Austin, TX
Drake's new Texas ranch tops this week's 5 most-read Austin stories
Listen, a song can’t fix everything. People might not be sold on “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” or whatever three little birds are telling them. But reggae was largely protest music; disco was a refusal to step out of the spotlight; and even the blues gave folks the freedom to express how un-free they were. How it makes you feel is important, and the importance often flies under the radar.
Admittedly, this may all be over-intellectualizing Austin artist Jon Muq’s approach, but that’s part of the beauty of it. By reiterating in interviews that his music is supposed to make people happy, the singer-songwriter from Uganda is employing a simplified marketing strategy that isn’t so common nowadays — and it’s working.
Muq has been featured in writing at NPR, Paste Magazine, Spin, and tons of other blogs and regional publications. He’ll also be making his Austin City Limits Music Festival debut in 2024. “I’ve always admired the ACL ever since I moved to Austin 6.5 years ago,” he wrote on Instagram. “It’s about time.”
On May 31, he released his anticipated debut album, Flying Away, produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. With all this lead-up, listeners might expect a dramatic bursting onto the scene, but the gentle and pleasant tunes slide in smoothly and continue throughout.
This sunny, retro look suits Muq’s happy and tasteful songwriting.Album cover courtesy of Jon Muq
Most write-ups across Muq’s career mention Afropop; The style is certainly present, especially in the buoyant “Shake, Shake,” a mid-tempo dance track built on staccato guitar textures and, appropriately, at least one shaker. But this is global pop, sung in English (one of the singer’s seven languages) and likely unplaceable to most casual listeners in his new hometown.
“Uganda has 50 tribes and English is an official [language], but it’s not that [big] a priority,” said Muq in an interview with CultureMap in April. “So meaning, people will understand the music differently. Maybe ‘Shake, Shake,’ people dance. And my English vocabulary is not that big. So that’s why all my songs are direct and simple so that someone elsewhere can understand easily.”
Semi-incognito African influences woven through include ukulele and percussion instruments from Uganda on most of the tracks.
“I always appreciated that African sound, most especially from Uganda,” “And since I sang English, the whole idea was to mix up two things at the same time to come up with a vibe. That’s where the Afropop comes in.”
Muq’s amazing journey from Uganda to ACL hinges on two accidentally pivotal videos. The first was his original discovery: He used to busk on the streets of Kampala, Uganda’s capital city and his hometown, collecting funds for homeless children. Someone posted a video of him singing, and Norwegian Cruise Line found their next entertainment hire.
Cruise contracts can be huge for artists, who aren’t paying for rent or food while onboard, and Muq was ready to sign another. But by the time they landed in the Bahamas, Muq decided he wouldn’t actually be flying home. He looked up events in the United States, and was struck by one at Casa Marianella, an Austin nonprofit that shelters displaced immigrants.
“I didn’t know anything about Austin, except that there is city that’s called Austin,” says Muq. “I called the number, saying ‘Can I come sing for free on your fundraiser?’”
Once at Casa Marianella, Muq met his roommates, a couple who he says “took him in.” In the morning, he asked why he was seeing so many people walking around with guitars, and learned about South by Southwest. Whenever the couple left the house, Muq would practice the guitar, eventually learning The Beatles’ “Blackbird” and recording the second video that changed his professional trajectory. This time, after three years, the discoverer was Auerbach.
“I just believe every system that’s there is there for a reason. And if you feel like you have a song that you’ve created or something good you have created just post it,” says Muq. “Not for the sake that someone will discover it, but some people watch; That’s why those social media things exist. And you never know who are watching.”
This assuredness is all over Flying Away, full of yearning, yet laid-back tracks like the vaguely funky “Runaway,” the soulful and upbeat “Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying,” and the ever-so-slightly gospel tinged “Love, Love, Love,” where Auerbach’s piano playing really locks in and takes a spotlight. Whatever diversity exists between tracks, this is tea-sipping music. Rainy days and sunsets are a bonus.
When asked if he makes happy music because he is happy, or because he wishes to be happy, Muq posits:
“Yeah, me as a person, I feel happy because [of] growing up differently, where I always ate one meal a day. [Now in] a place that has too much food and all the choices you can make? I’ll never be sad. I don’t have a reason to ever be sad at all. Even if we live in the world of demand and expectation, and wanting more and more, how can you still be happy? I think it’s possible to be happy without expectations of more and more stuff. So through music, I make sure all the songs I write about are about joy and happiness.”
Austinites looking for some of that joy and happiness can find it on Flying Away, now streaming and for sale on various platforms. Signed vinyls ($25) and CDs ($11) are also available via easyeyesound.com. See Jon Muq at the O4 Center on June 7 before he embarks on an international tour and festival circuit. Next time he’ll be back is for Austin City Limits on Saturday, October 5.
AUSTIN, Texas — The biggest literary tradition in Texas, which brings thousands to downtown Austin, returns this weekend. The Texas Book Festival is Nov. 16-17.
The event is free and open to the public. Book lovers can head downtown along 11th Street and Congress Avenue, where there will be several programs happening. The festival features more than 250 authors, including New York Times bestselling authors Malcolm Gladwell, Rumaan Alam and Xochitl Gonzalez.
Here’s a list of venues where programs will be held:
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Texas Capitol (1100 Congress Avenue)
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State Theatre (719 Congress Avenue)
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First Baptist Church (901 Trinity Street)
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First United Methodist Church (1201 Lavaca Street)
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Central Presbyterian Church (200 East 8th Street)
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The Contemporary Austin (700 Congress Avenue)
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Texas State Library and Archives Commission (1201 Brazos Street)
The festival include book signings, youth and bilingual programs, a Saturday night Lit Crawl, cooking demonstrations, food trucks and more. While the event is free, there are two ticketed events that have already sold out. They feature Malcolm Gladwell and Matthew McConaughey.
The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The full schedule is available online.
Free parking is available in multiple State Lot parking garages on San Jacinto between 12th and 16th streets.
I-35 expansion project: Austin shows new renderings
The city of Austin is giving a visual update on its Cap and Stitch program. The project is part of the Texas Department of Transportation’s expansion of I-35.
AUSTIN, Texas – The city of Austin is giving a visual update on its Cap and Stitch program. The project is part of the Texas Department of Transportation’s expansion of I-35.
The city says the project is aimed at creating public spaces over the highway.
TxDOT held a groundbreaking ceremony on the I-35 Capital Express Central Project last month.
The project will lower the highway’s main lanes between Lady Bird Lake and Airport Boulevard.
The city of Austin plans to add caps and stitches to the project to create more public spaces and bridge the East and West sides of town.
TxDOT breaks ground on I-35 expansion project
The Texas Department of Transportation is breaking ground on the I-35 Capital Express Central project.
“The key intent is really to document what we have been hearing from residents and community members over the past two-ish years of our outreach in regard to Austinites’ desired outcomes for the city’s cap and stitch effort,” says Transportation Public Works transportation officer Michelle Marx.
Residents were surveyed at several open houses from the months of May through August. A new draft of the vision plan was presented in front of the mobility committee on Thursday.
“The vision plan does start by articulating where Cap and Stitches are going to be possible in Austin and those are the locations you are seeing on your map here in blue. We do also identify where The University of Texas is evaluating opportunities outside the city’s efforts,” says Marx.
I-35 expansion project to begin construction
TxDOT is expected to break ground this week on a massive I-35 expansion. However, protesters are still trying to stop the project from moving forward.
According to the city, the Caps and Stitches could create up to 25 acres of public space, stretching from Holly Street to Airport Boulevard, which should include large trees, shade, lighting, public art, walking and bicycle paths, landscaping and micromobility hubs.
“A wide array of open space, park-like features as well as buildings in some, if not many locations,” says Michelle Marx.
The city says the buildings will be limited to two stories. The spaces will be used for recreational activities.
Updated I-35 cap-and-stitch plans unveiled
The city of Austin showcased some updated plans for caps and stitches across I-35 in downtown at an open house on Saturday.
But the Caps and Stitches must meet certain guidelines.
“The real driving factor for that is the requirement that TxDOT has provided us is that we provide a minimum of 16 and a half feet of vertical clearance from the roadway surface at any highway or on and off ramp locations to any kind of deck,” says Michelle Marx.
The concepts and plans were split into five phases, according to the draft provided.
“TxDOT will be constructing the structural elements on our behalf. They will be city funded but constructed in conjunction with the project, so TxDOT will be breaking ground in approximately mid-26. They are scheduled for substantial completion in approximately 2032, so any city funded cap features that we fold into their scope we are looking at about a 2032 completion date,” says Marx.
There will be another meeting next to discuss the next steps in the process and the funding.
TEXAS — YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is set to fight former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on Friday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Missed out on tickets but still want to experience the fight with a crowd? Here are some watch party options around the state:
Austin
Manchaca Sports Bar in South Austin is hosting a watch party starting at 7 p.m. There is no cover charge and the bar will be open until 2 a.m. 10402 Menchaca Rd Bldg 1, Austin, Texas 78748.
The Warehouse Billiard Bar is hosting a watch party starting at 7 p.m. You can get tickets at this link. 509 E Ben White Blvd, Austin, TX 78704.
Dallas
Heroes Lounge is hosting a watch party starting at 4 p.m. which will go until 2:30 a.m. 3094 N Stemmons Fwy, Dallas, TX 75247.
High Fives Dallas is hosting a watch party with free face tattoos. They will also be hosting a Tyson punch-out contest. If you DM them on Instagram, you can reserve a table for the event. 1804 McMillan Ave, Dallas, TX 75206.
Reservoir at Toyota Music Factory will be hosting a watch party starting at 7 p.m. There will be no cover charge for this watch party. 330 West Las Colinas Boulevard, Irving, TX 75039.
San Antonio
Rock & Brews San Antonio is hosting a watch party from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. With free entry and numerous TV screens, you won’t miss any of the action. 5702 Landmark Pkwy, San Antonio, TX 78249.
Smoke Skybar will be hosting a watch party with free entry before 8 p.m. It is $10 for entry after 8 p.m. 1100 E Houston St, San Antonio, TX 78205.
Camp 1604 will be hosting a watch party with no cover charge. They will have early drink specials and a food truck for the event. 5535 N. Loop 1604 W, San Antonio, TX 78257.
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