There’s a new way to play in Easton Park: Skyline Park has opened. The 21-acre space offers of outdoor fun to the Southeast Austin neighborhood, and as the name implies, stunning views of the city skyline.

Development on Skyline Park began in 2022 thanks to a $13 million investment from real estate developer Brookfield Residential Properties. It aims to preserve Austin’s green space while providing areas for the community to gather. Key features include:

• A play and climbing structure for kids ages 5+ designed to look like stacked houses.
• A play area for kids ages 2-5 with a softer surface for bouncing and playing.
• Splash pads to beat the Texas heat
• A shady pavilion where concerts + shows can be hosted.
• Mini Penny Bridge – a small-scale replica of Austin’s Pennybacker Bridge.
• “Singing Mountain,” a kinetic, musical wind sculpture.

Ready to swing by? Skyline Park is located at 7800 Apogee Blvd. and is open from dawn until dusk.

AUSTIN, Texas — South by Southwest is heading across the pond.

The Austin-based festival announced Wednesday that it will launch SXSW London starting in June 2025. 

This isn’t the first time SXSW has expanded outside the Lone Star State. SXSW Sydney launched in 2023 and is scheduled again for October 2024. 

The European edition of the festival will be modeled after the original SXSW and will occur over the course of a week in Shoreditch  —  a place “renowned as a vibrant center for creativity and technological innovation,” a news release announcing the expansion said. 

“SXSW London will bring its own distinctive personality, driven by London’s internationally renowned cultural life and creativity, its status as a global meeting place, and its proximity to other major creative and tech centers in Europe,” the release said. 

The festival will take over dozens of venues, galleries, clubs and other spaces in Shoreditch, and organizers say SXSW London will have an emphasis on creative talent from across Europe. The festival will also continue the mission of the original SXSW and focus on climate action and sustainability. 

London Mayor Sadiq Khan attended SXSW in 2018 and said he was excited to welcome the festival to his city next year. 

“When I was a part of SXSW in Austin in 2018, I saw first-hand the electric atmosphere of innovation SXSW creates and I can’t wait to be part of it again,” Khan said in a statement. “This is a historic opportunity for London to once again bring the world’s most exciting talent together as part of our mission to build a better and more prosperous London for everyone.”

More information about the inaugural SXSW London will be available in the coming months, and tickets will go on sale later this year in October. 

In Austin, SXSW will take place March 7-15, and more information about next year’s festival will come later this summer.

Catfish & The Bottlemen have announced a North American headline tour for this year – find all the details below.

• READ MORE: Catfish And The Bottlemen at Reading Festival 2021 – a slick machine potentially powering down

The Van McCann-fronted band will hit the road in the US and Canada this autumn, with gigs scheduled in Austin, Los Angeles, Nashville, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and other locations.

Tickets go on sale at 10am local time this Friday (May 10) – you’ll be able to buy yours here. Alternatively, fans can sign up for a pre-sale to access tickets at the same time today (8).

Check out the announcement post and the full list of dates below.

Catfish & The Bottlemen’s 2024 North American tour dates are: 

OCTOBER
04 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits
05 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
08 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
11 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits
14 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
17 – Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre
18 – Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
19 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern
21 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre
22 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall
23 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Theatre
25 – Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian Theatre
26 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s
27 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
29 – Boston, MA – Royale
30 – New York, NY – Terminal 5

NOVEMBER
01 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
02 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
03 – Washington D.C. – 9:30 Club

In February, Catfish returned with the single ‘Showtime’ – marking their first new music in five years. It’ll feature on their yet-to-be-announced fourth album, which will follow 2019’s ‘The Balance’.

The group have also confirmed some UK and Ireland headline shows for this year, including their bill-topping performances at Reading & Leeds 2024. Catfish & The Bottlemen’s biggest UK gig to date will take place at Liverpool’s Sefton Park in July. Find any remaining tickets here (UK/Ireland).

The band have not played a show together since 2021, following their headline slots at Reading & Leeds and a pair of outdoor dates at Singleton Park in Swansea and Neighbourhood Weekender in Warrington. At the time, rumours of a break-up had begun circulating.

In June 2022, Catfish guitarist Johnny “Bondy” Bond confirmed in a statement that he had departed the group the previous year.

He alleged that changes in the line-up and the uncertainty about the band’s future had stemmed from “behaviour constantly re-occurring that I found to be intolerable”. Bond said: “To put it simply, I feel that both the professional and personal relationships had become entirely dysfunctional.”

Catfish & The Bottlemen’s latest single ‘Showtime’ was written and recorded by McCann alongside multi-Grammy-winning producer Dave Sardy (Oasis, LCD Soundsystem, The Rolling Stones), and sees the frontman sing about his return to music.