Join us on the indoor stage to hear brand new singles from Booher, Parker Woodland, and rrunnerrss on Thursday, December 5th! BOOHER BOOHER, the indie rock band fronted by Michael Booher, is making a powerful return. Known for their raw, emotive sound, the band is deeply rooted in Austin’s vibrant music scene. Michael Booher first captured attention in the 2000s with Zykos, a band that left a lasting impact on the indie rock community. After Zykos, Michael launched BOOHER, releasing the "Funny Tears" LP in 2017, which further cemented his place in the music world. Between 2018 and 2021, Michael faced a series of personal challenges, including the loss of friends, past bandmates, and his parents. These tragedies, compounded by the pandemic, nearly led him to abandon music. However, in the fall of 2021, a renewed spark was ignited by longtime friend and fellow musician Aaron Sinclair. The two, who had been friends since high school in Houston, began writing songs together in Aaron’s garage, breathing new life into BOOHER. The current BOOHER lineup reflects this evolution. Aaron Sinclair is now a key collaborator, bringing fresh energy and vision to the band. Longtime guitarist Ben Lance remains a vital member, along with Evan Crowley on bass, Keith Lough on drums, and multi-instrumentalist Michael St. Clair rejoining the fold. Brent Baldwin completes this dynamic 7-piece ensemble. Their renewed creative synergy was honed through live performances, capturing the band’s vigor and evolution. The new music reflects this journey, blending their experiences with the raw, emotive sound that BOOHER is known for. PARKER WOODLAND Anthemic, activist power trio Parker Woodland returns to SXSW on a wave of momentum from There's No Such Thing as Time, their debut full-length album, which hit #24 on Sub-Modern Albums chart in September 2024. rrunnerrssrrunnerrss, the new Austin band founded by award-winning songwriter and composer Michael Zapruder ("remarkably creative and sophisticated" - Austin American-Statesman), is set to release Six Year Sea, an album that chronicles Zapruder’s forced departure from Texas in 2022 due to political threats against transgender people. Zapruder, whose creative output includes ten critically-acclaimed records as well as a composition portfolio encompassing two operas and numerous chamber works, has performed his music internationally and across the US, at festivals such as SXSW and Pop Montreal. In 2021, Zapruder formed rrunnerrss with veteran Austin musicians Mike St. Clair (Okkervil River, Polyphonic Spree, White Denim, Booher, Star Parks, Pocket Sounds), Andy Beaudoin (Star Parks, Nori), Lauren Gurgiolo (Bill Callahan, Roky Erickson, Heartless Bastards, Dialtones), and Carolyn Trowbridge (Adrian Quesada, Star Parks), blending North African desert rock, psychedelic music, and guitar improvisation. As the band developed, political threats against the trans community from Texas’s governor and attorney general grew, casting a shadow over the songs Zapruder was writing. Then, three weeks before the band’s debut show, the governor was re-elected, and Zapruder’s life in Austin abruptly collapsed. “Someone I love is transgender,” Zapruder explains, “and the situation in Texas became unsafe and untenable.” Zapruder left for the Bay Area, facing displacement, financial strain, and the emotional toll of leaving behind a life and community. Working from California, Zapruder has kept rrunnerrss going since then by booking local shows every few months, and guiding the band through sessions at Estuary Recording, where rrunnerrss recorded Six Year Sea over the course of 2023 and 2024. The nine resulting songs explore themes of exile, return, resilience and resistance, and capture the tension of creating beauty in adversity. Now, with digital singles coming out regularly starting in October and the full-length vinyl record set to release in 2025 on Howells Transmitter Records, rrunnerrss is poised to spread their message of empowerment, love and beauty in Texas as an ongoing celebration of resistance in the face of hate.