The Bridge from
Old Austin ↱New Austin

Happy Heat is an invitation to slow down and find the groove. We're a collective of artists spanning six decades of Austin creativity, threading historical context with what's next. Find us in our weekly newsletter and in limited-edition print.

HOW PSYCHEDELICS SHAPED AUSTIN. COPS, CHEMISTS, AND THE HIPPIE HIGHWAY. HOW PSYCHEDELICS SHAPED AUSTIN. COPS, CHEMISTS, AND THE HIPPIE HIGHWAY.

Grandpas take us to school, noodling with Cleve, and Gay Heat headliners Lord Friday the 13th talk early NYC punk.

GAY HEAT, OUTLAW BLUES, AND CALIFORNIANS CLAIM THE ALAMO.

Also: Smugglers smuggle. That's what they do. How Huntsville got high.

ARMADILLO INTERSECTIONS & AN AUSTIN LEGEND'S BACK IN TOWN.

Making it work by making it weird and a look at Austin's Rosetta Stone.

RMADILLOS, QUEER ICONS AND HOLLYWOOD'S MAN OF THE MOMENT COMES HOME

Brisket's headed to Austin! PLUS -- Why you've never heard of The Armadillo Groove Emporium.

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Happy Heat

Happy Heat on SXSW

The city’s changed, the event’s changed, so what still works and what doesn’t?

Your Place or Mine: The Complicated Affair of SXSW & Austin Hip-Hop

Three generations of local rappers reflect on their experience at SXSW.

A curated glimpse of SXSW critiques from then and now today.

Then and Now: The Evolution of SXSW Music

From Jackie Venson to Gretchen Phillips, multiple generations reflect on the SXSW music experience.

Billie Buck's SXSWHY?

When life is so surreal it becomes a cartoon.

Dead for a Living

Bruce Spelman of Extreme Heat talks about becoming a zombie in Fear the Walking Dead and other weird side gigs.

His work covers 50 years, and he keeps coming back to the same theme. Cops are a problem.

Your Place or Mine: The Complicated Affair of SXSW & Austin Hip-Hop

Three generations of local rappers reflect on their experience at SXSW.

A curated glimpse of SXSW critiques from then and now today.

The 22nd St Connection

How a 1968 snapshot from a porch on 22nd st weaves a web of relationships formed by the counterculture movement in Austin.

Soulful Saturday

A Saturday with the Jones Family, C.C. Adcock and Tommy McLain.

Happy Heat on SXSW

The city’s changed, the event’s changed, so what still works and what doesn’t?

Smugglers, Legends, and Margaritas: Unraveling Austin's 'Keep Austin Weird' Roots

When folks cry for us to Keep Austin Weird, conscious or not, they’re saluting the industry that fueled the city’s creative explosion in the ‘70s — drug smuggling.

GOTHESS JASMINE

A profile of Gothess Jasmine of House of Lepore.

A LOVE LETTER TO LEZZIE ROCK

Paying homage to Austin's pioneering queer punk.

Bring your own beer.. and glove

Under Austin's merciless sun, adults are playing sandlot baseball.

The Story of Abortion

Pocket-doc on the band Abortion featuring Genny Wood.

ALT-RIGHT, ALT-RIGHT, ALT-RIGHT

Austin’s rise as the misinformation capital of the world. ‍

Through the Lens of Scam Likely

Manuel Frayre, queer latinx photographer and dj better known as scam likely.‍

Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove - Why Now?

Director Joe Nike Patoski explains why we're re-releasing Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove.

Society for Preservation of Texas Music

Doug Sahm and the Grateful Dead’s Impromptu 1972 Thanksgiving Day Jam

The music was free and Jerry Garcia and Doug Sahm graced the stage.

Society for Preservation of Texas Music

Doug Sahm Texas Public Radio interview on the Source

What was ‘the groove’, and what did it mean to Sahm? How will his legacy live on?

Society for Preservation of Texas Music

Joe King Carrasco- 96 Tears

Austin Music Awards 1985/86 Royalty has grown a beard!

Austin Music Awards

Big Boys at AMA show - MASTER (1984)

Songs include: The Seed, Movies, TV, History, Complete Control, Frat Cars, and I Do Care.

Austin History Center

Extreme Heat - The Love Burglar

Extreme Heat live at 1983 Austin Chronicle Music Awards (at Club Foot) March 1983. Vince Bryant song "The Love Burglar."

Austin Music Awards

CHINA NINE at Club Foot

China Nine playing at Club Foot in Austin, TX during the first annual Austin Chronicle Music Awards.

Austin Music Awards

/03

Weekly Groove

6/20/2024

HOW PSYCHEDELICS SHAPED AUSTIN. COPS, CHEMISTS, AND THE HIPPIE HIGHWAY. HOW PSYCHEDELICS SHAPED AUSTIN. COPS, CHEMISTS, AND THE HIPPIE HIGHWAY.

/04

Weekly Groove

6/13/2024

GAY HEAT, OUTLAW BLUES, AND CALIFORNIANS CLAIM THE ALAMO.

/05

Weekly Groove

5/9/2024

Strong Texas Women, ACL's the Talk of the Town, and Fentanyl's Shadow.

/06

Weekly Groove

5/16/2024

HIT MAN HOMETOWN HEROES SHINE

/07

Weekly Groove

4/4/2024

WHERE TO FIND THE HAPPY HEAT ON ECLIPSE WEEKEND WHERE TO FIND THE HAPPY HEAT ON ECLIPSE WEEKEND