RED RIVER ATX 2026 KVUE
Goth’s not dead: How a subculture survived over 40 years in Texas: As Austin’s Elysium celebrates 25 years, a community reflects on goth’s roots and future.
Texas music clubs evolved from 19th-century German beer gardens and historic rural dance halls into legendary urban incubators for blues, country, and rock.
Is the scene disappearing!?
- Dallas Gets a Gothic Music Festival With Obituary Fest
- Dark Sanctuary Captures the Rich History of a Dallas Goth Institution
- Inside the Bonkers World of Niche DJ Nights
Elysium and 13th Floor Property Listed for Sale! [After 80 yrs, building is listed 4 sale]
701-713 Red River, the low-slung, iconically Austin building that currently hosts music venues the 13th Floor and Elysium, has been listed for sale on LoopNet.
“That old building means a lot to me,” Branton Jr. [Owner] tells the Chronicle. “I’m 82 years old now, and it’s time to give somebody else the opportunity.”
He [owner] maintains that his decision has nothing to do with the tenants. “I couldn’t do any better than who I have,” he insists, praising the owners of Elysium and 13th Floor. [Though he says he’s unsure who a new buyer will be …]
[Goth is far from new in Texas. Goth clubs like Numbers in Houston have been around for 47 years.
Its secret to immortality? Its flexibility.
“There’s a running joke in the subculture that in order to truly be goth, you have to deny that you are goth,” said John Wickham, owner of Elysium.
Wickham has been active in the Texas scene since the ’80s.] – article
Texas has a thriving goth, darkwave, and post-punk music scene that has grown and evolved for over 40 years. [1]
Stoked to see everyone at LEVITATION 2026!
As the festival approaches we’ve put together a KNOW BEFORE YOU GO guide.
Check it out get ready for a great weekend – we’ll see you soon!
Key Texas Bands
10 Local Artists to Watch at SXSW 2026
- Twin Tribes: A darkwave/post-punk duo originally from Brownsville.
- Urban Heat: An Austin-based post-punk/darkwave band known for driving synth basslines.
- Rosegarden Funeral Party: A post-punk/goth band based out of Dallas.
- Haunt Me: A Houston group blending darkwave, post-punk, and indie rock. [1, 2, 3]
40 Musical Acts to See at SXSW 2026
40 Greatest Clubs in Austin Music History
KUT Radio, Austin’s NPR Station
How the goth scene has survived for decades in Texas, with an Austin club leading the way
Texas Gothic (Goodnight Family, #1) by Rosemary Clement-Moore
What Does A Goth Do During A Hot Dallas Summer? | Dallas Observer
The internationally known slogan “Don’t Mess with Texas” began as an anti-littering advertisement. Since the campaign’s inception in 1986, the phrase has become “an identity statement, a declaration of Texas swagger”.[342]
Austin, The Live Music Capital of the World, boasts “more live music venues per capita than such music hotbeds as Nashville, Memphis, Los Angeles, Las Vegas or New York City”.[353] The city’s music revolves around the nightclubs on 6th Street; events like the film, music, and multimedia festival South by Southwest; the longest-running concert music program on American television, Austin City Limits; and the Austin City Limits Music Festival held in Zilker Park.[354]
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