Featuring performances by Tenlons Fort, Joey Reyes, Jonathan Horne & Bill Baird. 

Musician & Filmmaker Jack Gibson follows up his 2020 released Tenlons Fort album “Sober October” with a new musical live experience called “Don’t Be Scared” - A Tribute to Daniel Johnston and other Cinematic Reflections. Based on his time working with the late Daniel Johnston before his passing in 2019, as well as honoring other incredible artists we’ve lost along the way. This show in collaboration with LaunchLeft & the legendary Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas. 

Rock n roll, punkabilly, blues, country… Zoë writes American songs. All she needs is a car and a guitar and you can catch her anywhere in the country.

Jennifer Knapp, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, author, speaker, and advocate, has made a lasting mark on the music industry over the past two decades. Rising to prominence with her debut album Kansas - now Gold-certified - Knapp’s first three releases collectively sold overone million copies, earning her four Dove Awards and two Grammy nominations.Beloved for her captivating live performances, Knapp blends raw, expressive vocals with masterful guitar work and a lyrical honesty that resonates deeply with listeners. Her music movesseamlessly from intimate acoustic ballads to bold, anthemic rock, creating a concert experience that is at once powerful, vulnerable, and uplifting. Songs like Martyrs & Thieves and Undo Mehave become fan favorites, while her later work continues to expand her artistry, tackling themesof love, doubt, faith, and resilience with striking authenticity.Beyond music, Knapp has been a trailblazer in advocacy, openly discussing LGBTQ+ identity and founding the non-profit Inside Out Faith in 2012 to promote equality within faith communities. Recently completing a master’s degree in theological studies, she continues to weave together music, storytelling, and social justice in ways that inspire audiences around the world.Whether longtime fans or those discovering her for the first time, concertgoers can expect an evening of unforgettable songs, heartfelt connection, and the unmistakable artistry that has defined Jennifer Knapp’s career.

Flamy Grant is a trailblazing drag queen and musician from Asheville, North Carolina with over 1.5 million streams on digital music platforms. Snatching trophies for both songwriting and stage, this powerhouse performer beautifully blends her Appalachian roots, drag artistry, and musical excellence to deliver a fearless and flamboyant show like no other.

Volney Campbell is a guitarist, singer, songwriter living in Austin Texas. Volney has journeyed on a musical odyssey, from Tennessee to Virginia, to New Orleans, and finally Austin. These places and their people have all influenced and shaped him as an artist and as a creative spirit. Due to these unique places and their cultures, his music often defies genres but always carries strong melodies and lyrics that expose human emotion. His music has received accolades and excellent reviews both locally and around the world, and has been heard on radio, national television, and in numerous films.

Blake Patterson is a bass player and songwriter whose career began in 1978, when he and his high school classmates in Austin, Texas formed the band Javelin Boot. Over the next two decades, Javelin Boot grew into one of Austin's premier power pop and college radio rock acts, releasing four albums — including two on Chicago's Pravda Records — and touring college towns across the Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast. The Austin American-Statesman called them "one of Austin's premier pop bands," and their music appeared in episodes of Melrose Place and Party of Five. The band's run came to an end in 1998, and its members remain close friends to this day.

In 2000, Blake joined Driver, later known as Driver ATX, led by songwriter Volney Campbell. The four-piece leaned into a straight-ahead rock and Americana sound, self-releasing three albums before going on hiatus.

Today, Blake and Volney continue their partnership in The Late Arrivals, an acoustic duo rooted in stripped-down Americana. Volney writes and sings lead on most material, with Blake adding harmonies and a handful of his own originals. The Late Arrivals are currently booking shows, bringing nearly five decades of stage experience to every performance.

Castles: Del Castillo Trio — Live at the Cactus Cafe

Del Castillo Trio brings the stripped-down side of one of Texas's most electrifying live acts to the legendary Cactus Cafe stage. Formed by brothers Mark and Rick del Castillo, the trio format strips away the full-band fire to spotlight what started it all: two guitarists reading each other's minds, trading dazzling, synchronized nylon-string runs rooted in flamenco tradition, with Alex Ruiz's voice speaking a universal language straight to your heart. By the end of the night, Alex and the brothers will have you believing in castles in the sky.

On the heels of their sold-out, intimate show at the Rollins Studio Theater, Del Castillo Trio takes another step onto a stage steeped in tradition. What began in 2000 as a holiday gift for family has grown into one of Austin's most celebrated musical exports. Del Castillo's music has soundtracked Robert Rodriguez films including Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City, and the Spy Kids franchise, and the band has shared stages with Willie Nelson, Carlos Santana, and Los Lonely Boys. Billboard calls their sound "Latin music's romance and rock's grit," and Guitar Player has praised the brothers' "dazzling nylon-string runs, in unison and in harmony."

In an intimate acoustic setting — the kind the Cactus Cafe has built its reputation on since 1979, hosting legends like Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, and Townes Van Zandt — expect this show to sell out quickly, just like the last one. It's Del Castillo at its most personal: close, unplugged, and unforgettable.

Friday, October 23, 2026 | 7:30 PM | Cactus Cafe, University of Texas at Austin

Parking note: UT campus parking is plentiful after 6 PM on Friday nights — an easy, stress-free drive in for an intimate evening, away from the hustle of downtown.

🎟️ Tickets: _______________

🎥 "Castles" – Del Castillo Trio: watch here

🎸 More on the band: delcastillomusic.com

Sophie Gault has called Nashville home for the past 12 years. Blending rock and American roots music she has performed at listening rooms and festivals across the United States, appearing both as a solo singer/ songwriter and with a band.

Gault has contributed background vocals to albums by Lucinda Williams and Gabe Lee and recently performed aboard the SiriusXM Outlaw Country Cruise. Her latest album, UNHINGED, reached #2 on the Alt-Country Specialty Chart.

Gurf Morlix has been inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame, the Austin Music Hall of Fame and was named Instrumentalist of the Year by the Americana Association. He has produced records for many Americana icons such as Lucinda Williams, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Mary Gauthier, Slaid Cleaves, Robert Earl Keen and more. He has produced 19 solo albums which have received global critical acclaim

John Wheeler wanted to go to UT for most of his childhood. Alas, he did not put in the academic effort required to attain entry at such a prestigious institution. Now John is 30 years old, living in a trailer in Elgin, Texas, working just hard enough at his plumbing job to maintain the payments on his impressive collection of credit cards and consolidation loans. When he isn’t driving around bumping into walls, curbs, and cars in his plumbing van, he is writing and recording his thoughts and feelings in the form of songs. His thoughts and feelings vary widely and are glued together by his traditional picking style.

John will be accompanied by Kenny Mistretta, who will be opening the night. Kenny’s songs are testaments to the power one can wield with just their voice and a guitar. It is impossible not to love Kenny after hearing him play. While he can’t be fully understood (no one really can be), to understand just the piece that he is revealing to you in the moments he’s on stage is a feast for the soul. Kenny also grew up in the Austin area and perhaps dreamed of going to UT (I haven’t asked but who wouldn’t). Kenny is also a barista, a coffee slinger, a grindfather you might say.

If you’d like to see a portrait of two young(ish) people who can’t get past their individual sets of crossroads - or perhaps want to feel good about your decision to attend the great University of Texas at Austin - please come to the Cactus Cafe on November 5.

Jeremy Nail spends a great deal of time contemplating the human condition, and he invites the listener to join in his gentle, inner-world ruminating on the subject in Fleeting Things, the EP available November 28, 2025, from the Austin-based artist. Produced by Kyle Crusham, the four-song collection is stripped-down, coming together one afternoon in late 2023 with Nail, Charlie Sexton, and Betty Soo gathered around a few microphones, recording live using no headphones. Bonnie Whitmore came in later to add bass, underpinning the atmospheric texture of the raw performance. 

The EP opens with "Finally Free," and the song's sparse instrumentation sets the stage for a tightrope walk between past and possibility. Done dwelling in endless shadows cast by old mythologies and the legends of other people, Nail opens the door to individuality. "Dry River" returns to the weariness that inevitably follows trying, again and again, to live up to impossible expectations. Regardless of whether they are actual or imagined, the resentment of those expectations corrodes relationships. "Before the Flood" counters resentment with an offering of resilience. Though our minds can get caught in an eddy of past traumas and regrets, Nail reminds us that we can look up and live firmly in the present. "Life has a way of putting distance between you and that thing in your past," he said, "you can choose to move forward." The EP concludes with the title track, in which a melodic, lilting guitar riff gives way to lyrics that speak a story less sweet. The song examines the pain and the consequences of inexplicable weights people carry in forms like addiction and depression. 

Nail grapples to reconcile himself to the rifts created not just relationally between people, but between what time has been and what could be, if only the weight were lifted.

Malford Milligan is an American, Austin, Texas-based soul, blues and gospel singer who has been compared to Otis Redding, Al Green and James Carr. He is an eight-time award-winner as “Best Vocalist” at the annual Austin Music Awards (last awarded in 2015).

In 1994, he helped form and fronted the Texas supergroup, Storyville, with guitarists David Holt, David Grissom, and the rhythm section from Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble, which included bassist Tommy Shannon, and drummer Chris Layton. The band released three albums: Bluest Eyes (1994), A Piece Of Your Soul (1996) and Dog Years (1998). As a session singer, Milligan was in great demand. He toured and worked on albums together with other outstanding musicians, including Doyle Bramhall II, Marcia Ball, Alejandro Escovedo, Sue Foley, Eric Johnson, Stephen Bruton, Chris Smither and Hal Ketchum. During this period he also expanded his horizons from strictly secular music, releasing the two Gospel albums The Gospel According to Austin (2000) and The Gospel According to Austin, Vol. 2 (2001).

For several decades, Malford has been the lead-singer at the weekly Blue Monday nights at the legendary Antone’s Nightclub, in the house-band that was (and still is) lead by Derek O’Brien, one of the most respected blues-guitarists all through Austin’s musical history.

Malford appeared on Live And Beyond, by Alien Love Child featuring fellow Austin guitarist Eric Johnson, in 2000. He can be heard on “Once a Part of Me” and “Don’t Cha Know”. That same year he also contributed vocals to Throw Me A Bone, by local band Neighbor’s Dog, on “Sister Sister”, “Bridge To The Other Side” and “Today”. In 2001 a remake of the Joe Tex classic “I Want To Do Everything For You” was recorded as a duet with Toni Price, and was released on her Midnight Pumpkin album. That same year Malford was also featured on two songs on the Double Trouble album Been A Long Time (“Cry Sky” and “Skyscraper”) plus the nationwide tour that followed the release of that album.

Milligan also fronted ex-Was Not Was guitarist Randy Jacobs’ band The Boneshakers in 2001-2003, releasing the albums Pouring Gasoline in 2001 and Put Some Booty On It in 2002. He left The Boneshakers to form his own group in Austin, confusingly called The Malford Milligan Band (like its Dutch predecessor), which self-released Rides Again in 2004 [3] and No Good Deed Goes Unpunished in 2006.

In 2002 Milligan recorded and released the critically acclaimed Sweet Cherry Soul album, backed by a band from The Netherlands that was put together by Milligan’s friend and Dutch musician/producer Jack Hustinx. The album contains original material written by Milligan & Hustinx as well as a blend of known and obscure Soul, Rhythm & Blues and Gospel classics. Also two songs written by Milligan’s close friend Stephen Bruton were included. This band, The Malford Milligan Band, played three very successful tours in The Netherlands in 2002-2003, as well as a tour in and around Milligan’s hometown Austin, Texas in 2003.

In 2007 Milligan performed, alongside a stellar cast of musical friends of Stephen Bruton such as Delbert McClinton, Bonnie Raitt, Kris Kristofferson, Joe Ely and Ruthie Foster at the big “Road To Austin” concert in Austin, which was later released as a concert-movie and DVD in 2015. Also in 2007, Malford embarked on the M-P-TU project, together with guitarist Phil Brown, bass-player Mark Andres and drummer Pat Mastelotto. The band released an album entitled M-P-TU in 2008. During that time (2007/2009) Milligan was touring with Greg Koch, a multifaceted electric guitarist capable of fluently playing a gamut of musical styles, as well. Together they formed a band called Nation Sack — drawing their name from the lyrics of a Robert Johnson song entitled “Come On in My Kitchen” — who released an album under the same name in 2009 which includes a blending of electric blues and rock styles. When performing live, Nation Sack is known to cover songs from Jeff Beck and Led Zeppelin, such as “Hi-Ho Silver Lining,” “Rock and Roll,” and excerpts from such classic tracks as “Dazed and Confused” and “Heartbreaker.” With Greg Koch, Malford released two albums: Live On The Radio (2007) and Nation Sack (2009).

In 2009 Malford moved back to Austin and started getting back into the music scene there. After his longtime friend Stephen Bruton passed away on May 9th, Malford fronted the band at a special memorial show at the Saxon Pub. Recordings of this show were released on CD as An Avening With The Music Of Stephen Bruton in 2010. Another highlight of his return to Austin was his appearance (along with ex-Storyville’s David Grissom) at Antone’s for Blue Tuesday on 20 October 2009. The last two songs performed at this were “Change is Gonna Come” which appeared on Storyville’s first album and “What Passes for Love” from Storyville’s second album.

In 2011 Milligan joined forces with former Dutch band member Jack Hustinx on his ‘Shiner Twins’ album ‘Four Souls – One Heart’ (2011). On this album Milligan was featured as guest-vocalist on two tracks “Never Take No For An Answer” and “Hold On”.

In 2013 Malford joined the weekly residency of The Apostles Of Manchaca at Austin’s Strange Brew listening-room, until the venue was forced to close in January 2017. This band also featured well known and highly respected Austin-musicians Jeff Plankenhorn (guitar-vocals), Michael O’Connor (guitar-vocals), Dave Scher (guitar-vocals), Yoggie Musgrove (bass), Brannen Temple (drums) and Phil Redmond (keyboards). Unfortunately the band never released any albums.

In 2014 Malford contributed vocals to Open Mic At The Knick by The Knickerbocker All Stars from Rhode Island. He can be heard on Bobby Blue Bland’s “Turn On Your Love Light” and on “Love Disease”.

At the 33rd annual Austin Music Awards in March 2015, Malford Milligan received his 8th award for being Austin’s best vocalist, as voted by the general public. Also in 2015 Malford started playing with a new band in Austin, Big Cat, along with guitarist Dave Sebree, bass-player Roscoe Beck and drummer Tom Brechtlein. An album entitled Big Cat was released at the end of 2015.

At the same time, Malford and his Dutch friend Jack Hustinx were working together again, co-writing four songs for Hustinx’ solo-album Over Yonder, with Malford also performing on those tracks as guest vocalist. On two of those tracks (“Life Will Humble You” and “I Won’t Surrender”) Malford and Jack got assistance from John Magnie and Steve Amedée of The Subdudes from New Orleans. Right after the release in November 2015, both Milligan and Hustinx fronted their band The Southern Aces on a tour in the Netherlands to promote the album, that was critically hailed as one of the very best Dutch Americana albums ever made. In 2015-2016 Malford and Jack also played together regularly in the Austin music-clubs, whenever Jack was in town, with an Austin line-up of The Southern Aces.

In 2016 Malford recorded a stunning duet with Jeff Plankenhorn, reviving the Sam & Dave classic “You Got Me Hummin'”, which was featured on Plankenhorn’s Soulslide album later that same year. After Big Cat folded in 2016, Malford started a new band with guitarist Tyrone Vaughan called MVP, the Milligan Vaughan Project. With this band an album with the same name was recorded and released in 2017. That same year Malford recorded a remake of the O.V. Wright classic “Nickel And A Nail”, featured on Brad Stivers’ album Took You Long Enough.

In 2017, Malford and longtime friend Jack Hustinx teamed up again. In May 2018, the two officially announced a new album they had been collaborating on for the last year, co-writing songs and exchanging ideas for an all new Malford Milligan album that was released later that year. After a succesfull tour in the Netherlands the two friends released their latest album in 2021: I Was A Witness.

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Brandon Hudgeons has been making up songs since he could hold a guitar. He was born and raised in Midland, Texas. An early passion for music and an obsession with 70s and 80s country songcraft led to rock bands, a folk trio at Dartmouth, and decades in the Austin rooms where Texas songwriting lives.

Never too far from the music, Brandon finally made a commitment in 2022. It started while listening to a podcast interview with one of his favorite Austin songwriters, Graham Wilkinson, who said, “Anybody can get good enough to play shitty bars.”

Brandon thought, “Well, hell, I’m anybody.”

Then Todd Snider closed a magical show at the Paramount by saying, “If any of y’all want to come out here and chase songs with us, I don’t see how any bad can come of it.”

On his birthday in 2022, he set a deadline: 1,461 days (four years) to write 12 songs good enough to justify an album. The kind he’s been chasing his whole life: Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker, Rodney Crowell.

The discipline is real. Hudgeons writes at least one song every week — a consecutive streak now 110 weeks long — as part of the Song Club that he started and operates as its benevolent dictator. He works all of the local Austin songwriter stages, including Cactus Cafe, Hole in the Wall, Carousel Lounge, and Batch Austin. Eight notebooks full of lyrics. A 1989 Provan Tiger Astro van that doubles as his tour bus, festival home, and mobile songwriting vessel.

Mama’s Broke have spent over a decade in a near-constant state of transience, pounding the transatlantic tour trail. They've brought their dark, fiery folk-without-borders sound to major festivals and DIY punk houses alike, absorbing traditions from their maritime home in Eastern Canada all the way to Ireland and Indonesia. Nowhere is the duo's art-in-motion approach more apparent than on their long-awaited JUNO-nominated sophomore record Narrow Line  (released May 2022 on Free Dirt Records) It's the sound of nowhere in particular, yet woven with a rich synthesis of influences that knows no borders.

 The eleven songs on Narrow Line burrow deeply, with close harmony duets, commanding vocals, and poignant contemplations on cycles of life, including birth and death. Tinges of Americana stand side-by-side with the ghosts of Eastern European fiddle tunes and ancient a cappella ballad singing, melding into an unusually accessible dark-folk sound. A careful listen of Narrow Line invokes an ephemeral sense of place—whether real or imagined—inviting us to take comfort in the infinite possibilities of life, whether or not we ever choose to settle down. 

For a group defined by constant touring, it’s not surprising that the two artists that make up Mama’s Broke, Lisa Maria and Amy Lou Keeler, met on the road. Both coming out of travelling communities that are focused on music and protest, the two owe the way in which they move through the world to the integrated and self-sustaining nature of DIY culture and activism. It was a busy life that took them on a roundabout annual touring schedule running between Canada, the United States, Ireland, the UK, and Europe.

The driving force behind this band is – and has always been – the commitment to challenge borders between people, places, and traditions; while encouraging freedom of expression and community through music.

Acclaimed folk singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Rubin, Jew of Oklahoma returns to Austin’s historic Cactus Cafe for a highly anticipated performance marking his first time back on that stage in 20 years. The former Austinite, current New Orleans resident and Bad Livers co-founder will deliver a night of raw, socially conscious songwriting and storytelling, blending his signature mix of bluegrass, blues, country, and Yiddish klezmer.

Michael Prysock is a singer-songwriter deeply affected by life in rural Arkansas. Through his music, Michael is a storyteller like no other, sharing the influences of his family then and now. He skips the clichéd heart songs of romance and moves purposefully to lyrics that convey the authenticity of living and raising sons of his own. Uniquely talented and masking a rare personal humility not often seen in today’s contemporary musical bravado, Michael is a spirited one-man-band, providing vocals, guitar and harmonica to a raw soundtrack of small-town life.

Michael and family call Austin, Texas home.

Check him out on Spotify!