Derek Udensi

Plus country jams, doom metal, and a jazz tag team

Plan your week in music with a little help from these recommendations By Derek Udensi, Carys Anderson, Raoul Hernandez, Doug Freeman, James Scott, Tim Stegall, and Kahron Spearman, Fri., Oct. 18, 2024

Coming-of-age rap project emphatically delivers an underrepresented perspective Reviewed by Derek Udensi, Fri., Oct. 18, 2024

Who doesn’t love a good scare? How about a few dozen of them, each terrifying and unique? That’s what the newly conjured Austin Horror Film Festival will be providing over three days and eight blocks of bloodcurdling shorts and features designed to shock, disgust, raise a smile, and more. Hey, who said horror could just be horrifying? So with horror hotter than ever at the box office, here’s your chance to see the fear wranglers of the future. – Richard Whittaker

Arise! You are summoned to Guzu’s latest gathering of the eerie and uncanny. It’s their biggest show to date, with new works highlighting ghastly ghouls and creepy creatures from 35 artists including Dan Brereton, Half-Human, Francisco Salinas, Holly Hansel, Robert Zavala, Mia Burwitz, and Cody Schibi. Terrors of all kinds will be available to adorn your walls, from classics like xenomorphs, Leatherface, and the creature from the Black Lagoon to modern nightmares such as Longlegs and Art the Clown. Crawl your way to Friday’s opening night gala for nibbles from chef Matt Zepeda, and a chance to pick up an exclusive cover edition of the new issue of Gore Noir. – Richard Whittaker

With eye makeup like Robert Smith and a glamorous voice like Dave Gahan, Bobby Cheatham fronts Candy Riot with a perfect Eighties flair. Less dramatic is the synth rockers’ new LP Nico Loretto, where Holly Holt’s vibrant synths shimmer. The band soundtracks the Chronicle ’s next Free Press Forever, our monthly at-home concert series created just for the donors who help us keep the lights on. In honor of Halloween, this gothy gig coincides with a costume contest – the winner gets a prize basket, plus their picture in our Oct. 31 issue. Chip in at

Shoegaze, noise rock, metal, post-punk, indie rock, chillwave, electroclash, and, yes, psych rock – there’s something for everyone on the lineup for this year’s Levitation, which takes over venues across Downtown and beyond this Halloweekend. The Far Out Lounge is particularly stacked with shows featuring Gang of Four, the Jesus Lizard, Dry Cleaning, Slowdive, and Drop Nineteens. Locals like Die Spitz, Grocery Bag, Porcelain, Witches Exist, Farmer’s Wife, and festival co-founders the Black Angels brush up against international favorites for a homegrown, but outward-looking, ode to alternative music. Choose your own adventure with individual show tickets, or snag a four-day pass for about $400. – Carys Anderson

Audio art mixes with light at this new show from Vermont-born “musician, artist, bookbinder, juggler, woodworker, and dungeon master” Cooper McBean. Through a series of tones bounced off resonating panels as well as into an illuminated pool at the center of Recspec’s shipping-container venue, McBean’s work creates reflections that light up the space. These – the titular “caustics” – can be manipulated by the gallery’s audience through adding their own little hums and hahs into its atmosphere. Check out this mix of water, light, and sound on its opening night, Nov. 8, or during the second week of the Austin Studio Tour. – James Scott

Duster couldn’t have timed their second act better. The San Jose slowcore masters released two great, but relatively underground, albums during their initial Y2K-era run before disbanding for nearly 20 years. Shortly after reemerging with 2019’s Duster, the kids on TikTok discovered the melancholy guitar noodles and spacey drones of 1998 magnum opus

Plan you week in live music