A Curious Mix of People Authors Debut Emo’s Documentary on Red River

Greg Beets, Richard Whymark, and Chepo Peña premiered Emo’s, a documentary about the original Sixth Street iteration of the landmark Austin music venue, at a nostalgic, scene-reuniting double screening last weekend. The third in a series of films produced from interviews  musician/writer Beets, filmmaker Whymark, and musician/graphic designer Peña originally published in the 2023 oral history A Curious Mix of People: The Underground Scene of ’90s Austin, the hourlong project charted the rise and fall of the Nineties club with archival concert footage and talking-head interviews. Audience members, many of whom were reflected in the onscreen action, often erupted in a-ha cheers as figures including club founder Eric “Emo” Hartman, general manager Dave Thompson, bartender Aileen Adler, and booker Graham Reynolds recalled Emo’s all-ages, no-cover glory days, reminiscing on the time Johnny Cash played the dingy venue, how drugs and onstage sodomy threatened operations at every turn, and their feelings upon discovering scene fixture Russell Porter had started a new band conspicuously named FuckEmos. In a post-screening Q&A, all four Emo’s veterans joined Beets onstage to swap bathroom horror stories and pay their respects to departed scene figures like Chronicle alums Michael Corcoran and Margaret Moser and legendary poster artist Frank Kozik. 

The screening – hosted at Swan Dive, the 615 Red River venue once home to Emo’s dirtier DIY precursor, the Cavity – was one of several history-celebrating events produced by the Red River Cultural District on Saturday. As part of the nonprofit’s new Cultural Currents storytelling initiative, the strip bustled with rare daylight activity thanks to a self-guided walking tour, Howdy Gals-curated showcase, and launch of a zine and podcast cementing the Downtown center’s vibrant musical origins. – Carys Anderson 

The Drop In concert series will once again soundtrack summer sunsets at the Long Center, with 12 weeks of free music sponsored by KUTX and the Levitt VIBE grant program. With each Thursday’s performer announced one week at a time, the series will showcase local acts like blues guitar icon Jackie Venson, psychedelic cumbia-blending group Como Las Movies, it-girl singer/rapper/dancer Grace Sorensen, and Nineties hitmakers Fastball, plus Felt Out, francene rouelle, Magic Rockers of Texas, Sweet Limb, Gus Baldwin & the Sketch, and many, many more. RSVP to save a spot on the lawn among food trucks and yard games, local stars and a twilight view of the Austin skyline. – Caroline Drew 

estudiosix, a new art studio and cultural workspace at 612 Old Pecan, launched its debut art residency program in partnership with redevelopment project Old 6th on May 14. Fifteen artists per six-month residency cycle will receive studio space, professional development support, and opportunities for public engagement through the studio. Helmed by New York-based artist Mark Hilton and local arts administrator Jordan Nelsen, the studio and work space will soon host arts programming and cultural events in the “collaborative, peer-driven environment,” according to a press release. Applications for the inaugural residency cycle are open on estudiosix’s website through Thursday, July 9. – C.D. 

Sonic Guild is now accepting applications for its George Reiff Producers Grant through June 12. For the third year, the membership-based nonprofit will award $7,500 to four producers working in Austin. Named after the prolific bassist and producer who anchored countless Austin events and acted as what the Chronicle once called “Austin music’s not-so-secret ingredient,” the George Reiff grant is designed to allow producers to form strong relationships with emerging artists who might not be able to afford their services and grow their collaborative visions. Interested producers can learn more and apply on Sonic Guild’s website. – C.D. 

Eli Wyatt, a student at the University of Texas Austin’s Butler School of Music, was honored for his saxophone chops by the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition. The program, created by Japanese-based instrument and motorbike producers Yamaha, recognizes 13 exceptional young musicians from across the United States and brings them together to perform a unique concert at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, in late June. – C.D. 

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