When news broke on October 6 that the sophomore year of Sound on Sound Festival was canceled, many local music loyalists felt as if they’d been punched in the gut. Initially the explanation was vague, citing roadblocks “outside of [their] control” but it would soon come to be known that a major investor had pulled out with a little over a month before the festival was set to commence. The folks at Margin Walker, the company behind SOS Fest, went into crisis mode. As a way to soften to the blow, organizers tried to reschedule as many artists as possible over the festival's original November 10-12 dates by placing them at venues throughout downtown Austin. Original SOS Fest ticket-holders were given first dibs as the new shows were announced, and when it was all said and done, 51 bands performed over the three-day period (Iggy Pop and Yeah Yeah Yeahs being the most notable absences) at venues like the Mohawk, Emo’s and Empire Control Room. Several concert-goers noted that they were relieved to be able to see their favorite acts without having to drive to the festival grounds. Sound on Sound even made it possible to see several bands in the same evening by staggering the set times as one would expect at a festival. With most venues within walking distance or a quick Lyft away, it wasn’t unthinkable for some folks to catch sets across multiple venues in one night. Despite the obstacles, Margin Walker brought loads of music to Austin this past weekend — and the vibe was electric. Sound on Sound may have been put out to pasture, but don’t expect its founders to stay dormant for long. --- Washed Out at Emo’s, Friday November 10
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
When the news broke on October 6 that the sophomore year of Sound on Sound Festival was canceled, many local music loyalists felt as if they’d been punched in the gut. Initially, the explanation was vague, citing roadblocks “outside of [their] control” but it would soon come to be known that a major investor had pulled out with a little over a month before the festival was set to commence.
The folks at Margin Walker, the company that puts on SOS Fest, went into crisis mode. As a way to soften to the blow, organizers tried to reschedule as many artists as possible over the festival's original November 10-12 dates by placing them at venues throughout downtown Austin. Original SOS Fest ticket-holders were given first dibs on the new shows were announced, and when it was all said and done, 51 bands performed over the three-day period (Iggy Pop and Yeah Yeah Yeahs being the most notable absences) at venues like the Mohawk, Emo’s and Empire Control Room.
Several concert-goers noted that they were relieved to be able to see their favorite acts without having to drive to the festival grounds. Sound on Sound even made it possible to see several bands in the same evening by staggering the set times as one would expect at a festival. With most venues within walking distance or a quick Lyft away, it wasn’t unthinkable for some folks to catch sets across multiple venues in one night.
Despite the obstacles, Margin Walker brought loads of music to Austin this past weekend — and the vibe was electric. Sound on Sound may have been put out to pasture, but don’t expect its founders to stay dormant for long.
Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights.
Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel Wuthering Heights is one of those classic books assigned in high school English classes, and it has received a number of film adaptations over the years, each of which differ in numerous ways from the source material. Purists won’t receive any reprieve from Emerald Fennell’s 2026 adaptation, with a title that is stylized with punctuation as "Wuthering Heights”for good reason.
Cathy (played as an adult by Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) have known each other their entire lives, with Cathy’s alcoholic and inveterate gambler father (Martin Clunes) taking in Heathcliff on a whim when he was a boy. The two bond as they grow up together, although Cathy always seems to have an eye on moving up in society from their relatively impoverished lifestyle.
Cathy finally gets her wish when the rich Linton family led by Edgar (Shazad Latif), moves in down the road, Despite discovering she has feelings for the now grown-up Heathcliff, Cathy sees Edgar as her way out and agrees to marry him. A scorned Heathcliff flees, returning years later as mysteriously wealthy. His reappearance ignites something in Cathy’s soul, and the two engage in a perhaps unwise affair.
Fennell (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn) infuses the dusty material with an energy that’s not typically present in stories set in this particular time and place. Aside from the occasional Charli XCX song (the singer created a whole concept album for the film), the film looks and feels like a period piece, albeit one that doesn’t get bogged down in the drudgery that can sometimes come from films set in the distant past.
Much of that has to do with the lust the filmmaker puts into the story. Even if you’re not familiar with Brontë’s book, you can rest assured that Fennell has strayed far from the text, giving Cathy and Heathcliff thoughts and actions unthinkable in the 19th century. Fennell plays with expectations by opening the film with audio featuring creaking noises and a man grunting, conjuring up a situation far different than what is actually happening, and she also makes liberal use of rain, sweat, and tears to make the actors enticing.
What she can’t do, however, is make the two lead characters compelling. Cathy is a striver who never seems to know what she wants out of life, and Heathcliff goes from a bore to a brute over the course of the film, with no clear indication that he likes anybody, much less Cathy. Anyone expecting some kind of grand romance will be disappointed as Fennell is much more interested in making the film weird, like having the walls of Cathy’s room look like her skin, complete with freckles.
Robbie and Elordi do well enough with the material, and it’s clear that both of them are committed to bringing Fennell’s vision to life. Their styles tend to balance each other out, and if the story had been committed to their characters’ relationship, they might be lauded for their chemistry. In the end, though, the supporting actors feel more interesting, including ones played by Hong Chau, Alison Miller, and Clunes.
This version of Wuthering Heights should never be construed as an alternative to reading the book for any high schoolers out there. While Fennell makes the film interesting with her technical filmmaking choices, the story never finds its footing as it fails to sell the one thing that it seems to promise.
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Wuthering Heights opens in theaters on February 13.
