Austin Weekend Guide: April 18-20

Spring in Austin hits different mid-April. This weekend brings a reggae festival on the waterfront, a guitar duo at ACL Live worth leaving the house for, and the SFC Farmers Market running at full speed. Get outside.

Saturday Morning Pick

SFC Farmers Market Downtown at Republic Square Park (422 Guadalupe St) runs Saturdays 9am to 1pm. This one draws real farmers alongside prepared food vendors -- good honey, good eggs, decent tamales if you get there early. The park setting along Guadalupe has a looser feel than the mall-lot markets. Go before 10am if you want first pick on produce.

Brunch Worth the Wait

Paperboy on Rainey Street is worth planning around. Order the breakfast tacos or the grain bowl. Show up by 9:30am on a Saturday or expect a 30 to 45 minute wait. The outdoor seating is good, and mid-April Austin weather tends to cooperate. If you want zero wait: Kerbey Lane on Guadalupe has been going since 1980. Open 24 hours, solid pancakes, walk right in.

Live Music This Weekend

The Austin Reggae Festival runs through Sunday at Auditorium Shores. Stephen Marley and Steel Pulse headline, with Iration and others filling out the days. Music starts mid-afternoon and the waterfront setting is hard to beat. Admission is a donation to the Central Texas Food Bank. On Saturday night, SATCHVAI plays ACL Live at the Moody Theater -- that's Joe Satriani and Steve Vai on the same stage. Tickets are on Ticketmaster and doors open around 7pm. Also on Saturday, Voxtrot plays the Mohawk outdoor stage. Local indie fans know what that means. Doors at Mohawk typically open at 7pm for outdoor shows.

Sunday Chill

Barton Springs Pool on Sunday morning is the move. The pool holds at 68 degrees year-round, entry is $3 for Austin residents before noon, and mid-April crowds are manageable before 10am. Bring a towel, a book, and no agenda.

Local Hidden Gem

Butterfly Bar sits on East 7th in a complex that's over 100 years old. There's an open courtyard, rotating food trucks, and a small theater company shares the space. Most people walk right past it. It hasn't changed much in years and that's exactly the point. If the Reggae Fest gets too packed Saturday, this is a solid backup for a slow afternoon beer.

ATX Weekly App Tip

💡 ATX Weekly Tip: The live music calendar in the ATX Weekly app updates daily with lineups across Austin venues. Check the Friday and Saturday tabs this weekend -- Austin shows still get posted the week of, and the app pulls them in as they go live.