Austin’s Stargayzer Festival returns for its second year October 15-17. The festival takes place across three different downtown venues (Elysium, The North Door, Cheer Up Charlie’s) and brings together some of the most talented LGBTQ artists and performers from Austin and across the country.
“It’s a really unique LGBTQ event and everyone should come and support the community of artists,” festival producer and organizer Brett Hornsby told Out In SA.
With a tighter lineup in 2015, Hornsby hopes to focus more attention on the artists and their productions. “Last year it was really big, and it was great but we felt like maybe there were too many things going on at once,” Hornsby said. “We’re doing a smaller format this year, and different venues. We’ll be able to give everybody more time to perform and more time for people to see what they have to offer.” There will be no overlapping performances as was the case last year.
The three-day festival begins Thursday night. Some must-see acts include: DJ Rekha: host of NYC’s popular Basement Bhangra parties (Thursday at Elysium). San Francisco’s all-female band Erase Errata performs one of their final shows at this year’s festival after 16 years together (Friday at The North Door). After hosting Thursday’s events as drag character Rebecca Havemeyer, Austin-based performance artist Paul Soileau returns as the “drag terrorist” CHRISTEENE (Friday at The North Door). Baltimore-based multidisciplinary performer TT The Artist crafts a signature blend of hip-hop, club music, and EDM (Saturday at Cheer Up Charlie’s).
Other highlights include Houston’s Biz Vicious, San Francisco’s Double Duchess, NYC’s basketball-player-turned-rapper Will Sheridan, and Austin’s own Magna Carda.
Visit the Stargayzer Facebook page for details about pre-show festivities and afterparties.
Stargayzer Fest
$15-$20 per night; $35-$40 for a three-day pass
Thursday, Oct. 15 at Elysium (701 Red River St.)
Friday, Oct. 16 at The North Door (502 Brushy St.)
Saturday, Oct. 17 at Cheer Up Charlie’s (900 Red River St.)
Closing Party/Tea Dance with DJs Mouthfeel and Mary Magdalena
Sunday, Oct. 18 at Rain (217 W. 4th St.)
