Concerts & Events in Austin

Founded by cellist Kenneth Freudigman and violist Emily Watkins Freudigman in 2004, Camerata San Antonio brings together a symphonic roster composed of several of the San Antonio Symphony's principal players and more than a few internationally recognized musicians. More than a dozen acclaimed artists might be on-call for a concert during any given season, and the entourage's diverse concert schedule consequently offers plenty of strikingly different small-ensemble performances.

The San Antonio Highland Games Association's annual Celtic culture and athletics festival traditionally draws thousands of real and would-be Scots in 2011 for an action- and bagpipe-packed weekend each year. Male and female athletes grown bored with sports that don't involve lead hammers or young trees have traveled from as far away as Japan and Sweden to test their mettle in the athletic field’s traditional Scottish strength competitions. The association's founders trace their lineage to numerous Scottish clans, and encourage others to explore their Celtic genealogy with festival workshops.

In the wintertime, The Pumpkin Patch San Antonio sheds its fall-seasoned pumpkins to become North Pole of Texas, complete with hopeful patches of snow, Christmas trees, and holiday ornaments. Children can hop into inner tubes and slide down inclines coated with snow, or scoop up the wintry accessory for snowballs. Or, they can hop into bounce-houses or jump on a trampoline equipped with a bungee harness for extra air. Meanwhile, hot chocolate and candy canes warm any hearts over-chilled by the icy season.

Lone Star Exotic Rentals's motor heads fulfill driving fantasies by arranging adrenaline-pumping cruises, drawing from a fleet of exotic automobiles that includes makes and models from Lamborghini, Mustang, and Ferrari. Individuals can rent roadsters for up to 24 hours at a stretch, allowing drivers ample time to shout curse words at slow-moving armadillos. Lone Star also offers one-hour excursions, allowing drivers to clutch the steering wheel and downshift through a 15-mile stretch of scenic blacktop.

After competing in the Southland Athletic Conference, the UTSA Roadrunners officially joined the Western Athletic Conference in 2012. The Roadrunners’ leave their former conference with 48 Southland Conference Championships in two decades of athletic membership, as well as the 2007–2008 Commissioner’s Cup, awarded to the conference’s top athletics department. The Roadrunners will move into Conference USA in the fall of 2013.

A regional lifestyle mag devoted to documenting the best of the Texas capital, Austin Monthly corrals event listings, reviews, and locally focused features between its colorful, glossy covers. The monthly periodical's quick-witted journalists voyage within and beyond Austin's city limits to track down intriguing restaurants, shops, and arts venues, or remain office-bound to pen witty columns and insightful personality profiles.