EARLY SHOW
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 7:30pm
General Admission: $22.00

Mike Doughty and his book “The Book of Drugs.” He’ll read gleefully dark, haunted, and funny stories about addiction, the rise and bitter collapse of his band Soul Coughing, playing songs in between. There’ll even be a Q&A with the audience.

LATE SHOW
Doors: 10:00pm
Show: 10:30pm
General Admission: $22.00

Mike Doughty and his book “The Book of Drugs.” He’ll read gleefully dark, haunted, and funny stories about addiction, the rise and bitter collapse of his band Soul Coughing, playing songs in between. There’ll even be a Q&A with the audience.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $10.00 & $8.00 with UT ID

Nashville-based Liz Longley is a Berklee College of Music graduate, quickly moving up in the world of singer-songwriters. Her ability to write well-crafted songs earned her a win in the BMI John Lennon Songwriting Competition, as well as the International Acoustic Music Awards. She has opened for the likes of Livingston Taylor, Nanci Griffith, Lori McKenna, Jonathan Edwards and Shawn Colvin. John Meyer says her music is “gorgeous, just gorgeous”. She has recently been added to the rotation on Sirius XM’s Coffeehouse Channel. Her writing style is poetic… her songs are personal and emotionally engaging… her highly textured vocals will stop you in your tracks. Longley describes herself as a “folk-pop singer-songwriter who likes to do a bit of jazz, blues, and some scatting if I get the chance.’’

Dallas native Emily Elbert is a young performer, with an old soul. She easily moves throughout the genres of jazz, pop, soul and folk. Her songs feature strong melodies, straight-to-the-heart vocals, and intricate guitar work. A recent graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Emily has played hundreds of shows across the U.S. and in Asia, South America, Europe, and the Middle East. She has been winning awards for songwriting and performance since her high school days, when she won first place in the Texas 10 Under 20 competition and was named to the Grammy Jazz Ensemble. Last year, Glamour Magazine selected her as one of the Top Ten College Women, 2010 and in 2008, Boston’s WUMB named her Best New Artist of the Year. Her third CD, a full-band live album, will be released in early 2012.

Doors: 7:30pm
Show: 8pm
General Admission: $5.00
Joe Williams at 8:00 pm; Kethara Duo at 9:00 pm

Kithara Duo (Fernand Vera and Olga Amelkina-Vera) was formed in 2002. Since then, they have performed in Europe as well as North and South America. They have been invited as guest artists by numerous Texas organizations and festivals, most notably Foundation of Modern Music (Houston), Col Canto (Houston), Voces Intimae (Dallas), “Classical Minds" Guitar Festival at the University of Houston Moores School of Music, Fort Worth Guitar Guild Music Festival, Mesquite Guitar Festival, and live on “The Front Row,” a program on Houston’s classical radio station KUHF 88.7. They strive to expand the guitar duo repertoire through their many arrangements and original compositions. Kithara Duo are the creators and directors of the annual Guitar Orchestra Workshop in the North Texas area. They currently live in Denton, Texas.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $15.00 & $10.00 with UT ID

Born in the rumbling cab of a stone truck and aged in the oak of Tennessees smoky night haunts, The Black Lillies have quickly risen to the forefront of the Americana scene. Founded by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Cruz Contreras (co-founder of Robinella and the CCstringband), The Black Lillies have created their own unique brand of country, roots, rock and blues via Appalachia. The group, formed in 2008, also includes electric guitar and pedal steel whiz Tom Pryor and drummer Jamie Cook, both formerly of the everybodyfields, bassist Robert Richards, and vocalist Trisha Gene Brady.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $20.00

Three amazing songwriters take the Cactus stage to play their songs and share some stories!

Doors: 7pm
Show: 7:30pm
General Admission: $30.00

Join us for a special Acoustic performance from these long time Cactus favorites!

The Long Surrender, the new studio album from the southern Ohio-based husband-and-wife team of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Linford Detweiler and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Karin Bergquist, otherwise known as Over the Rhine, is something rare and wondrous — an intimate epic. Shot through with the joys and sorrows of modern-day existence and the unchanging fundaments of the human condition, the album has the feel of a living thing, senses alert, feet planted firmly on terra firma.

Doors: 9:30pm
Show: 10pm
General Admission: $30.00

THIS IS THE LATE SHOW!
Join us for a special Acoustic performance from these long time Cactus favorites!

The Long Surrender, the new studio album from the southern Ohio-based husband-and-wife team of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Linford Detweiler and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Karin Bergquist, otherwise known as Over the Rhine, is something rare and wondrous — an intimate epic. Shot through with the joys and sorrows of modern-day existence and the unchanging fundaments of the human condition, the album has the feel of a living thing, senses alert, feet planted firmly on terra firma.

Doors: 5:30pm
Event: 6pm
FREE
Thinking Smarter with Art Markman, UT Psychology Professor and blues musician, and Bob Duke, UT Music Professor, are interested in presenting ways that musicians learn—and consider that process as a way that people might learn more effectively in general. In other words, the two would explore why this specialized mode of study (music learning) has valuable lessons to teach all types of learners, from traditional students to CEOs.
Performance by Dr. Markman and perhaps Dr. Duke and/or other blues musicians Markman performs with. host Rebecca Mcinroy.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $10.00

Javier Chaparro, virtuoso violinist born in Lima, Peru. Has been a member of the Peruvian National Symphony, Fine Arts Theatre Orchestra in Mexico City, The Austin Symphony and he held the post of Concert Master for the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra since 1992. He has been Concert Master for Pop Orchestras in Austin, Texas accompanying artist including John Denver, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Bernadette Peters, Dianne Reeves and Willie Nelson.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $8.00

Special Guest: Jonathan Terrell
In the six years since moving “sight unseen” from Ohio to Austin, Texas, Graham Weber has staked his claim in the Live Music Capital of World as one of the area’s finest young singer-songwriters — not quite famous but highly respected by peers and fans “in the know” on the strength of both his live performances and three exceptional albums (2003’s Naïve Melodies, 2006’s Beggar’s Blues and 2008’s The Door to the Morning). In the summer of 2011, he joined his buddy Mike Schoenfeld’s roots-rock band So Long, Problems as a co-pilot and songwriter, with plans to hopefully enter the studio soon to record an EP together. But first and foremost on his agenda is the November release of his long-overdue fourth solo album, Women. Recorded in Austin with co-producer Britton Beisenherz, the title nods to the impressive lineup of female singers and musicians featured throughout the album. It’s a project Weber’s dreamed about for years, now finally come to fruition in what is unquestionably both is most ambitious and uncompromisingly personal album to date.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $20.00

Tim Berne / Snakeoil
Tim Berne, saxophones, composer
Oscar Noriega, woodwinds
Matt Mitchell, piano, keyboards
Ches Smith, drums, percussion

Snakeoil, Tim Berne’s new touring band, is a potent blend of new voices and new ideas. Oscar Noriega (woodwinds), Matt Mitchell (keyboards) and Ches Smith (percussion) bring fresh sounds and vibrant energy. Berne responds with a stunning book of new pieces balancing compositional rigor with fluid group improvisation. Hypnotic rhythms and long, seductive melodies collide with jagged dissonances and surprising textural shifts. A lush, organic blend of saxophones and clarinets is layered with electronic and acoustic keyboards and an ever-changing tapestry of percussion. Freedom and discipline, consonance and discord, past, present and future- all work together to power this new band from Tim Berne.CD " SNAKEOIL" RELEASED ON ECM in FEBRUARY 2012

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $12.00

Soul-folk singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Dan Dyer rose to prominence in Austin, TX during the late 90s as frontman of the much heralded blues-rock outfit, Breedlove.

For his debut solo album, “…Of What Lies Beneath”, (2004) Dyer moved to New York City and Miami to collaborate with veteran rock legend Lenny Kravitz, who produced and released the record on Kravitz’s own Reprise imprint label, Roxie Records.

Dyer then returned to Austin, his musical birthplace, to record and release his 2008 self–titled album, a soul-revivalist recording produced by David Boyle in an old snake-charmer church turned studio on the east side of Austin, and released by local label Fat Caddy Records. ‘Dan Dyer’ was named one of the top 10 local albums of 2008 by both the Austin American Statesman and The Austin Chronicle, and climbed to the #3 R&B spot on iTunes within a week of its digital release. The Austin Chronicle called it “a blue-ribbon disc. At once joyous, creative and satisfying, Dyer channels 1970s era Hathaway and Wonder with modern panache and without a hint of mimicry.”

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $15.00

Two nights of hits from the great Paul Kelly!
Paul Kelly is a living legend in his native Australia. Possibly the best singer-songwriter that country has produced, he is also recognized worldwide as a master of his craft.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $15.00

Two nights of hits from the great Paul Kelly!
Paul Kelly is a living legend in his native Australia. Possibly the best singer-songwriter that country has produced, he is also recognized worldwide as a master of his craft.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $20.00

Eliza Gilkyson is a politically minded, poetically gifted singer-songwriter, who has become one of the most respected musicians in folk and Americana music circles. The Grammy-nominated artist has appeared on NPR, Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, etown, Sirius/XM, Air America Radio and has toured with Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin and Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $12.00 in advance $14.00 at the door.

Located 28 miles southwest of Austin, Wimberley, TX, boasts natural springs and gravesites of early pioneers. It’s also been the hometown to Sahara Smith – a stunning, young singer-songwriter who started performing at age 12, and first garnered national attention at age 15 when she placed second in a contest for young songwriters on A Prairie Home Companion.

Now 21, Sahara is poised for a breakout with Myth of the Heart, the just-completed album of original songs shepherded by T Bone Burnett and producer Emile Kelman due August 31. The album features many of Burnett’s first-call session players, including drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarist Marc Ribot, and bassist Dennis Crouch.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $20.00

An Austin legend, by way of Lubbock and his native Houston, Cory Morrow has been a consistent fixture on the Texas Country scene – establishing himself as a pioneer of the growth of the Lone Star State’s brand of Country music in the past decade. Now married and actively touring with a new band, with a renewed outlook on his life and career, Cory is set to release the latest volume of Red Dirt poetry in his musical tapestry.

In seventeen years, Cory Morrow has released nine full-length albums and an EP in Spring 2010, selling over 200,000 records, and has entertained audiences across the United States. His latest full-length album, Brand New Me, will be released August 31, 2010, on APEX Nashville/Write On Records. The album is produced by Lloyd Maines, and was recorded at Cedar Creek Studios in Austin. Its sound is anchored by the solid musicianship of Cory’s band – drummer Clint Litton, bassist Steve Cargill, keyboardist Jeff Bryant, and legendary lead guitarist John Carroll. Maines (steel guitar) and Brendon Anthony (fiddle) also added their own musical styling to the album. Fresh off the success of the single, “Ramblin’ Man” (#1 on both the Texas Music Chart and Texas Regional Radio Report), from the Ramblin’ Man EP – a reflection on his musical past – Brand New Me showcases the “brand new” artist that is Cory Morrow.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $10.00

Husband and wife duo of Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent playing outlaw country and avant-garde folk americana. In 2011 alone, the pair were direct support to Hayes Carll, Jason Isbell, Felice Brothers, Justin Townes Earle and Butch Walker touring all across the US doing 200+ shows.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Less is more. Make it work with what you’ve got. 2 Guitars, a junkyard drum kit harvested from an actual garbage heap and adorned with tambourines, flowers and kitchen rags. A handful of harmonicas, voices, and above all.. songs. Shovels & Rope prefer to keep it simple. They have cleverly managed to take 3 separate recording projects and combine them into 1 cohesive, folk rock, sloppy tonk, harmonized, loose but tight, streamlined audience killing machine.

Michael Trent (Texas/Colorado) has just released his second solo album entitled “The Winner”, and Cary Ann Hearst (Mississippi/Tennessee) is about to release her second record “Lions & Lambs”. Together hey have one duo release entitled “Shovels & Rope” which came out in 2008 and are currently working on the follow up “Shovels & Rope V.2” in their house, van, and backyard. At the shows, expect to hear a little something from any or all of these releases while the duo switch instruments and share lead vocal duties. Also prepare to rethink your definition of a live rock band.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $25.00 in advance $28.00 at the door.

The California Guitar Trio is Paul Richards of Salt Lake City, Utah; Bert Lams of Affligem, Belgium; and Hideyo Moriya of Chiba, Japan. The trio first met in England in 1987 while studying with iconic King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. After touring together as part of Fripp’s League of Crafty Guitarists, the three guitarists convened in Los Angeles and founded The California Guitar Trio in 1991.

“When we started the band in 1991, it was only a California project, and no one knew how long it would last,” reminisces Moriya. “Yet something good always happened to keep us going when times were tough. It is great to reach 20 years with Andromeda, and we have good energy to keep going.”

The CGT plays a unique style, with guitars weaving an intricate knot work of interlocking parts to form a whole. Richards, Lams, and Moriya can create music which sounds like it is performed on a kind of “super-piano” and at other times unfolds in an ethereal, otherworldly psychedelia.


Doors: 7:30pm
Show: 8pm
General Admission: $5.00
Michael Gratovich at 8:00 pm; Duo Transatlantique at 9:00 pm

Formed in 2002, Duo Transatlantique combines the prize-winning talents of guitarists Benjamin Beirs and Maud Laforest. Almost immediately after beginning their studies in 2002 at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, the two decided to form a guitar duo, under the guidance of Julian Gray, an acclaimed chamber musician and founder of the Gray-Pearl guitar duo. Early in their collaboration they realized that their ensemble had the potential to last far longer than the years they were planning to spend at Peabody. Soon, in 2005, Ben embarked on his first journey to France, where the duo won first prize in the Union Francaise des Artistes Musiciens Guitar Duo Competition and played a concert in the American Cathedral in Paris. Currently, Ms. Laforest lives in Lille, France, while Mr. Beirs has stayed in Baltimore.

Doors: 8pm
Show: 8:30pm
General Admission: $15.00 or $12.00 with UT ID

Ruby Jane exhibited a strong connection to music early, and began classical violin instruction at the surprising age of two-years-old. At age eight, Ruby shifted her focus from classical to old-time and bluegrass music. After only six fiddle lessons, she won first place in the first fiddle competition she entered at the McFarland Mall in Tuscaloosa, AL, beginning a run of victories and increasing notoriety as a fiddle prodigy.

In 2007, she won a prestigious American String Teachers Association “ Alternative Styles Award” while continuing to tour and write original music. In April, Ruby recorded Creekside with Steve Fishell as producer. Ruby played for her biggest crowd ever at the CMA Music Fest in Nashville when Big & Rich invited her on stage in front of a crowd of more than 60,000 for ABC’s July 23rd primetime special, “CMA Music Festival: Country Music’s Night to Rock.”

On July 27, 2007 she received an extraordinary honor in music: the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin at the Mark O’Connor Strings Conference in San Diego, CA. The violin is named for the Wall Street Journal reporter who was murdered in Pakistan in 2002. Daniel was also a violin and fiddle player.

Ruby Jane made a move to Austin in September of 2007, and began sitting in with Texas greats like Johnny Gimble, Dale Watson, Jim Stringer, and Bob Schneider, Bill Carter, Freddy Powers, and Will Sexton. Ruby joined Dale Watson on stage at Austin’s historic Continental Club her first night in town.