You've heard it once and you'll hear it again: Austin is the Live Music Capital of the World.
Every single night of the week, all over town, Austin reverberates with the sweet sounds of local music. To highlight some of the great local acts you should support, we frequently share a list of five bands you need to hear. Welcome to Volume 48.
To see the full series, go here. We've been highlighting local bands for a while around here!
- Contributed by Casey Carter and Darcey McKinney
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photo via instagram
Austin’s Blank Hellscape make industrial noise that feels genuinely thorny in the best possible way. Since 2017, the trio have built a cult reputation through chaotic live sets packed with blown out electronics, punishing rhythms, and pure sensory overload. Their latest release Hell 2 expands that dread into a sprawling nightmare soundtrack for modern life.
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photo via instagram
Important Group feels like the kind of band that accidentally becomes your favorite after seeing them sweat through a set in a living room somewhere in Austin. Made up of familiar faces from projects like Being Dead, Punching Bag, They Had So Many Names, and Zero Percent APR, the trio trades in loose, sad boy lo-fi rock that’s equally playful and devastating. Three friends making songs that feel both meaningless and oddly essential.
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One good day can turn your entire world-view around, but it won’t erase the feelings that linger from the darker times you experience. Sometimes in the midst of these dark times the best we can hope for is a nice afternoon in the sun, maybe one spent laying on the kind of pastel-colored picnic blanket evoked by the cover of Touch Girl Apple Blossom’s Graceful. On the album’s second track vocalist Olivia Gardner trails off after singing “The spring time reminds me of…” implying a memory that’s too painful to bring up again, or perhaps that whatever is being remembered is best left in the past. Spring time is here, after all, and it’ll slip away if you spend too long reminiscing. Jangly, clean guitar tones across the album bring to mind a warm breeze, something that might feel like a reward for making it this far; and a positive intention for what’s next.
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photo via instagram
In 2025 Austin Artist Spotlight released a video of Wes Denzel performing every song on his Sorry About Last Night EP in one sitting without so much as a stutter. An impressive feat on its own, this performance is indicative of a masterful grasp on melody and tempo. Which, combined with Denzel’s multi-layered rhymes and vulnerable lyricism, forms the image of an artist that is truly the whole package.
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photo by Haley Plotkin - SXSW 2017
If you live in Austin, Peelander-Z has touched your life whether you know it or not. Whether you’ve seen band leader P-Yellow’s many murals around town (like the one on our very own Do512 HQ), or you’ve caught one of their sets at a venue in Austin (they’ve been playing around town for nearly two decades, so literally any venue) you’ll understand that this group is a pillar of the Austin music community. Songs like “So Many Mike” and “Mad Tiger” capture the madcap energy of Peelander-Z’s live performances, which are always raucous, inventive, and highly interactive.
Peelander-Z was recently involved in a traffic accident while on tour in New Mexico, resulting in multiple band members being hospitalized. You can donate to their GoFundMe by visiting this link.
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