Hot Headlines

Austin suburb rocks top spot among Money's Best Places to Live 2019, plus more popular stories

Round Rock is among the nation's best places to live.

Photo by Sean Nowlin Photography

Editor's note: It's that time again — time to to check in with our top stories of the week. From rockin' accolades for Round Rock to real estate troubles, here are the five stories that captured Austin's attention over the past seven days.

1. Austin suburb rocks top spot on Money's Best Places to Live 2019. When Ben Folds wrote, "I'm rockin' the suburbs" he might as well have been talking about Round Rock. This week, Money released its annual Best Places to Live 2019, and the Austin 'burb was No. 2 out of 100.

2. Every anticipated Austin restaurant opening in fall 2019. The wave of summer restaurant shutters, which is almost an annual event now, has finally crashed. As fall approaches, let's turn to happier news: restaurant openings. This list rounds up all the can't-miss eateries opening this season.

3. Bestselling author Brene Brown returns to UT Austin to host courageous conversation. Boy howdy do people love Brené Brown. Brown's New York Times bestselling books, navigating everything from vulnerability and courage to shame and pain, have forever changed the zeitgeist. In October, the Houston-based academic returns to her alma mater to carry on the conversation.

4. Austin real estate authority pleads for more housing as market hits 'critical' levels. In its latest report, the Austin Board of Realtors put it bluntly: we need more housing or else. If you've been watching the local market, you know that the number of home being sold is down while the median price of a single-family has soared past $400K for the first time ever. Critical indeed.

5. Big-name band backs out of Austin City Limits Music Festival 2019. Indie rock darlings The Kooks are pulling out of ACL Music Festival 2019. Frontman Luke Pritchard recently suffered a perforated disk and will have to stay at home in England to take part in physical therapy. (Or as he charmingly put it in his English accent, "physiotherapy.") Bummer news, but we wish him a speedy recovery.

hot-headlines

Meet at the Moontower

John Waters, Aziz Ansari among added headliners for 2025 Moontower fest

Photo by Greg Gorman

John Waters is one of the longest-reigning comedy greats attending the festival.

Austin's main annual dose of comedy has been prescribed: Moontower Comedy Festival is returning April 9-19, and just the first wave of talent includes more than 100 performers across 10 venues. Now a second wave of talent has been announced for the festival's 13th year.

Attendees will see shows and stand-up showcases, live podcasts, sketch comedy, musical comedy, and more. There are also parties and other special events tying everything together.

New headliners in the second wave include:

Aziz Ansari, creator of the series Master of None and actor behind the whimsical, sometimes whiny Parks and Recreation character Tom Haverford.
Pete Holmes, star of HBO's Crashing and host of the You Made It Weird podcast, who is specifically bringing his Feelin' It Tour to Moontower.
Hank Azaria, the voice behind Simpsons characters like Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Superintendent Chalmers, and who will be playing with his EZ Street Band.
John Waters, known lovingly as the "Pope of Trash," having directed movies like Pink Flamingos and Hairspray. He's bringing a new show for his Moontower debut.
Tiffany Haddish, author of The Last Black Unicorn, known for standup comedy, and a breakout role in Girls Trip.
Zarna Garg, known for addressing the Indian diaspora as a self-proclaimed "overbearing Indian auntie," who is bringing her Practical People Win tour.

A bit more insight on some of the headliners:

Adam Ray parodies (and dresses up as) the famous talk show host Dr. Phil on Dr. Phil Live. He also interviews celebrity guests and uses audience interaction to get the crowd going.
Handsome Pod Livefeatures Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, and Mae Martin — all big-name comedians in their own rights — and answer questions from friends about really any topic imaginable.
Atsuko Okatsuka's HBO special The Intruder has been lauded by The New York Times as the Best Debut of 2022, the same year she was named one of Variety's Top 10 Comics to Watch.
Joey “Coco” Diaz, bestselling author of Tremendous: The Life of a Comedy Savage, brings his storytelling skills to the stage.

Although there are tons of very famous performers on the lineup, there's also local talent: a press release lists Liza Splatt, Andrew Murphy, Ashley Sharma, Avery Moore, Brett VerVoort, Chris Tellez, Colton Dowling, Danny Goodwin, Doug Mellard, Dylan Carlino, Genivive Clinton, "and many more."

Badges (starting at $150) are available now at moontowercomedyfest.com. A promotion called the Bestie Badge offers $25 off of every badge to those who buy two or more. Badges can also be purchased at the Paramount Theatre box office or by calling (512) 474-1221. Like any festival lineup, this one is subject to change.