Austin's NPR station is about to bring the fun out of public radio and onto the street. The inaugural KUT Festival will be held May 1 and 2, 2026, at multiple locations across the University of Texas at Austin campus.

A press release says it's "a new annual tradition celebrating the people, ideas, music and culture that make Austin 'Austin.'"

Attendees can expect talks and panels try mysteriously vague "hands-on activities," patronize food trucks, engage with art, and meet community organizations. Just about everything will be in-scope: arts and culture, civic engagement, energy, the environment, transportation, health and wellness, and music — much like listening to community radio, but with more dimensions in person.

KUT is no stranger to hosting events, but in a festival capacity locals are likely more familiar with KUT's sister station for music, KUTX. It does programming for The Drop-In at the Long Center, C3's Holiday Hootenanny at Radio/East, the Un Día showcase, the station's own Rock The Park series at Mueller Lake Park, and more. KUTX will also get to run with live music programming at the KUT Festival.

Tickets will go on sale in January.

Some Austinites have taken a new or deeper interest in supporting local radio after a large loss of federal funding this year. For KUT, that loss was estimated at $1.2 million. However, the station seems to be rising to the challenge, and in October even announced a new network called Austin Signal that combines reporting by news outlets all over the state.

The festival will be held at UT because, as the station's call letters imply, KUT is owned and operated by the university. The station now says it's 100 percent community supported as of September 15, 2025; before the cuts, it was already at 90 percent. Relationships with the community have always been important for KUT, but now a festival could be a defining factor in how the station thrives in a new era.

“KUT and KUTX are already bringing the news, music and culture that Austin loves to the community on a regular basis over the air and through our digital products,” said KUT Public Media general manager Debbie Hiott in the public announcement. “This festival will bring it all to life, and we can celebrate what it is to be Austin residents together and in person.”