Austin's festival calendar has a new name this weekend. The Front Festival, an end-of-summer community celebration of independent music, film, and art curated by Future Front, is in the middle of its 2026 run, which marks the festival's 10th anniversary. The whole thing is built around putting Texas women and LGBTQ+ artists at the front of the lineup, and every ticket sold goes toward Future Front's programs, which have handed out $1 million in creative commissions and honorariums over the last decade.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Austin and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
Things got moving yesterday at The LINE Hotel on East Cesar Chavez with the Opening Night Swim, a pool session with DJ Ed West of Neon Rainbows. Tonight, Friday the 28th, the focus shifts to the Red River Cultural District for Independent Music Night at Swan Dive. Doors open at 6:00 PM, and the first half of the evening is built for anyone who wants to learn something: community workshops and talks run from 6:00 to 9:00, including a Femme House Ableton workshop, an independent artist talk with Grammy-nominated Jessy Wilson McFarlin and Grammy member Babidoll, and a "Building Your Own Stages" session with rapper LYNN and Erinn Knight. The music takes over from 9:00 to 11:00 with sets from Femme House DJ Majesty, Babi Doll, and LYNN, and the bar keeps going all night with Tito's Handmade Vodka cocktails, the Future Front shop, and a custom screenprinted tote and tee by Austin artist Leah Kearse.
Saturday is for film. Independent Film Night takes over The Contemporary Austin—Laguna Gloria, the museum's 14-acre site on Lake Austin, with doors at 7:00 PM. The program gathers 12 independent films by women and LGBTQ+ directors and writers working in Texas, paired with community panels and performances. Then the festival circles back to The LINE Hotel on Sunday for the Closing Pool Party, another swim session this time with DJs Riobamba and BAD APPLE, with doors at noon.
If you're deciding how to drop in, there are a few ways to do it. One-day passes for the music and film nights run $20 to $40, and a swim session is $10. A weekend pass, which covers both the music and film showcases plus the opening and closing pool parties, lands between $55 and $100. And if you're already a Future Front member, all the passes are free.
It's worth knowing who's behind it. Future Front is a 501(c)(3) arts and culture nonprofit and cultural space based in historic East Austin, which started as a grassroots collective in 2014 before becoming a nonprofit in 2018 and the organization it is today in 2021. It pulls in more than 25,000 visitors a year and connects more than 500 independent Texas artists annually. The venues are part of the draw, too: The LINE is a boutique hotel on the shore of Lady Bird Lake in the Congress Avenue Historic District, Laguna Gloria is the sprawling site that holds the restored 1916 Driscoll Villa and the Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park, and Swan Dive sits right in the middle of the Red River Cultural District, which the Red River Merchants' Association runs as a recognized cultural-tourism destination in downtown Austin.
Published Date
28 August 2026
More information
