play music, be free

SXSW's best and biggest free series takes the Outdoor Stage with lineup including The Zombies

Psychedelic rock pioneers, New Orleans-style street bands, and Austin-based ska enthusiasts are on the 2023 lineup for SXSW's popular outdoor stage.

Photo by Tye Truitt

Finding free events during South by Southwest is sometimes as simple as bookmarking a social media post or walking down the street, but those strategies are hit-or-miss to say the least. The easiest free music plans to commit to are always at the Outdoor Stage, one of the only official SXSW venues that welcomes visitors for free, and sets clear plans well in advance.

This year, the festival has seamlessly transitioned to naming the event rather than just the stage, using "Community Concerts at Lady Bird Lake." These public concerts from March 16-18 transform Auditorium Shores into one of the biggest venues of the entire festival, using the Austin skyline as a backdrop while both local and nationally celebrated acts play. The lineup in 2022 featured both well-known and local bands including Mt. Joy, Heartless Bastards, and Golden Dawn Arkestra.

On Thursday, March 9, KUTX takes over programming as it has done on and off since 2007. This year's theme is ska, but the island genre only influences each set — performers from several genres including the blues, chiptune rap, and "billingual indie music for kids," will play their own music, plus at least one ska-flavored tune. This will be interesting when celebrated Austin guitarist Rosie Flores adapts her rockabilly style. Thao, an eclectic, folksy but funky solo artist from Oakland, closes out the night.

Fridays's shows are without theme, and only showcase three artists compared to Thursday's six. Afrobeat progeny Baba Kuboye (American nephew of Nigeria's late, great Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti) opens the day in a danceable way, followed by pop artist AJ Smith and vibes that couldn't be more different save for the general upbeat overlap. The Zombies — yes, those psych rock 60s icons — are currently touring with Smith, and will play Austinites home or onto their next plans (since all outdoor shows end at 7 pm).

Saturday is the last of the three-day mini-series, hosted by Honk TX (stylized HONK!TX), an Austin non-profit that brings street and brass bands to the Live Music Capital for free. This rowdy series will feature another six bands, this time all Austin's own, including the "undead" costumed Dead Music Capitol Band and the 25-person collective Minor Mishap Marching Band.

The full lineup for 2023's Community Concerts at Lady Bird Lake is as followed:

Thursday, March 16

Lucky Diaz
Mega Ran
Red Yarn & Aaron Nigel Smith
SaulPaul
Jonny Langford and the Silver Sands Roustabouts, and Rosie Flores
Thao

Friday, March 17

Baba Kuboye
AJ Smith
The Zombies

Saturday, March 18

Blowcomotion!
Dead Music Capital Band
Mazel Tov Kocktail Hour
Minor Mishap Marching Band
Moon Tower Brass Band
Yes Ma'am Brass Band

Attendees may bring a picnic or purchase food and drinks from local food trucks and a Beer Garden. More information about set times and other logistics is available at sxsw.com. Lineups are subject to change.

Community Concerts at Lady Bird Lake KUTX Outdoor Stage SXSW Ska The Zombies concerts music live music free at sxsw

REVIVING THE ALAMO

Texas landmark the Alamo reclaims historic cannon from private ownership

Photo by Gower Brown/ Unsplash

A 90-pound cannon used in the Battle of the Alamo is returning to its San Antonio home.

It turns out the Alamo's original 1836 cannons are good for more than just defense — they also make a sturdy birdbath. After serving as a garden ornament for Samuel Maverick’s descendants, an authentic piece of San Antonio history is finally returning home to the revered mission.

According to an Alamo announcement, the swivel cannon weighs 90 pounds and is approximately three feet long. The relic was originally found in 1852 when Maverick built a home near the northwest corner of the battle’s site.

The lawyer and land baron was saved from death when he was urged by William Barret Travis to ride to the Texas Declaration of Independence convention in Washington-on-the-Brazos to send reinforcements. Returning to the Alamo’s grounds, he found a cache of cannons buried where the Hotel Gibbs sits today.

From there, the cannon wound up at the Maverick family’s Sunshine Ranch on the Northwest Side, where it was eventually incorporated into the garden DIY project. In 1955, the cannon was removed from the ranch, and the current location remained a mystery until the Alamo received a call from a Maverick relative in Corpus Christi.

Alamo cannon This Alamo artifact gives an idea of what the cannon will look like once restoration is complete.Photo courtesy of the Alamo.

“The relative graciously donated the cannon to the Alamo,” wrote a rep from the mission. “Alamo Senior Researcher and Historian Kolby Lanham and Head Conservator Pam Jary Rosser drove down the very next day to take this piece of history home to the Alamo.”

Although the artillery is mostly intact, it is missing its trunnions (the pivot-point protrusions on the sides of the barrel) and cascabel (the knob and neck assembly at the rear of historic muzzle-loading cannons). The parts were removed by the Mexican army to make the cannon inoperable.

Once preservation is complete, this cannon and the Alamo Collection’s other battle cannons will make their way to the upcoming Visitor Center and Museum, where they will be joined by rocker Phil Collins' collection of Alamo artifacts. The Alamo is in the midst of a $550 million preservation project, which includes conserving the Alamo Church, Long Barrack, and the mission’s original footprint. The museum is on track to debut in late 2027.

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