Before heading home for the holidays, Austinites can get ready for the holiday season this month with live music. From holiday tunes to jazz, Austin puts on a show for every type of listener. The Daily Texan compiled a list of the best live music to check out in Austin in December.
Free: Night on the 40
The Texas Sound will host live music on campus at the Union Theater on Friday at 7 p.m. The show will feature 28 musicians and 100+ instruments from many different genres. With music from Olivia Rodrigo, Michael Jackson, Camille Saint-Saens, Phantom of the Opera and the Addams Family, students can expect to enjoy hits they know and love right on the Forty Acres.
Free: McKenna Michels
Austin’s favorite, Mozart’s Coffee Roasters, will host breakout artist McKenna Michels on Dec. 7, 14, 16 and 29. Coming out of her tour with Echosmith in November, the Austin native returns to the coffee shop that gave the musician her very first gig.
From $20: Samara Joy
Grammy-award-winning jazz artist Samara Joy will help Austin ring in the holiday season at the Bass Concert Hall on Sunday at 6 p.m. The 24-year-old will perform her own renditions of the holiday classics “O Holy Night” and “Warm in December.”
From $39: Pentatonix: The Most Wonderful Tour Of The Year
Pentatonix will bring their holiday hits to Austin at the Moody Center on Dec. 21 at 7 p.m., just in time for the winter season. The acapella group will perform a 21-song act, including a mashup of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” and other holiday classics such as “Sleigh Ride,” “The 12 Days of Christmas” and “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen.”
From $45: Liz Phair
Connecticut-raised singer-songwriter Liz Phair will be rocking the Moody Center on Friday at 8 p.m. The “Why Can’t I?” singer is known for her indie-rock hits, popular in the early 2000s. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of her debut album, Exile in Guyville, Phair toured across the US this fall and will stop by Austin for the last leg of the tour.
From $46: Houndmouth
In the second and third nights of a three-night show, the Indiana alternative blues and rock band, Houndmouth, will bring their soul to Austin at Antone’s on Friday and Saturday. Celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their debut album, From the Hills Below the City, this year, Houndmouth is expected to put on a dynamic show. Known for their stage presence, fans can expect an impressive 21-song set including hits like “Sedona” and “McKenzie.”
