking at Austin as a city where customers are willing to try something different.

Paris Baguette is a good example.

It isn’t simply another coffee shop.

It is a bakery experience, and the combination of French-style pastries and Korean influences gives Austin diners something they may not have seen before at a neighborhood bakery.

Another interesting opening is Choo Sando, the Japanese sandwich pop-up that is moving into a permanent location in Brentwood. The restaurant specializes in Japanese katsu sandwiches and is also offering pre-order omakase experiences.

That is another example of Austin’s food scene moving toward specialized concepts.

Instead of trying to serve everything, newer restaurants are often building their identity around one particular type of food.

Japanese sandwiches.

Omakase.

Regional Mexican seafood.

Vegan Oaxacan food.

Cuban sandwiches.

Austin diners seem increasingly willing to seek out those specific experiences.

And August is bringing plenty of them.

Another new arrival this month is La Plancha, a Mexican restaurant in the Blackland neighborhood focusing on breakfast, lunch and dinner, including breakfast tortas and vegan-friendly options.

North Austin is also getting more attention with Nissi VegMex, a vegan Mexican restaurant that moved from food-truck service into a permanent restaurant in the Wooten neighborhood. Its menu includes vegan birria tacos and burritos.

This kind of move is worth watching because Austin’s food-truck culture continues to act as a pipeline for new restaurants.

A food truck can test a concept.

Build a following.

Develop a menu.

Then, if the customers keep coming, the owners can eventually make the much larger investment required for a permanent restaurant.

Austin has produced countless restaurants this way.

August is also bringing a Cuban influence to the city’s food scene.

Oye Chico is setting up at Better Half, bringing Cuban sandwiches and Little Havana-inspired food to the Austin restaurant scene.

It is exactly the kind of smaller opening that can easily get overlooked when people are focused on Austin’s biggest restaurants, but these are the businesses that make the city’s food scene interesting.

You don’t have to spend $100 on dinner to experience something new.

Sometimes the best discovery is a sandwich from a small counter or food truck.

That brings us to the other major Austin story this month:

the dive bars.

Austin’s dive bars have always been one of the city’s greatest forms of entertainment.

They don’t need rooftop views.

They don’t need elaborate cocktail menus.

They don’t need velvet ropes.

They don’t need DJs standing behind a $30,000 sound system.

Sometimes you just need a cold beer, a jukebox and a bartender who doesn’t care what you’re wearing.

And in 2022, Austin still has plenty of those places.

The Austin Chronicle’s 2022 Best of Austin readers poll named Nickel City the city’s Best Dive Bar, with Back Lot, Barfly’s, The Grackle and Lala’s Little Nugget as finalists.

That gives us a pretty good starting point for an August dive-bar tour.

10 Austin Dive Bars to Know in 2022

1. Nickel City

Nickel City is the dive bar that manages to feel both genuinely comfortable and extremely Austin at the same time. Located on East 11th Street, it has a large selection of drinks, a relaxed atmosphere and food from an onsite kitchen. The Austin Chronicle’s readers officially selected it as the city’s Best Dive Bar in 2022.

The important thing about Nickel City is that it doesn’t feel like a bar trying desperately to convince you that it is cool.

It simply is.

Grab a drink.

Order some food.

Find a spot.

Stay awhile.

2. Deep Eddy Cabaret

If Austin dive bars had a hall of fame, Deep Eddy Cabaret would have a permanent spot.

Located near the original Deep Eddy swimming area, the bar has been part of Austin’s drinking culture for decades. It is the kind of place where the jukebox matters, the drinks are straightforward and the atmosphere feels lived-in rather than designed.

In a city where many new bars are trying to create an “Austin” aesthetic, Deep Eddy doesn’t have to try.

It already is Austin.

3. Donn’s Depot

Few places capture old Austin quite like Donn’s Depot.

The West Austin bar has a reputation for its unusual setting, live music, cheap drinks and eccentric atmosphere. The interior is famous for its train cars and Christmas decorations, creating a bar experience that would be almost impossible to replicate intentionally.

Donn’s is one of those places where you can walk in not knowing anybody and leave having talked to half the room.

That is the point.

4. Barfly’s

Barfly’s is another classic neighborhood dive that Austin locals repeatedly mention when discussing the city’s best low-key bars. It is unpretentious, comfortable and exactly the kind of place where you can actually sit down and have a conversation.

In 2022, locals on Austin’s Reddit community repeatedly recommended Barfly’s when asked about the city’s best dive bars.

That matters because dive bars aren’t really defined by marketing.

They’re defined by regulars.

If people who live in Austin keep recommending a place, pay attention.

5. Lala’s Little Nugget

Lala’s is one of Austin’s most recognizable old-school bars, particularly because of its famous Christmas decorations.

The bar’s holiday theme stays up year-round, which means you can walk in during the middle of August and feel like Christmas has somehow arrived early.

That is precisely the kind of weirdness Austin does well.

Lala’s is also a good reminder that a dive bar doesn’t necessarily have to be ugly or miserable.

It can simply be quirky, comfortable and different.

6. The Grackle

The Grackle on East Sixth Street represents another side of Austin’s dive-bar culture.

It has a strong music connection, a casual atmosphere and the kind of East Austin location that makes it easy to turn a night there into a larger bar-hopping adventure.

The Grackle was also one of the finalists for Best Dive Bar in the Austin Chronicle’s 2022 readers poll.

It is a good place to start if you want a dive bar that still feels connected to Austin’s music scene.

7. The Skylark Lounge

The Skylark is technically more of a dive-juke-joint hybrid, but that’s exactly why it belongs on the list.

Located on the east side, the Skylark has long been associated with live music and a neighborhood atmosphere. Austin locals frequently mention it alongside Sahara Lounge as one of the city’s great “dive juke joints.”

This is the type of bar to visit when you want the music to be as important as the drinks.

8. Sahara Lounge

Sahara Lounge is another Austin institution that doesn’t fit neatly into one category.

It is a dive bar.

It is a live-music venue.

It is a neighborhood gathering place.

And it has one of the most distinctive music calendars in town.

The bar’s international musical programming has helped make it one of the city’s most interesting places to hear something different.

The Austin Chronicle’s 2022 Best of Austin listings also recognized Sahara as one of the city’s standout intimate live-music venues.

If your idea of a great Austin night involves discovering music you weren’t expecting, put Sahara on the list.

9. The Cloak Room

Downtown Austin has plenty of bars, but very few feel like The Cloak Room.

Hidden underground near the Capitol, it is tiny, dark and deliberately old-school.

It doesn’t look like a modern cocktail lounge.

It doesn’t need to.

The Cloak Room has the atmosphere of a place that has been there forever, which is exactly what people are looking for when they say they want an authentic Austin bar.

10. G&S Lounge

South Austin’s G&S Lounge is another longtime neighborhood favorite.

It’s the kind of bar where the atmosphere matters more than presentation. Regulars, inexpensive drinks and a laid-back South Austin personality make it a classic choice for people looking to escape the more polished parts of the city’s nightlife.

Austin locals discussing dive bars in 2022 repeatedly singled out G&S as one of their favorites.

And that’s the beauty of this list.

None of these bars needs to be the newest.

In fact, that’s part of the point.

Austin’s nightlife is constantly changing, but the best dive bars have survived because they provide something that newer establishments can’t easily manufacture.

History.

Regulars.

Stories.

Character.

A jukebox.

A bartender who remembers your order.

A pool table that has probably seen better days.

A neon sign.

A strange decoration.

Maybe a little cigarette smell permanently trapped in the walls.

That’s Austin.

And in August, when the heat makes you want to find somewhere dark and cold, a dive bar can be exactly what the doctor ordered.

Of course, Austin’s nightlife isn’t only about dive bars.

Newer cocktail lounges and restaurants continue to appear, and the contrast between those businesses and the old neighborhood bars is part of what makes the city interesting.

You can spend Friday night at a sophisticated downtown cocktail bar and Saturday night drinking cheap beer at a place that looks like it hasn’t changed since 1987.

Both experiences can be equally Austin.

The restaurant scene is moving forward.

The bar scene is moving forward.

But the old places remain.

That balance is important.

Because if Austin becomes nothing but new restaurants, luxury apartments, rooftop bars and expensive cocktails, it loses part of what made the city special.

The dive bars are a reminder that Austin nightlife doesn’t have to be complicated.

Sometimes you just need somewhere to go.

August is also a good month to pay attention to restaurant closings and redevelopment.

One of the biggest stories late in the month is the announced closure of a longtime Rainey Street bar because of downtown development. The story is another reminder that the Rainey Street neighborhood is changing rapidly as large-scale development moves into an area that was once primarily known for small houses converted into bars.

That transition is going to be one of the defining stories of Austin nightlife in the years ahead.

Rainey Street helped establish Austin’s modern bar-hopping culture.

But the neighborhood’s future is becoming increasingly dominated by larger development projects.

Some longtime bars will survive.

Others won’t.

And that makes places like Donn’s Depot, Deep Eddy Cabaret, Lala’s and the other old-school bars even more valuable.

They represent a version of Austin that is increasingly difficult to find.

August is therefore a good month to get out and explore both sides of the city.

Try one of the new restaurants.

Check out a bakery you’ve never visited.

Grab a Japanese sandwich.

Find a Cuban food truck.

Then, when the sun goes down, skip the rooftop for one night and visit a dive bar.

Order a beer.

Put some money in the jukebox.

Talk to somebody.

Don’t worry about taking the perfect Instagram picture.

That’s the beauty of a dive.

Nobody cares.

And maybe that’s exactly what Austin needs in August.

A place to escape the heat.

A cold drink.

Good food.

Live music.

And a little bit of the old Austin still hanging around.

Because the new Austin is exciting.

But the old Austin is worth protecting.

Summer has officially arrived in Austin, and the city is wasting no time taking advantage of it.

June is when Austin’s entertainment calendar really begins moving outdoors. Restaurant patios are packed, hotel pools are turning into weekend destinations, breweries are hosting events, live music is happening everywhere and new restaurants and bars are giving locals plenty of reasons to explore neighborhoods beyond the usual downtown spots.

If May was the warm-up, June is when Austin’s summer officially begins.

One of the biggest events on the June calendar is Keep Austin Weird Fest & 5K, an event built around one of the city’s most famous slogans and its independent, eccentric personality. The event combines a run with a festival atmosphere, local vendors, costumes and plenty of Austin-style weirdness.

It is exactly the kind of event that works in this city because it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Austin has always had a reputation for being different.

June is a good time to celebrate that.

But if you’re looking for something more focused on food, one of the biggest things happening this month is the continued growth of Austin’s restaurant scene.

New concepts are opening throughout the city, and one of the most anticipated additions is Este, the coastal Mexican restaurant from the team behind Suerte.

Located on Manor Road, Este is bringing a seafood-heavy menu inspired by Mexico’s coastal regions. The restaurant is part of the continuing evolution of Austin’s Mexican food scene, which is becoming more focused on regional cooking and specialized concepts.

For Austin diners, that means Mexican food is becoming much more diverse.

Tacos aren’t going anywhere.

Neither is Tex-Mex.

But restaurants like Este are adding another layer to the city’s dining culture.

The same is happening with other international cuisines throughout Austin.

The city is increasingly becoming a place where diners can choose between dozens of different culinary traditions on any given night.

And June’s warm weather makes restaurant hopping even more appealing.

Start with dinner.

Move to a cocktail bar.

Find a patio.

Listen to music.

End with dessert.

That is a perfectly reasonable Austin evening.

The city’s bar scene is also entering one of its busiest seasons.

Rooftop bars are becoming increasingly popular as locals look for somewhere to spend the evening outside while still enjoying a cocktail.

Downtown rooftops provide some of the best views of Austin, and June sunsets can be spectacular.

But the key to surviving Austin summer is knowing when to be outside.

A rooftop at 3 p.m. can be brutal.

A rooftop at 8 p.m. can be perfect.

That is why sunset has become one of the most popular times to visit Austin’s rooftop bars.

Places such as Wax Myrtle’s, P6, Rules & Regs and other downtown rooftops are becoming destinations for evening drinks, dates and weekend gatherings.

For visitors, these are some of the easiest places to combine Austin’s nightlife with the city’s skyline.

But locals know that the best summer entertainment often happens away from downtown.

Austin’s brewery scene is especially busy in June.

Beer gardens provide shaded outdoor spaces, food trucks provide dinner and breweries frequently add live music, trivia, markets and other events.

A brewery can easily become an entire afternoon.

And unlike a traditional bar, breweries tend to be more casual.

You can bring friends.

Bring the family.

Bring the dog.

Order food.

Try several beers.

Listen to music.

Hang out.

That’s a major part of Austin’s summer culture.

The city’s food-truck parks are also becoming busier as people spend more time outdoors.

Food trucks remain one of the best ways to discover new Austin food without making a reservation.

And because trucks can move and new ones constantly appear, the scene changes quickly.

That makes it particularly fun for locals.

A food truck that wasn’t there six months ago might become your new favorite place.

June is also a great month to explore Austin’s East Side.

East Austin continues to be one of the city’s fastest-changing restaurant and nightlife neighborhoods, with new bars, restaurants and entertainment spaces opening alongside longtime local favorites.

The area is particularly good for an evening where you don’t want to commit to one location.

Grab dinner.

Walk to a cocktail bar.

Find live music.

Stop at a brewery.

Finish with tacos.

You can do all of that within a relatively small area.

And because the evenings stay light longer, there is more time to explore.

Live music remains a huge part of June’s calendar as well.

Austin doesn’t need SXSW or ACL to have a music scene.

The clubs on Red River continue booking bands.

The Continental Club continues hosting performances.

The Moody Theater has major touring acts.

Outdoor venues are getting busier.

And neighborhood bars continue bringing in local musicians.

June is actually one of the best months to see Austin music because the city has settled into its summer rhythm.

The giant festival crowds aren’t everywhere.

You can often get into smaller shows more easily.

And many venues are hosting outdoor performances.

If you haven’t checked out a local Austin band recently, this is a good month to do it.

Summer also means pool season, and Austin’s hotel pools are becoming some of the city’s busiest social destinations.

Hotel pool parties, DJ events and weekend gatherings attract locals and visitors alike.

Some pools are relatively relaxed.

Others become full-scale parties.

Either way, June is when pool culture becomes part of Austin nightlife.

If you’re looking for something different to do on a Saturday, spending the afternoon at a hotel pool can easily turn into dinner and drinks afterward.

The trick is making reservations early.

Popular pool destinations can fill quickly, especially on holiday weekends.

And with the Fourth of July coming up next month, June is also when restaurants, bars and event organizers begin announcing their Independence Day plans.

That makes the month a good time to start watching for July events.

Austin’s Fourth of July calendar typically includes fireworks, concerts, pool parties, lake events and neighborhood celebrations.

Some of the most popular events sell tickets early.

So if you’re planning to spend July 4 in Austin, June is when you should start figuring out where you want to be.

June also brings Father’s Day, which gives restaurants another opportunity to create special menus and events.

For dads who would rather have barbecue than a fancy dinner, Austin has plenty of options.

For beer-loving dads, the brewery scene is an obvious choice.

For music fans, there are concerts.

For sports fans, Austin FC is becoming a popular option.

And for anyone who simply wants to spend time outside, Austin’s patios and parks provide plenty of choices.

The city’s sports scene continues to grow as well.

Austin FC has quickly become one of the city’s biggest sources of weekend energy, and match days are increasingly becoming social events throughout town.

Bars fill with supporters.

Restaurants offer specials.

Fans wear green.

And downtown and East Austin become busy before and after matches.

That is another major change in Austin’s entertainment culture.

Sports are becoming part of the city’s nightlife.

For decades, music was the dominant attraction.

Now Austin has music, food, nightlife and professional soccer competing for people’s attention.

June also gives locals an opportunity to explore one of Austin’s oldest summer traditions: swimming holes.

Barton Springs Pool remains one of the city’s most recognizable places to cool off, while other swimming spots and lakes around the region attract people looking for relief from the heat.

For anyone visiting Austin, a day at Barton Springs followed by dinner and drinks is almost a perfect summer itinerary.

It is also one of the most Austin experiences you can have.

Swim.

Relax.

Eat.

Drink.

Listen to music.

Repeat.

The only problem is that everyone else knows it too.

By June, popular outdoor destinations can become crowded quickly.

That is why locals often plan around the heat and crowds.

Go early.

Take a long lunch.

Find somewhere with shade.

Wait for sunset.

Then go back outside.

That’s the key to enjoying Austin in June.

And the city gives you plenty of reasons to do it.

New restaurants are opening.

New bars are appearing.

Breweries are hosting events.

Music venues are filling.

Pools are busy.

Patios are packed.

Food trucks are everywhere.

And Austin FC is giving people another reason to go out.

June isn’t the month to stay inside.

It’s the month to take advantage of everything Austin does well outdoors.

Find a new restaurant.

Try a new brewery.

Catch a concert.

Visit a rooftop.

Spend an afternoon by the water.

Watch an Austin FC match.

Or simply grab a cold drink and sit on a patio until the sun goes down.

Because once July and August arrive, you’ll remember exactly how good Austin’s early summer weather felt.

For now, summer is here.

And Austin is ready.

May is when Austin starts feeling like summer is just around the corner. The days are getting longer, patios are packed, pools are becoming social destinations and the city’s restaurant and bar scene is shifting outdoors. There is plenty happening around town this month, from new restaurants and cocktail spots to food festivals, live music and outdoor events.

If April was the month to ease into spring, May is when Austin starts turning the volume up.

One of the biggest food events on the calendar is Hot Luck, the annual food and music festival created by Aaron Franklin, James Moody and Mike Thelin. The festival returns to Austin over Memorial Day weekend, bringing chefs, barbecue, live music and plenty of drinking together across several venues.

Hot Luck has become one of the city’s most distinctive food events because it doesn’t feel like a traditional food festival.

There isn’t a giant convention center full of booths.

Instead, Hot Luck spreads across Austin, with chefs cooking special meals and events in different locations.

That means the city itself becomes part of the festival.

And for Austin food lovers, that is exactly what makes it fun.

The event attracts chefs from Austin and around the country, giving locals a chance to try food they wouldn’t normally find on an Austin menu.

The festival’s connection to live music is equally important.

This is Austin, after all.

You can eat a plate of food from a nationally recognized chef and then hear a band.

You can drink beer while watching a chef cook.

You can spend the afternoon eating barbecue and end the evening at a concert.

Hot Luck combines several of Austin’s favorite things into one weekend.

May is also a big month for restaurant openings.

One of the year’s most anticipated openings is Este, the coastal Mexican restaurant from the team behind Suerte. Located on Manor Road, Este focuses heavily on seafood and the cooking traditions of Mexico’s coastal regions.

The restaurant is part of a larger change happening in Austin’s Mexican food scene.

Austin has always been a taco city.

It has always been a Tex-Mex city.

But diners are increasingly looking for regional Mexican cuisine that goes far beyond the standard taco-and-enchilada menu.

Este fits perfectly into that movement.

The restaurant’s seafood-focused menu gives diners another option for Mexican food while also reflecting Austin’s growing interest in more specialized culinary concepts.

If you’re looking for somewhere new to try this month, Este should be near the top of the list.

Another major addition to the city is Maie Day, the steakhouse from the team behind Olamaie. Located at South Congress Hotel, Maie Day brings a modern Austin interpretation of the classic steakhouse.

And this is exactly the kind of restaurant that works well in May.

Steak.

Oysters.

Cocktails.

Wine.

Outdoor seating.

South Congress.

It has everything needed for a long summer evening.

The location also makes it easy to build an entire night around the restaurant.

Start with drinks.

Walk South Congress.

Have dinner.

Grab another cocktail.

Listen to music.

By the time summer arrives, South Congress will be packed, so May is a good time to enjoy the area before the heat becomes intense.

The city’s bar scene is changing along with the weather.

Rooftops and patios are becoming increasingly popular.

Places like Wax Myrtle’s are turning downtown into a destination for people who want cocktails with a view, while Austin’s established rooftop bars are entering their busiest season.

There is something about having a drink outside in Austin that makes the city feel different.

A cocktail inside a dark bar can be great.

But a cold drink on a rooftop while watching the sun set over downtown is a completely different experience.

May is one of the best months for it.

The heat is arriving, but it hasn’t reached its peak yet.

That means outdoor drinking is still enjoyable rather than an endurance test.

Austin’s breweries are also taking advantage of the weather.

Beer gardens are filling up, food trucks are becoming busy and breweries are scheduling more live music and outdoor events.

For locals who haven’t explored Austin’s brewery scene recently, May is a good time to start.

The brewery culture has expanded well beyond the traditional taproom.

Many breweries now have kitchens, food trucks, patios, games, live music and special events.

You can spend an entire afternoon at one without needing to make another stop.

The city’s restaurant-park trend is also becoming more noticeable.

One of the most interesting examples is The Pitch, the North Austin soccer and entertainment complex that opened earlier this year.

The Pitch combines multiple restaurants, bars and outdoor spaces, creating a destination where people can eat, drink and watch sports without having to visit several different places.

With Austin FC’s popularity growing, the venue is particularly attractive on match days.

And even if you’re not a soccer fan, the food and outdoor atmosphere make it worth checking out.

May is also when Austin’s sports and nightlife scenes increasingly overlap.

Austin FC matches have become social events.

Fans meet for drinks before matches.

Restaurants around the stadium fill up.

Bars show games.

And supporters gather afterward.

That is another sign of how quickly Austin’s sports culture has grown.

For decades, Austin was known primarily for music.

Now sports are becoming a major part of the city’s entertainment calendar.

Austin FC is bringing an entirely different type of crowd into bars and restaurants, especially around match days.

And the city’s nightlife is adapting.

Speaking of nightlife, East Austin remains one of the best areas to explore if you’re looking for something new.

The neighborhood continues to add restaurants, bars, cocktail lounges and food trucks, and May’s weather makes walking between places much more enjoyable.

A typical East Austin evening can easily turn into a five-stop adventure.

Dinner at a new restaurant.

Drinks at a cocktail bar.

A brewery.

Live music.

Late-night tacos.

That’s the beauty of the neighborhood.

There isn’t one single destination.

The neighborhood itself becomes the night out.

The same is true around Red River.

Austin’s live-music scene doesn’t take the summer off.

Smaller venues continue booking local and touring acts, while outdoor events become increasingly common.

If you haven’t been to a live show in a smaller Austin venue recently, May is a great month to do it.

You don’t need to wait for a major festival.

You don’t need to buy a huge ticket.

You can find a small venue, grab a drink and hear a band you’ve never seen.

That’s still one of the best ways to experience Austin.

And for anyone visiting the city, it is often a better experience than simply checking off the biggest tourist attractions.

The city’s food scene is also increasingly tied to the nightlife scene.

Late-night restaurants are becoming more important as people stay out later.

Tacos, burgers, pizza and other casual food are available well into the night, giving Austin’s bar crowd somewhere to eat after the kitchen at a traditional restaurant closes.

That is important because Austin’s nightlife increasingly extends beyond midnight.

People go out later.

Bars stay busy.

Music venues have late shows.

And restaurants that understand that demand can become extremely popular.

May is also the beginning of pool season.

Austin’s hotel pools and pool bars are becoming social destinations, particularly on weekends.

Some are relaxed places to spend the afternoon.

Others are full-on party destinations.

Either way, pools are increasingly part of Austin’s summer entertainment culture.

And May is when they start getting busy.

For locals, that means it is worth keeping an eye on hotel pool calendars and summer events.

A normal Saturday can easily turn into a pool day, dinner and drinks downtown.

That combination is becoming a classic Austin summer weekend.

But don’t wait too long to make plans.

Memorial Day weekend is one of the busiest weekends of the spring, and with Hot Luck taking place at the same time, restaurants and hotels can fill quickly.

If you want to attend a food event, book a reservation or see a particular chef, now is the time to make plans.

May also marks the beginning of the city’s outdoor festival season.

The weather is warm enough for outdoor events, but many people still consider the month more comfortable than June, July or August.

That makes it one of the best times of year to be outside.

And Austin has plenty of places to do it.

Parks.

Breweries.

Patios.

Rooftops.

Food trucks.

Outdoor concert spaces.

Restaurant courtyards.

The city is designed for it.

If there is one thing to remember about Austin in May, it is that the city is moving outside.

The restaurants are opening their patios.

The bars are filling rooftops.

Breweries are hosting outdoor events.

Food festivals are returning.

Austin FC fans are taking over sports bars.

Musicians are performing outside.

And locals are finding excuses to stay out until sunset.

That’s what makes May one of the best months on the Austin calendar.

The giant heat of summer hasn’t fully arrived.

The spring festival rush has calmed down.

But the city is busy.

New restaurants are opening.

New bars are being discovered.

Old favorites are becoming packed again.

And the calendar is filling with events.

For Baller ATX readers, May is the month to get outside and explore.

Try a new restaurant.

Find a rooftop.

Go to Hot Luck.

Catch an Austin FC match.

Visit a brewery.

Listen to a local band.

Or simply grab a drink on a patio and watch Austin do what Austin does best.

Summer is coming.

And the city is already getting ready to party.

Atx is officially in its spring mode (and my ladies b day).

The major March rush has passed, but the city isn’t slowing down. April is one of the best months to be outside in Austin, and the calendar is filling up with food festivals, live music, patio parties, restaurant openings, brewery events and neighborhood gatherings. For anyone who spent March navigating the SXSW crowds, April offers something different: more opportunities to enjoy Austin without having to fight through downtown.

One of the biggest events on the April calendar is the ABC Kite Fest, returning to Zilker Park on April 3. The annual event brings kite flying, family activities, food and entertainment to the park, creating one of those classic Austin spring afternoons that doesn’t require a concert ticket or a reservation.

The event is particularly popular because it is completely different from the giant festivals that dominate Austin’s calendar.

There is no need to dress up.

There is no complicated itinerary.

You can simply head to Zilker Park, find a spot on the grass and watch the sky fill with kites.

For families, it is one of the city’s best spring traditions. For everyone else, it is an excuse to spend a Sunday afternoon outside.

And April is perfect for that.

The weather is usually warm without the intense summer heat, making outdoor dining and drinking particularly attractive.

That means patio season is officially here.

Across Austin, restaurant patios, brewery beer gardens and rooftop bars are becoming destinations in their own right. Instead of simply eating dinner inside a restaurant, people are increasingly choosing places where they can sit outside for several hours.

This is one of the biggest advantages Austin has over many other cities.

A beautiful spring afternoon can turn a normal lunch into a three-hour event.

Grab tacos.

Order a margarita.

Listen to music.

Hang out.

Order another drink.

And suddenly it’s dinner time.

Austin’s restaurant scene is built for this.

April is also bringing some exciting new additions to the city’s food landscape.

One of the biggest openings to watch is Maie Day, the new steakhouse from the team behind the acclaimed Olamaie. Located at South Congress Hotel, the restaurant is designed around classic steakhouse dining but with the style and attention to ingredients that Austin diners have come to expect from the city’s higher-end restaurants.

The arrival of Maie Day is significant because Austin’s steakhouse scene has become increasingly competitive.

The city already has plenty of places to get a good steak, but modern Austin steakhouses are trying to create a complete experience.

The atmosphere matters.

The cocktails matter.

The sides matter.

The wine list matters.

And increasingly, the patio matters.

South Congress is also an ideal location because visitors can turn a meal at Maie Day into an entire afternoon or evening.

Walk South Congress.

Shop.

Get coffee.

Have dinner.

Grab a drink.

Listen to music.

That is one of the reasons the neighborhood continues to be one of Austin’s biggest tourism destinations.

Another area getting attention this spring is East Austin.

The neighborhood continues to add restaurants, bars and entertainment concepts, and April is a great time to explore it because the outdoor spaces are becoming especially attractive.

East Austin has developed a reputation for being one of the best places in the city to find something new.

You can start with breakfast.

Visit a brewery.

Grab lunch.

Find a cocktail bar.

Listen to live music.

And finish with late-night food.

The neighborhood’s restaurant scene is also becoming increasingly diverse.

Austin’s food culture is no longer defined by a handful of categories.

Barbecue is still huge.

Tacos are still huge.

But the city is also becoming known for Korean food, Japanese food, Caribbean food, Indian food, Vietnamese food, Mediterranean restaurants and other international concepts.

April is a great month to explore that diversity.

One of the restaurants that continues to attract attention is Canje, the Caribbean restaurant from the Emmer & Rye team. Its menu brings flavors from across the Caribbean to East Austin, giving diners something dramatically different from traditional Austin fare.

The restaurant is exactly the kind of place that shows how far the city has come.

Austin used to be known primarily for barbecue, Tex-Mex and burgers.

Now diners can spend an entire weekend eating food from different parts of the world without leaving the city.

That evolution is one of the most interesting stories in Austin’s food scene.

And it isn’t stopping.

New restaurants are still being announced throughout the city.

New chefs are opening their own concepts.

Food trucks are becoming brick-and-mortar restaurants.

Restaurant groups are expanding.

And established chefs are launching second and third concepts.

April is therefore a good month to start paying attention to what’s coming later in the year.

One of the biggest upcoming projects remains Este, the coastal Mexican restaurant on Manor Road from the team behind Suerte.

The restaurant’s seafood-heavy menu is part of a broader trend toward regional Mexican cuisine in Austin.

Instead of treating Mexican food as one category, Austin chefs are increasingly focusing on specific regions and traditions.

That is making the city’s Mexican food scene more interesting than ever.

For locals, that means there is always another restaurant to try.

And April is the perfect month to do it.

The city’s brewery scene is also getting busy.

As temperatures rise, beer gardens become increasingly popular. Breweries throughout Austin are adding outdoor events, live music, food trucks and special releases to their calendars.

A brewery is no longer simply somewhere to go drink beer.

It is becoming an entertainment destination.

You can bring friends.

Bring the dog.

Eat from a food truck.

Listen to a band.

Play games.

And spend the entire afternoon outside.

That is particularly appealing in April before the temperatures become brutal.

The same is true for Austin’s rooftop bars.

Downtown rooftops are entering one of their busiest seasons. Places such as P6, Azul Rooftop, Rules & Regs and other downtown destinations are beginning to attract people looking for views and cocktails without having to deal with the summer heat.

Rooftop season is one of those unofficial Austin seasons that locals understand.

There is a relatively short window when the weather is warm enough to enjoy the view but not so hot that everyone is looking for air conditioning.

April is right in that window.

Live music is also continuing to fill Austin’s calendar.

After SXSW, the city doesn’t suddenly stop being a music city.

If anything, April can be a better month for discovering local musicians because the enormous festival crowds are gone.

Venues throughout Red River, East Austin, South Congress and downtown continue booking local and touring artists.

Smaller shows can be particularly rewarding.

You may not know the band.

You may not have heard the song.

But that’s exactly how Austin’s music culture has always worked.

You go somewhere.

You hear something.

You discover a musician.

And six months later, you realize everyone else has discovered them too.

April also brings the beginning of Austin’s outdoor concert and event season.

Parks, patios, breweries and outdoor venues are increasingly being used for live performances.

That gives residents more choices than simply going to a traditional music venue.

Want to listen to music while drinking beer?

Go to a brewery.

Want live music with dinner?

Find a restaurant with a patio stage.

Want a bigger concert?

Check the major venues.

Want something casual?

Look for a neighborhood event.

Austin has options.

The food scene and music scene increasingly overlap, and that is one of the things that makes the city particularly fun in spring.

You don’t have to choose between dinner and entertainment.

You can have both.

April is also a good month for one of Austin’s favorite traditions: food trucks.

The city’s food-truck parks are getting busier as the weather improves, and new trucks continue appearing around town.

For visitors, food trucks can be one of the easiest ways to experience Austin food without making a reservation.

For locals, they are a chance to discover something new.

And because many trucks specialize in one particular item, the food can be extremely focused.

One truck might do tacos.

Another might specialize in burgers.

Another might make pizza.

Another might serve desserts.

Another might specialize in international food that would be difficult to find elsewhere.

That’s part of what makes Austin’s food-truck scene so good.

It is constantly changing.

April also means Easter, Mother’s Day planning and the beginning of the wedding and event season, which means Austin’s restaurants are increasingly offering brunches, special menus and private events.

Brunch is already a major part of Austin’s weekend culture, but spring makes it even more popular.

Outdoor patios fill.

Mimosas appear.

Breakfast tacos become lunch.

Lunch becomes cocktails.

And suddenly nobody is in a hurry to go home.

That is the April Austin lifestyle.

The biggest difference between April and March is that you don’t need a giant festival as an excuse to enjoy the city.

The city itself is the event.

Go to a restaurant you’ve never tried.

Find a patio.

Visit a brewery.

Walk South Congress.

Explore East Austin.

See a local band.

Grab tacos.

Take the family to the kite festival.

Or simply spend a Saturday afternoon outside with a drink.

Austin is at its best when the weather is good and the calendar is full.

And April is when that combination really starts happening.

The big summer heat hasn’t arrived yet.

The major fall festivals are still months away.

But the restaurants are busy.

The patios are full.

The bars are opening their doors.

The breweries are hosting events.

The music is everywhere.

And new businesses are continuing to arrive.

So if March was Austin’s giant party month, April is Austin’s let’s actually enjoy the city month.

It’s the month to slow down a little, explore somewhere new and take advantage of the weather.

Because by the time summer arrives, you’ll be wishing you had.

Austin didn’t have to wait until spring for another massive event after ACL. By November 2021, the city was still buzzing from one of the biggest weekends on its annual calendar: Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas.

The race had taken place in October, but its impact was still being felt across Austin as November began. The 2021 United States Grand Prix had drawn an enormous crowd to COTA, with more than 140,000 spectators attending on race day and a three-day attendance of more than 400,000. The numbers demonstrated just how important Formula 1 had become to Austin’s tourism, restaurant and nightlife industries.

But November wasn’t simply the month after a race.

It was the month Austin realized Formula 1 had become part of its identity.

For years, Austin had built its reputation around music, food, bars and festivals. Formula 1 added something different: an international sporting event capable of bringing visitors from around the world into the city for an entire weekend.

And those visitors didn’t stay at the racetrack.

They stayed downtown.

They ate at Austin restaurants.

They visited bars.

They went shopping.

They booked hotels.

They rented cars.

They explored neighborhoods.

They turned the entire city into part of the Grand Prix experience.

That was one of the reasons the 2021 race was so significant.

COTA wasn’t simply hosting a sporting event.

Austin was hosting Formula 1.

The distinction mattered.

During race weekend, downtown Austin became a second venue. Hotels and restaurants prepared for an influx of visitors, while bars and entertainment businesses benefited from customers looking for something to do after spending the day at the track.

The city was already accustomed to huge crowds from SXSW and ACL, but Formula 1 brought a different demographic and a different kind of energy.

There were international fans wearing team colors.

There were people carrying Ferrari and McLaren merchandise.

There were groups traveling specifically for the race.

There were longtime Austinites who had never paid much attention to Formula 1 suddenly talking about racing.

And there were restaurants and bars that realized the event could become one of their biggest weekends of the year.

The food scene was particularly important.

Austin had spent decades building a reputation as a food destination, and Formula 1 gave that reputation a global audience.

Visitors weren’t going to leave Austin without trying barbecue.

They wanted tacos.

They wanted margaritas.

They wanted craft beer.

They wanted breakfast tacos.

They wanted the restaurants locals had been telling them about.

And they wanted to experience the city’s nightlife.

Formula 1 essentially created a massive temporary tourism campaign for Austin’s food scene.

The race also had an unusually strong connection to the city’s celebrity culture.

Formula 1’s growing popularity in the United States was bringing celebrities, athletes and entertainers into Austin. The 2021 Grand Prix became a place where the worlds of sports, music and entertainment overlapped.

That was especially fitting for Austin.

This was already a city where musicians performed at restaurants, chefs appeared at festivals and celebrities could end up sitting at the table next to you.

Formula 1 simply added another layer.

The result was an Austin weekend where you could spend the afternoon watching racing and the evening listening to live music.

You could eat barbecue for lunch, visit COTA, return downtown and spend the night at a bar.

You could spend Sunday watching one of the world’s most prestigious motorsports series and Monday morning eating breakfast tacos.

Formula 1 fit Austin surprisingly well.

The city had the infrastructure for large events, the restaurant scene to feed visitors and the nightlife to keep them entertained after the race.

It also had something that many cities hosting major sporting events don’t have: an established culture of entertainment.

Austin knows how to throw a party.

And Formula 1 gave it another excuse.

The race’s success also reinforced COTA’s position as one of the most important event venues in Texas.

The facility wasn’t just a racetrack. It had become a major concert and entertainment destination as well, hosting large performances and other events throughout the year.

That meant the Formula 1 weekend was part of a larger transformation in Austin’s event landscape.

The city was increasingly capable of hosting huge events that combined sports, music, food and entertainment.

That was important because Austin’s growth was changing the type of events the city could attract.

For decades, Austin’s biggest cultural export had been music.

Now it had music plus food plus technology plus sports plus nightlife.

Formula 1 fit directly into that broader evolution.

And there was another reason the 2021 race mattered: it showed just how powerful the Austin tourism machine could be when all of those industries worked together.

Hotels benefited from visitors.

Restaurants benefited from hotel guests.

Bars benefited from restaurant customers.

Transportation companies benefited from everybody.

Local retailers benefited from tourists.

Musicians benefited from the increased demand for entertainment.

The event became a citywide economic engine.

That was particularly important for Austin’s hospitality industry, which had endured an extraordinarily difficult 2020.

The return of major events such as ACL and Formula 1 demonstrated that the city could once again generate the enormous bursts of tourism that had helped restaurants, bars and entertainment businesses thrive before the pandemic.

But November wasn’t only about Formula 1.

The month also marked the beginning of Austin’s holiday season, and the city’s restaurants and bars were preparing for one of the busiest times of the year.

Thanksgiving brought families back together, while restaurants began promoting holiday dinners, cocktails and special events.

Austin’s breweries and bars were also entering the holiday season with special releases and events, while restaurants increasingly shifted menus toward the fall and winter flavors that accompany the holidays.

The city’s food calendar was becoming packed again.

That was an important contrast with the previous year.

November 2020 had been a much quieter holiday season, with many businesses still operating under significant restrictions and uncertainty.

November 2021 felt different.

People were making reservations.

Restaurants were advertising events.

Bars were promoting holiday parties.

Businesses were preparing for larger crowds.

The calendar was full.

Austin’s social life was becoming busy enough that people once again had to decide where they wanted to go instead of simply asking whether anything was open.

That was perhaps the clearest measure of the city’s recovery.

And the city’s bar scene was particularly vibrant.

East Sixth Street remained one of Austin’s best-known nightlife districts, while Rainey Street continued developing into a major destination of its own. Downtown cocktail bars, breweries and restaurants were attracting visitors who had come into town for everything from Formula 1 to Thanksgiving trips.

The city’s nightlife was becoming increasingly diverse.

You could spend the evening at a traditional Austin dive bar.

You could visit a high-end cocktail lounge.

You could drink beer at a brewery.

You could find live music.

You could visit a rooftop.

You could end the night at a taco truck.

That combination was becoming one of Austin’s defining characteristics.

Formula 1 simply amplified it.

For visitors arriving from outside Texas, Austin wasn’t just the place where the race happened.

It was the place they went after the race.

And that distinction was extremely valuable.

COTA could provide the track.

Austin provided the rest.

The restaurants.

The bars.

The music.

The nightlife.

The culture.

The food.

The personality.

That combination was what made the United States Grand Prix so successful in Austin.

By November, the race had already become one of the city’s major annual events, and the 2021 attendance numbers made it clear that it wasn’t going anywhere.

Formula 1 had found an audience in Texas.

More importantly, Austin had found another event capable of putting the city on a global stage.

The city’s traditional identity wasn’t disappearing.

It was expanding.

Austin could still be the Live Music Capital.

It could still be a food city.

It could still be a bar city.

It could still be the home of SXSW and ACL.

And now it could also be one of the most important Formula 1 destinations in the United States.

That combination made November 2021 feel like an important moment in Austin’s evolution.

The city was no longer defined by one thing.

It was becoming a destination where major events of completely different kinds could coexist.

Music fans came for ACL.

Racing fans came for Formula 1.

Food lovers came for barbecue and tacos.

Nightlife visitors came for the bars.

Tourists came for all of it.

And Austin was more than happy to entertain them.

By the end of the month, the city was already looking toward the holiday season and the next year’s event calendar.

But the lesson from Formula 1 was clear.

Austin had become a city capable of turning a major event into an entire weekend experience.

The race might happen at COTA.

But the party happened everywhere.

And in 2021, that was becoming one of the most valuable things Austin had to offer.

If you had only one day to attend Riot Fest 2021, would you go? I sure did and it was one of the best days I’ve had in a long time. Having a day job and getting very little notice of my approval for a press pass meant I would only have one day (Friday) to attend. Thankfully three of my favorite bands were playing one after the other with no conflicts on that day. Motion City Soundtrack, Coheed and Cambria, and The Smashing Pumpkins: the bands that made up most of my high school playlists circa 2004. I couldn’t ask for a better lineup for my first event coming out of the pandemic. Riot Fest really brought the heat on this one.

COVID precautions also took center stage, with vaccine cards or negative results being a prerequisite to gain entry. I felt better about attending and being in such a large crowd with those guidelines in place. Riot Fest also went one step further and even had a rapid test station on-site (for $50), as well as a local hospital administering free COVID vaccines for those who wanted one. For us photographers, we had to wear a mask in the pit and in our press area when not eating or drinking. It wasn’t that big of a deal to me and I am glad they were thinking of everyone’s safety.

It’s been two years since my last festival, Intersect, and it was great to be back again. The lines to get in seemed to move quickly, the VIP line even faster. This being my first Riot Fest, I was impressed by the sheer size of it. However, trying to get from one stage to another can get tiring, and I’m not sure if I could have done all 3 days. I definitely got all my steps in for the week! The food vendors were great, most of which consisted of carnival-themed food, which I love, and the VIP area had an even better selection. I will admit being able to use VIP bathrooms was great. Upgraded (cleaner) bathrooms are where it’s at.

I started my day with Circa Survive, not a band I really listened to but still a pretty great show. Anthony Green was very energetic and it made for some great photos. After that, I went to see Anti-Flag, where I got to see some excellent moshing after we left the pit. I went to the ferris wheel during the remainder of their set where I got to witness one of the largest circle pits (seen in the cover photo of this post). Soon after, it was time for a band I’ve been into since I saw them at my first concert ever (Warped Tour 2004)… Motion City Soundtrack. Seeing them took me all the way back to high school, and they still had the same classic sound and energy as if they hadn’t aged a day. I took some of my best shots of audience members after crowd surfing; some of the happiest faces I’ve seen in such a long time.

Next up was a band just as close to my heart, Coheed and Cambria. While we were standing outside the pit, there were so many of us photographers who were split into two groups having 7 minutes each, and I thought to myself… what, so 1 song? And of course, the first song they played was In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, but damn what a song to open with, and to be that close! I found myself getting lost listening and headbanging with the crowd. Who can’t resist shouting “MAN YOUR OWN JACKHAMMER!!!”?

I couldn’t have picked a better way to end my night and the whole reason why I would make such a journey for one day of the fest… The Smashing Pumpkins! I was born in ‘87 so I wasn’t quite old enough to see them in the beginning. It wasn’t until they released Zeitgeist and went back out on tour that I finally got to see them live. I had fond memories of watching MTV (when it played videos) waiting for Tonight, Tonight, or 1979 to air. Billy Corgan still has those pipes. They played pretty much all classics and some new songs from CYR. However my favorites had to be EYE with Meg Myers stepping in, and then Shame, two rarities I haven’t heard live before. It even rained and it only added to the magic of the night.

Trying to leave Riot Fest was madness that took hours, albeit through no fault of the festival. So many people using the same rideshare app made for long delays and surging prices. Also, downtown was mostly shut down due to celebrations of Dieciseis de Septiembre (Mexican Independence Day), another wild sight to see. All in all, it was a great day and an amazing festival. I would like to thank the staff at Riot Fest and congratulate them for pulling this off during the most difficult times for live music in our lifetime.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Photos by Terry Flemings