Is there fall in Texas? These 12 festivals are happening no matter the weather
Fall is coming and with it comes many a great Austin festival and event. Here's a look at 12 autumn favorites coming up:
Sept. 16-17: Pecan Street Festival
Celebrating its 48th year in 2023, the free event that takes over Sixth Street is not only the largest arts and crafts festival in Central Texas, it’s one of the oldest events of its kind in the country. In addition to art vendors and street food, the festival operates multiple stages featuring live music from top local and regional acts.pecanstreetfestival.org
Sept. 19: HAAM Day at venues around Austin
Since 2005, the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians has helped nearly 6,700 musicians access health care services ranging from primary care to dental, vision, hearing and mental health support. Musicians will play at nontraditional venues across the city to raise money and awareness about the nonprofit’s mission. Catch an early morning serenade from R&B singer Mélat at 6 a.m. at the Lake Austin HEB or sleep in and shop to the sounds of Shinyribs in the same store at 9 a.m. Boogie woogie with Marcia Ball at the Willie Nelson statue at 10 a.m. or sip a smoothie to the sounds of Elijah Zane at Juiceland (Barton Springs) at noon. Music lovers can donate to HAAM at any of the events or online at p2p.onecause.com/haamday. More info and full lineup at myhaam.org.
Sept. 21-24: Bastrop Music Festival
Tunes will spill into the street from 10 Bastrop businesses as the small community east of Austin hosts its second annual music fest. This year’s lineup includes rockabilly queen Rosie Flores, Kelsey Wilson’s Sir Woman, folk rockers Beat Root Revival, Bastrop’s favorite sons the Peterson Brothers and many more. Participating venues include 602 Brewing Company, The Bearded Baking Company and Old Town Restaurant and Bar. Weekend wristbands are $45. bastropmusicfestival.com.
Sept. 21-28: Fantastic Fest at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar
Austin's favorite (the world's favorite? We say yes) genre film festival is back with another packed lineup featuring 29 world premieres, 24 North American premieres and 18 U.S. premieres. The opening night film is the world premiere of "The Toxic Avenger," a reimagined version of a classic Troma film by director Macon Blair. The cast includes Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay, Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon. Closing night is the world premiere of a slasher-comedy, "Totally Killer" by director Nahnatchka Khan and starring Kiernan Shipka "as a time-traveling teen out to stop the infamous 'Sweet Sixteen Killer.'" Big premieres in between include "Pet Sematary: Bloodlines," "The Creator," "Eileen" and "The Origin." The fest also will premiere two TV shows: HBO's "30 Coins" (season two) from Spanish director Álex de la Iglesia and "The Fall of the House of Usher" from Mike Flanagan and coming to Netflix in October. And it wouldn't be Fantastic Fest without events like the opening and closing parties, Fantastic Debates, the Ghoulish Book Fair and a repertory showcase dedicated to creepy crawlers in horror movies. Badges, $275-$1,495, are on sale at FantasticFest.com, where you also can see the full lineup.
Oct. 6-8 and 13-15: Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park
The massive multi-stage blowout draws roughly 75,000 daily to the crown jewel of Austin’s parks system. This year’s lineup features Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Shania Twain, Mumford & Sons, Kali Uchis and many more. The bad news? Three-day passes for both weekends as well as single-day tickets for Friday and Saturday of weekend one and Saturday of weekend two are sold out. The good news? You can join a waitlist for any of these tickets. Also, at publication time there were a fair amount of verified three-day passes for both weekends on Ticketmaster’s official exchange priced below the festival’s Tier 3 pricing of $375. As for the single-day tickets, there are plenty of resale tickets available online for the sold out days, but when we checked recently, you were not going to beat the $170 daily rate. Children under 8 are free with a paying adult. aclfestival.com.
Oct. 20-21: F1 Music with Queen + Adam Lambert, the Killers
Like fast cars and glam rock? British rock titans Queen will take the big stage at the Circuit of Americas on Saturday during the Formula 1 Lenovo United States Grand Prix on Oct. 21. American rocker Adam Lambert, who has been performing with Queen since 2011, will lead singalongs like "We Will Rock You," "Another One Bites the Dust," "Bohemian Rhapsody" and, of course, "We Are the Champions" at the racetrack jam. On Friday night of F1 weekend, Las Vegas rockers the Killers will play at the racetrack. Again, these concerts are for (deep-pocketed) folks who are really into fast cars. A general admission three-day F1 pass that includes both concerts and Sunday’s race will set you back $475. A two-day pass that includes the Queen concert and the race is $425. If you are extra fancy, there are ticket upgrades that will get you a closer vantage point for the concerts. More information and tickets at circuitoftheamericas.com
Oct. 26-Nov. 2: Austin Film Festival & Conference in downtown Austin
This annual event is celebrating its 30th anniversary along with the writers whose imaginations and hard work fill our TV and movie screens and create our favorite podcasts. And producers say it's happening whether or not the writers strike is settled. "For 30 years, the Austin Film Festival (AFF) has been a platform for open discussion, a place where the screenwriting community comes together to pass on experience, craft, and the writers’ journey from script to screen," Barb Morgan, co-founder and executive director Austin Film Festival, told the Statesman. "AFF is a forum for writers, from professionals to beginners, to speak openly and freely about writing and its power and how it is the engine for the film, television, and streaming business. The 30th Anniversary Festival will happen ... with a full slate of programming."
Check austinfilmfestival.com for updates on films, speakers, conference events, the annual Food & Film party, writing competitions and year-round programming. Prices start at $140 for a pair of film passes, $325 for a weekend badge and $450 for a conference badge, with other options and add-ons available.
More: Despite WGA, SAG/AFTRA strike, Austin Film Festival announces first 14 films for 2023
Oct. 26-29: Levitation with Flying Lotus, BADBADNOTGOOD, more
Elevate your senses and set your imagination free as Austin’s annual celebration of mind-opening psychedelic sounds returns for its biggest showing in years. While much of this year’s event is still anchored in the Red River Cultural District, it’s possible to log four days of top-notch festing without setting foot in downtown Austin.
The four-day event kicks off on Thursday with a slate of nine shows that includes singer-songwriter Ty Segall and his Freedom Band headlining Stubb’s BBQ, post-hardcore outfit Unwound at the Far Out Lounge in South Austin, Aussie rockers the Church at Elysium and electronic artist Oneohtrix Point Never mixing it up at Southeast Austin dance music outpost Concourse project.
Friday’s shows include Alan Palomo of Neon Indian at Empire, ‘90s alt-rockers Blonde Redhead at Mohawk and Brainfeeder founder Flying Lotus at Concourse Project. Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Black Angels at Far Out, Speedy Ortiz at the Parish, Amyl and the Sniffers at Stubb’s and Durand Jones at the Mohawk are among your Saturday options, and fest closers include BADBADNOTGOOD at Far Out, Death from Above 1979 at Mohawk and Beach Fossils at Stubb’s. $395 four-day pass; $18-$55 for individual shows. See levitation.fm for detailed schedule and tickets.
More: Looking for things to do in San Marcos? Our guide for where to eat, drink and have fun.
Nov. 4-5: Austin Food & Wine Festival
Austin Food & Wine Festival returns to Vic Mathias Shores for its 12th iteration November 4 and 5, and tickets are now on sale for the event that brings back some familiar faces and rolls out a new centerpiece event.
The biggest change for 2023 is that the long-standing and popular Rock Your Taco event has been shelved, but Saturday night’s main event will still have Texas vibes. The new showcase event is called Made in Texas and will feature chefs from the Lone Star State and beyond working live fire-grills and whipping up Texas-inspired dishes.
Tickets start at $195 and can be purchased at austinfoodandwinefestival.com, where you can see the full lineup of chefs and events. — Matthew Odam
Nov. 2-12: Austin Jewish Film Festival
Programming has not yet been announced, but it will include screenings, Q&A's and parties, plus an option for online viewing later. In-person events are at the Dell Jewish Community Campus, 7300 Hart Lane. Programming updates and tickets when available: austinjff.org/2023-festival.
More: Austin's Black Pumas end year-long hiatus with stirring new track 'More Than a Love Song'
Nov. 10-12: Seismic Dance Event at Concourse Project
Austin’s premiere dance music festival returns to Southeast Austin with a lineup that mixes underground innovators with some of the genre's biggest stars. Mainstream electronic music hitmaker deadmau5 and super producer Chris Lake from Black Book Records lead the roster alongside Kaskade, who will put his pop collabs on the shelf for a "Redux" set exploring the underground house he mines in his series of "Redux" EPs. Area10 label head MK will be in the house and German producers Boys Noize and Loco Dice will bring international flavor to a lineup featuring over two dozen artists with more additions on the way. $249 3-day pass; $119 single-day. seismicdanceevent.com
Nov. 11-12: Texas Book Festival in downtown Austin
Our favorite weekend for book lovers and often some of the best weather of the fall, Texas Book Fest brings more than 250 authors to locations in and around the Texas State Capital. The full lineup is not yet out, but already announced writers include political leader, community organizer and best-selling author Stacey Abrams, PEN/Faulkner award winner Ann Patchett, Time magazine editor Walter Isaacson and National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson. Book festival programming is free and open to the public. Schedule updates and information: www.texasbookfestival.org.
Austin360 features editor Sharon Chapman contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Fall things to do in Austin: 12 festivals happening in Central Texas
