Music and Light
Austin's Creek Show brightens with free concert series and nightly events
The Creek Show announced seven days of concerts and activities for 2023.
One of Austin's most luminous happenings, an outdoor immersive art show, has caught the music festival bug again and announced a slate of free musical performances.
The Creek Show brings some of the best Austin art every year, designed specifically for the event, which sets Waller Creek aglow in the hopes of getting Austinites more acquainted with our natural pockets downtown. Visitors are welcome to stroll through at their own pace while enjoying the light-based installations — some with their own accompanying soundscapes — but more programming brings even more life to the popular event.
The free portion of the show runs November 11-18, and there will be concerts and family-friendly programming each day. Highlights on the musical side of the schedule include a country two-step night with an all-ages instruction period, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and concerts by two popular Austin groups: the Latin-flavored Como Las Movies and power duo TheBrosFresh.
Family friendly programming comes in the form of activities by local organizations. Among them are kids' museum Thinkery, STEM enrichment group Mad Science, STEM equity group Girlstart, conservation educator Families in Nature, and Central Texas Facepainting.
A pride night will be the only date with a market, featuring "LGBTQIA+ owned small businesses and nonprofit organizations," according to the schedule. Other nights have unique programming — no date is the completely same as another.
Supporters who want early access can purchase tickets for the opening night fundraiser, which will feature a performance by Selena tribute band Bidi Bidi Banda.
Mockups of the six official selections were released in August, but the finished pieces won't be visible until the show opens. Last year's installations weren't all finished until the last-minute, according to two of the designers — not architects, just creative Austinites with a lot of audacity.
Tickets to the Creek Show are available now at waterloogreenway.org.
