May 2026
There is so much good music being made in Austin that it can be hard to keep up. To help you stay on top of it, we’ve pulled together some of the best new releases from local artists. You can hear all of these songs on-air at KUTX 98.9 or online at KUTX.org.
Je’Texas – “No Vacancy”
Released via Lunatic Sounds on November 15, 2025
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Released back in the fall of 2025, the jangly, tongue-in-cheek environmental protest song “No Vacancy” from Je’Texas is now where it belongs—in the KUTX library! Found on the band’s EP, Suit Yourself, the track sounds like it could have been a B-side off an undiscovered electric Bob Dylan record, with the band using the term “No Vacancy” to depict planet Earth as a landfill with no more room to spare.
Valice – “Drive On”
Released via Narrow Gate Productions, December 12, 2025
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Sounding like an alternate theme song to the Cruis’n USA or Out Run arcade games, the newest single from Austin five-piece Valice is the sonic equivalent of doing a burnout in your pixelated Ferrari Testarossa with a sexy someone in the passenger seat. “Drive On” is the second track from the band’s upcoming album to make it into rotation here at KUTX, and it’s the perfect song to kick off an epic summer road trip. As a two-time SXSW performer and 2025 Sonic Guild grant winner, we expect 2026 to be a big year for Valice. Drive on!
Adrian Quesada – “MF-AF” + “JCC”
Released via ATO Records March 27, 2026
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One of the most prolific (and best) musicians, producers, and guitarists to ever call Austin home, Adrian Quesada took a break from running his in-demand studio, Electric Deluxe Recorders, long enough to treat us to a deliciously groovy instrumental album with his Trio Asesino. The entire album feels like a sonic exploration unfolding in real time, with something new and wonderful around every corner. We’ve added a couple of tracks from the new record to rotation, including the jazz-inflected number “MF-AF,” featuring Grammy-winning trumpeter Keyon Harrold. It’s an auditory smorgasbord of swirling horns, deeply funky bass lines, hip-hop backbeats, and blissed-out harp that feel like a Soul Train episode set in heaven.
Adrian Quesada takes Trio Asesino on a globe-trotting tour later this summer, playing everywhere from Canada to Slovakia.
Ruben “El Gato Negro” Ramos – “Ay Me Duele” feat. Carrie Rodriguez
Released via Cosmica Artists on May 8, 2026
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Grammy winner, Tejano Music Awards Hall of Famer, and longtime fixture of the Austin scene, Ruben Ramos remains one of the most distinctive voices in American music more than 60 years after he got his start playing drums with the family band. For his new album, Los Días de Calor, Ramos teamed up with frequent collaborator and fellow Austinite Carrie Rodriguez, in addition to big names from across the Latin music spectrum like Sergio Mendoza, Gaby Moreno, and Rick Fuentes. Ramos put his big band to full use on the Cuban-inspired track “Ay, Me Duele”—layering bright trumpets, tight, plucked strings, and haunting electric guitar to give the entire arrangement a slightly mystical feel.
Catch the new music in person when Ruben Ramos and Carrie Rodriguez help celebrate Antone’s 51st Anniversary on Sunday, July 19.
Starflake – “Bajo La Luna”
Released via Escondido Sound on April 21, 2026
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Born from the endlessly funky and fertile mind of The Bright Light Social Hour co-founder Jackie O’Brien, Starflake takes a melting-pot approach to music, combining elements of psych, dance, electronic, Latin, and funk into mind-bending arrangements that defy easy categorization. Sung like an incantation over a kaleidoscope of atmospheric kazoos and bubbly synths, the Spanish-language track “Bajo La Luna” tells the story of a surprise bachelor party that turned into an unforgettable, sexy night out. Imagine Manu Chao after the acid hits.
Calder Allen – “Fault Lines”
Released by Calder Allen on March 27, 2026
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Hailing from a long line of Texas creatives, 23-year-old Austin native Calder Allen released his third studio album, Fault Lines, in March. Produced by legendary Austin guitarist Charlie Sexton, the record arrives ahead of Allen’s upcoming appearances both Sundays at this year’s ACL Fest. It’s a stellar resume for a rising Americana artist who began penning songs as a teenager to combat pandemic-induced seclusion.
The album’s title track turns that hard-won introspection into a defiant anthem for those who choose to look for themselves in the dark. This potentially brooding perspective is made buoyant by booming drums, insistent slide guitar, and an accordion that ebbs and flows, building in intensity until the unknown becomes a little less frightening. It’s first-rate songwriting that paints with complex emotions and tackles unanswerable questions while remaining optimistic, approachable, and—dare we say—fun!
Calder Allen takes the new album on tour this summer, starting with a string of Austin dates: The Paramount Theatre on Thursday, May 21; C-Boy’s Heart & Soul on Saturday, May 23; and The Continental Club on Saturday, June 6.
In a world with no direction, I will find my relief
Calder Allen, “Fault Lines”
