Austin, TX

Was Matthew McConaughey Really Bleeding at Zach Bryan’s Austin Gig?

Published

2 years ago

January 12, 2024

Was Matthew McConaughey Really Bleeding at Zach Bryan’s Austin Gig?

The perfect American bar needs pool tables, sticky counters, moody lighting, and loud locals. Country artist Zach Bryan knows this well, often posting images of scenes from such joints on his Instagram stories—and earlier this week, he came to Austin in search of more of the same.

Bryan is from Oklahoma, but it’s no secret he has a thing for Austin. He even wrote a song for the city, “From Austin,” on his third studio album. Tuesday, after Bryan posted a quick tweet-and-delete announcement about an impromptu show at local dive bar Sagebrush that night and offering free entry to the first hundred people to show up, Austin fans did not disappoint. The line, which one attendee told me was about 1,500 people long, began at the bar’s door on South Congress and ran all the way down Red Bird Lane.

Sagebrush, beloved for hosting events such as the Honky Tonk Cat Walk, Dolly Parton’s birthday celebration, and two-step dance lessons, could not have been a better fit for Bryan’s show. Budweiser lamps festooned with stickers hang over pool tables, and string lights scattered throughout the bar give Sagebrush the ambience of everyone’s favorite hometown haunt. What you won’t find walking through the doors of most hometown haunts, though, is Matthew McConaughey, or his Mud costar Tye Sheridan.

Instagram posts show both Texan actors having a grand ol’ time, laughing and drinking alongside Bryan, who recently collaborated with another Texan, Kacey Musgraves, on the duet “I Remember Everything,” from his latest album. One image that Bryan shared, however, has inspired concern among fans: Is that blood trickling down McConaughey’s gorgeous face? Did someone break a bottle over his head? Did he take a drunken tumble? Your guess is as good as ours.

We can tell you, however, that in addition to performing at Sagebrush, Bryan was filming a music video at the bar, and McConaughey and Sheridan made cameos. (Perhaps the video has McConaughey getting into a bar fight?) Lauren Wilkins, executive producer of the video, said they had hoped to cast McConaughey, the “unofficial mayor of Austin,” so Bryan took matters into his own hands after previous talent dropped out. The singer-songwriter pulled a Hail Mary and simply messaged the actor on Instagram. As for the last-minute show, the film crew had only a three-hour heads-up before showtime. “I think [Bryan] just was really caught up in the mood and he loved everything,” Wilkins, who works with the Austin production company Side Label, said. “He was just like, ‘You know what, f— it. I’m gonna play a show. What’s it going to take?’ ”

Darci Carlson, who tends bar at Sagebrush when she’s not touring to perform her own music, arrived right when Bryan tweeted the announcement. She said she hadn’t been a fan prior to Bryan’s show but was completely changed after seeing his generosity (he covered everyone’s drinks) and talent on full display. “[Music venues] are so oversaturated these days, and a place with so much heart like Sagebrush really does truly need to be showcased,” she said. “And I’m glad it was showcased by someone like Zach Bryan.”

“Thank you for being so kind and open-hearted these [past] few days @officiallymcconaughey,” Bryan wrote in an Instagram caption, “for all the advice and believing in something I cared enough to write about, you’ll always have a friend in me and for once it was an honor to meet a hero.” (He revealed nothing of the crimson streak running down McConaughey’s face.) Bryan also took time to thank the Sagebrush staff, noting that the live sound was “electric.”

At the end of the roughly fifty-minute set, Bryan took to X (formerly Twitter): “Gotta go to Austin, Texas more huh.” Zach, anyone who can cover a “not stingy” bar tab is alright, alright, alright (sorry, we had to do it) to come back.

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Austin, TX

Man arrested, charged for deadly shooting at downtown Austin hotel

Published

3 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Man arrested, charged for deadly shooting at downtown Austin hotel

article

AUSTIN, Texas – A 20-year-old was arrested and charged with murder for a deadly shooting at the Cambria Hotel in downtown Austin, police said.

What we know:

Police said on Monday, Jan. 5, around 6:55 a.m., officers responded to a report of a gunshot at the Cambria Hotel at 68 East Avenue #824. The caller said a person had been shot.

When officers arrived, they found a man with injuries. He later died at the scene. He was identified as Luke Bradburn.

The investigation revealed that Bradburn drove and crashed a car that belonged to 20-year-old Maximillian Salinas. After the crash, Bradburn and the other people in the car left and went to the Cambria Hotel.

Salinas went to the hotel and shot Bradburn.

On Jan. 6, Salinas was arrested and charged with murder.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Austin Police at 512-974-TIPS. You may submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477.

The Source: Information from the Austin Police Department

DowntownCrime and Public Safety

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Austin, TX

Austin activists hold anti-ICE protests following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis

Published

15 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Austin activists hold anti-ICE protests following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis

Chants of “shame” and “ICE out of Texas” rang through the street as Austin-area activists joined thousands across the nation in protesting the killing of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis.

The protest was held in front of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Pflugerville.

Good, 37, was shot in her SUV while attempting to drive away from several ICE officers who ordered her to exit her vehicle.

Scarleth Lopez with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the organization that led the protest, said the videos of the shooting in Minneapolis were “sickening.”

“Trump has lied and and said that Renee was a terrorist. She was a mother. She was an innocent bystander,” Lopez said. “We must organize to stop these people from kidnapping and murdering.”

Lorianne Willett

KUT News

Spray painted messages appeared outside of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Pflugerville

Elizabeth Bope, a retired Pflugerville ISD teacher, said the claims from federal and state lawmakers that Good was attempting to strike the ICE agent with her vehicle inspired her to attend the protest.

Such claims were posted online by Vice President J.D. Vance and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Attorney General Ken Paxton reposted a statement from DHS on X, formerly known as Twitter, that said the ICE agent “relied on his training and saved his own life.”

“It’s beyond really any words that they killed this woman for no reason, but also that they’re lying about it,” Bope said. “I’m not even a radical left person, I’m just a regular old Democrat.”

Other key Texas leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have not commented on the shooting.

A group of protesters holding yellow signs reading "ICE Out of our Communities" gather during a night time protest. — Protesters gathered and held signs during a protest against ICE.

Doug Tickner, who said he works for a home building company in Austin, said he felt it was important to show up in person for Good.

“I don’t really think of Minneapolis as being that far from here, and it’s not like what happened in Minneapolis was some sort of one off unique event,” Tickner said. “This is part of a pattern, and I feel folks better wake up and realize that this is becoming more and more serious.”

The news that federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in Portland, Oregon, broke hours before the protest.

The gathering in Pflugerville is among the first of four anti-ICE demonstrations planned across the Austin area over the next few days.

Earlier on Thursday, protesters gathered at the intersection of 45th Street and Lamar Boulevard during rush hour. A protest on Friday will be held at the Capitol and another will be held Saturday at City Hall.

Protesters bang on the outside of a building built of metal. — Protesters bang on the outside of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Pflugerville.

State and federal leaders are now sparring over who should conduct an investigation into the Minneapolis shooting, according to NPR.

Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which was originally asked to conduct a joint investigation with the FBI, said in a statement it was later told the investigation would be led solely by federal authorities.

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Austin, TX

Flesh-eating screwworm may be moving closer to Texas on its own, ag commissioner says

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Flesh-eating screwworm may be moving closer to Texas on its own, ag commissioner says

article

AUSTIN, Texas – A Texas agency is concerned that the flesh-eating New World screwworm could be getting closer to Texas without commercial livestock movement.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is sounding the alarm again for livestock owners to remain vigilant in watching for signs of the parasite in their animals.

Screwworm sighting near Texas

The latest:

Miller said in a Thursday release that a screwworm had been detected in a cow in González, Tamaulipas, a little more than 200 miles from the southern Texas border.

According to the commissioner, the cow had no reported history of movement outside Tamaulipas, and is the third active case reported there.

Officials in Mexico have not reported a known population of the worm in Tamaulipas. They’re working with U.S. authorities to investigate further into the new case.

What they’re saying:

“The screwworm now may be moving closer on its own, with no apparent link to commercial animal movement,” Commissioner Miller said. “Texas producers must act now—stay informed, stay vigilant, and prepare immediately. We cannot drop our guard for even a moment.”

Inspect livestock for screwworm

What you can do:

Miller urged immediate action from ranchers along the Texas border.

“Inspect your animals daily,” Miller said. “Check every open wound. If anything looks suspicious, report it right away. Better a false alarm than a delayed response—early detection and rapid reporting are our strongest defenses against this devastating pest.”

U.S. plan to fight screwworm in Texas

Big picture view:

The threat to cattle has been deemed so potentially devastating to the U.S. food supply that the federal government is committing $850 million to fight it.

Most of that money will be spent on building a sterile male fly production facility near the border.

The facility will produce 300 million sterile male flies a week to be dropped into target areas where the screwworm is now. Those male flies help to reduce the population size through mating without reproducing.

A much smaller portion of the funding will be used for screwworm detection technology.

In addition, the federal government has already spent $21 million on a sterile fly production facility in Mexico.

What are New World screwworms?

Dig deeper:

The insect gets its name because it’s only found in the Americas.

It lays its eggs in the open wounds of animals, and its larvae become parasites, threatening livestock, domestic animals, and even people.

The screwworm was mostly eradicated in Texas and the rest of the United States in the 60s. But now, it’s moving north up from Panama and has a known presence a little over 300 miles south of the Texas-Mexico border.

The Source: Information in this article comes from Sid Miller.

Texas

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