Ben Kweller

Ben Kweller is playing the Congress Ave Bridge on Saturday, September 5, as part of Bat Fest 2026. It's a strange, specific kind of Austin gig — a full set on the bridge itself, right over the water and the bats, rather than inside a club or a theater. If you've never seen a show there, it's a different experience from the usual downtown run.

Kweller is the only name on the bill for this one, so the whole set is his. He's been a fixture in the indie-pop world for a long time, known for that mix of power-pop hooks and singer-songwriter storytelling, and this is a headlining slot rather than a festival side-stage. The set is built around his own songs, and since he's the sole feature, you'll get a full run of his material rather than a short festival set.

For those who know him from the early records, he's still working from that same melodic, guitar-driven place, and for anyone coming in fresh, it's a good chance to hear him in a live setting. The bridge is a public spot, and Bat Fest is one of those events that brings a crowd out to the water, so the atmosphere is as much about the location as it is about the music.

It's a Saturday night show, and the timing is tied to the bats. The set starts at 7:10 PM at the Congress Ave Bridge, 100 S Congress Ave, right in the heart of downtown Austin.