Belleview Station, 6785 East Chenango TheBigWonderful returns with an opening weekend filled with music, craft cocktails and beer, food trucks and a festival shopping market. Saturday is devoted to Colorado bluegrass, with Sugar Moon, Meadow Mountain, Pick & Howl and Chain Station. Sunday is for local cover and jam bands, with Dogs Off Leash, Wake Up & Live: A Bob Marley Tribute, Puma Borracha and DeadPhish Orchestra. Both days, Something Vinyl Club will be spinning records in the festival vendor village. The Beer Garden Bar, with ten-plus Colorado craft beers as well as Derby-themed cocktails, will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. General admission tickets are $35 Saturday, $30 Sunday; Open Bar sessions are available from noon to 4 p.m. or 4 to 8 p.m. ($65 Saturday, $60 Sunday), and include admission to the festival. Get tickets and more information at thebigwonderful.com.
That spiderweb is quintessentially Austin: irreverent, endlessly entertaining, and weird as hell. And among longtime veterans in the city’s rap community and upstarts alike, there’s a growing belief that the latest generation of local rap acts, led primarily by artists including Mama Duke, J Soulja, Mike Melinoe, Riders Against the Storm, Vintage Jay, Magna Carda, Abhi the Nomad, Deezie Brown, The Teeta, Chucky Blk, among others, combined with a push to create infrastructure that can support creativity, might finally elevate the Austin rap scene beyond its city’s limits even during a pandemic.
Abhi the Nomad performing at SXSW Dive Bar Sessions on March 15, 2019.Rick Kern/Getty