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ASSCLOWN OF THE YEAR 2025 - ANOTHER PHILHARMONIC CANCELATION - WHY CURED CLOSED JANUARY 7 - 20, 2026

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CURRENT | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | sacurrent.com

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sacurrent.com | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | CURRENT

Publisher Michael Wagner Editor in Chief Sanford Nowlin General Manager Chelsea Bourque Editorial Digital Content Editor Stephanie Koithan Contributing Arts Editor Bryan Rindfuss Staff Writer Michael Karlis

in this issue Issue 26-01/// Jan 7 - 20 , 2026

Contributors Abe Asher, Bill Baird, Ron Bechtol, Danny Cervantes, Amber Esparza, Brianna Espinoza, Anjali Gupta, Colin Houston, Kiko Martinez, Mike McMahan, Kevin Sanchez, M. Solis, Dean Zach Advertising Senior Account Executive Mike Valdelamar Account Manager Parker McCoy Creative Services Graphic Designer Ana Paula Gutierrez Events and Marketing Events Director Chelsea Bourque Chava Communications Group Founder, Chief Executive Officer Michael Wagner Co-Founder, Chief Marketing Officer Cassandra Yardeni Chief Operating Officer Graham Jarrett Vice President of Operations Hollie Mahadeo Art Director David Loyola Director of Digital Content Strategy Colin Wolf Digital Operations Coordinator Jaime Monzon Project Manager Megan Nally chavagroup.com National Advertising: Voice Media Group 1-888-278-9866, vmgadvertising.com San Antonio Current sacurrent.com Editorial: editor@sacurrent.com Display Advertising: marketing@sacurrent.com The San Antonio Current is published by Chava Communications Group San Antonio Distribution The Current is available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. Get listed 1. Visit sacurrent.com 2. Click “Calendar” and then “Submit an Event” 3. Follow the steps to submit your event details Please allow 48 hours for review and approval. Event submissions are not accepted by phone. Copyright notice: The entire contents of the San Antonio Current are copyright 2023 by Chava Group LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher does not assume any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, materials, or other content. Any submission must include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All editorial, advertising, and business correspondence should be emailed to the addresses listed above. Subscriptions: Additional copies or back issues may be purchased at the Current offices for $1. Six-month domestic subscriptions may be purchased for $75; one-year subscriptions for $125.

Courtesy Photo Bobdog Catlin

25 Viva Villa Fontana

Looking back at the San Antonio music venue that brought punk and metal together

07 News

The Opener News in Brief

Bad Takes

Beware the motives of those who dismiss the importance of activism

10 Calendar

Our picks of things to do powerful

15 Arts

21 Food

’On My Own Terms’

San Antonio chef Steve McHugh shares why he closed down Cured

Cooking Up Conversation

San Antonio chef Jacob Gonzales on creativity, community and culinary consistency

ASSCLOWN OF THE YEAR 2025 - ANOTHER PHILHARMONIC CANCELATION - WHY CURED CLOSED JANUARY 7 - 20, 2026

38 Music

Critics’ Picks

More Cancelations

Citing financial hardship, the San Antonio Philharmonic scraps two January performances

17 Screens

Inside Extremism

Approved auditor info as required for public notices per section 50.011(1)(e), F.S. Circulation Verification Council 12166 Old Big Bend Road, Suite 210 St. Louis, MO 63122 www.cvcaudit.com Auditor’s Certification:

Filmmaker Michael Premo on Homegrown and America’s radical turn to the right

Super-Duper Scary

San Antonio actress makes bigscreen debut in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 4

CURRENT | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | sacurrent.com

n the Cover: Downtown San Antonio venue Villa Fontana hosted punk and metal shows in the early ‘80s, helping bring the two genres together. Images: San Antonio, Texas Punk Rock Archive. Design: David Loyola.

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sacurrent.com | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | CURRENT

Uniting Generations At the Y, you’ll find strength, connection, and the motivation to keep moving forward. Whether it’s strength training, swim lessons, or open gym time, we’ve got you covered. YMCA OF GREATER SAN ANTONIO 6

CURRENT | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | sacurrent.com

*Oﬀer valid Dec 25, 2025 - Jan 31, 2026; monthly dues apply; not valid with any other oﬀers.

The Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign has slowed the pace of construction in South Texas. ICE has detained more than 9,100 people in the region this year, including at active construction sites, and as a result, many migrant workers integral to work projects have decided to stay home rather than risk being rounded up. Economists warn to expect delays in new home construction and rising housing prices. The preserved habitat of the world’s last surviving flock of wild whooping cranes is expanding in South Texas. Conservation groups last month purchased nearly 3,000 acres of prairie coast land in Calhoun County, halfway between Corpus Christi and Houston, to expand the winter grounds of the 600-bird flock. The wild whooping crane, which is monogamous and known for its elaborate dances, migrates each year between the Canadian taiga and the Gulf Coast. Rio Grande Valley residents were hit particularly hard with rising health insurance costs as Affordable Care Act subsidies expired Jan. 1. Around 20% of Valley residents receive insurance through the ACA, and 98% of those have been receiving tax credits lowering their monthly payments — with 70% paying just $10 or less for their plans in 2025. A Texas appeals court ruled last week that district attorneys in the state’s most populous counties can’t be compelled to turn over their prosecutorial data to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. A Travis County judge temporarily blocked implementation of the new rule, which allowed Paxton’s office to request almost any document from any case county officials were working on. — Abe Asher

news

That Rocks/That Sucks

Wikimedia Commons Gage Skidmore

ASSCLOWN ALERT

Assclown of 2025: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (Was there ever any question?) Assclown Alert is a column of opinion, analysis and snark. When it comes to naming 2025’s Assclown of the Year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton doesn’t just qualify — he lapped the field, flipped the bird at the other contenders and fired off an angrily worded press release about it. Let’s start with our Republican AG’s culture-war carnival barking. While Texans rightly worry about rip-off artists, grid failures and other real-world problems, Paxton has turned his office into a grievance factory dedicated to punishing LGBTQ+ Texans. Drag panic? He’s on it. Trans kids? Yep, he made sure and made their lives hell too. Equal protections? Never heard of ‘em, apparently. With this clown — and that’s spelled with a capital KKK — it’s all ugly spectacle, a never-ending series of lawsuits and threats designed to play to

the most unhinged corners of the base. Voting rights got the same treatment. Instead of protecting access to the ballot like one would expect from the state’s top cop, Paxton treated elections like crime scenes where the suspects are voters who don’t resemble his donors. He’s sued, blustered and postured his way to copious headlines, all while giving the bare minimum of effort to protecting Texans from real criminality. Sorry, Texas, the AG is too busy auditioning for future political office to bother himself with the actual business of protecting your rights or pocketbooks! Speaking of future political office, this year brought Kenny-boy’s decision to take a run at incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s seat — a move political observers think may give Dems their first chance at winning a statewide political office in Texas since 1994. Paxton could win the primary, but his extreme views and history of scandal will make him unpalatable even for a share of mainstream Republicans. Or so the logic goes. Because, yes, a simple Google of Paxton’s name reads like a fat-to-bursting scrapbook of scandal. There’s the now-dropped FBI investigation, the settlement in the felony securities fraud case, the angry whistleblowers, the alleged affairs (plural) — and that’s just the first few things that percolate up. Ken Paxton didn’t just earn Assclown of the Year: he perfected the goddamned craft. — Sanford Nowlin

YOU SAID IT!

For a GOP president — after the Iraq War — to say outright that invading Venezuela is all about oil is wild. But it is. It’s also about corruption, power, graft and land. And we should take him at his word. — U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a new Texas law restricting how children can use app stores. Senate Bill 2420, set to take effect Jan. 1, requires age verification and parental consent before minors are allowed to download apps or make in-app purchases. However, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman last week ruled parts of the law “unconstitutionally vague” and “exceedingly overbroad.” The Trump administration is weighing a land swap with SpaceX that would allow billionaire Elon Musk’s company take control of 775 acres of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in exchange for 692 acres of land the company owns elsewhere in Cameron Coun-

ty. The deal would allow SpaceX to add to its rocket launch site, which activists have repeatedly warned is causing ecological damage and threatening wildlife habitats. Texas is set to receive the largest initial allocation from a new $50 billion federal government program designed to stabilize U.S. rural healthcare. The program, passed earlier this year in conjunction with legislation that cut Medicaid by $1 trillion, will distribute a little more than $281 million to Texas in 2026. The money will arrive with rural healthcare in the state at a crisis point. More than 80 of the state’s rural hospitals are at risk of closing. — Abe Asher

Find more news coverage every day at sacurrent.com

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CURRENT | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | sacurrent.com

Phoenix Management International.

news BAD TAKES

Beware the motives of those who dismiss the importance of activism BY KEVIN SANCHEZ Bad Takes is a column of opinion and analysis. “I view the attempt to make the world even the tiniest bit better, or even just to be part of the effort to stave off the constant threats of regression that we face, as an utterly admirable motive.” — Jürgen Habermas, Things Needed to Get Better, 2025

rom his mansion on Lake Austin, Texas émigré and 58-yearold unofficial mouthpiece for Generation X sellouts Joseph James Rogan Jr. thinks he’s got kids today fairly figured out. “Behavior is very contagious to young impressionable people,” Rogan opined on episode 2,408 of his popular podcast, which aired in early November. “And when you’re getting caught up in these, you know, movements, any kind of a movement becomes very exciting. Like, think about how many people are caught up in the movement of climate change. ‘It’s so important to stop this. It’s so important to stop all fossil fuels. It’s so important.’ But is it — or is it that you just found a movement? You found a thing where you feel like you can become attached to. It’s just like a natural thing that young people tend to do when they want to make a change in life,” he explained. Rogan’s was the most streamed podcast on both Apple and Spotify in 2025, and it won the No. 1 spot on the latter for the sixth straight year in a row. “Pretty standard stuff here for the Joe Show,” Austin-based comedian and right wing-media critic RM Brown said of Rogan’s assessment. “We don’t like protesting, we

Jaime Monzon

don’t like people pissed off about stuff or having causes that they’re passionate about political-wise,” as he characterized the podcaster’s party line. Rogan — himself a confusing pillbox of human growth hormone and Alex Jones-flavored conspiracy mongering — tends to bend with the prevailing contrarian winds. Several years ago, he endorsed self-avowed socialist Bernie Sanders for president, while last year, he reneged on a promise to never platform Donald Trump and helped sanitize the image of the twice-impeached, riot-instigating president for his massive audience right before Election Day. This despite the fact that Rogan previously portrayed the MAGA movement’s relationship to Trump dismissively, saying “the morons had a king, and there’s a lot of morons.” The message Rogan espoused above, however — the demeaning pop-psychoanalyzing of young activists — represents a remarkably consistent thread running through the frayed tatters of our polarized national conversation. Back in 2016, feminist icon and fervent Hillary Clinton supporter Gloria Steinem said of women who who volunteered for Sanders’ primary campaign: “When you’re young, you’re thinking, you know, where are the boys? The boys are with Bernie.” She later posted to Facebook that she “misspoke” and apologized for seeming to “imply young women aren’t serious in their politics.” Clinton herself made an unsuccessful attempt to derail Barack Obama’s so-called “youth quake” in 2008. “Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream began to be realized when President Lyndon Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964... but it took a president to get it done. … . The

power of that dream became real in people’s lives because we had a president who ... actually got it accomplished.” This suggests that while civil rights leaders may make pretty speeches, it’s elected officials who deserve ultimate credit for instituting substantive reforms. Apparently absent from this model of social change is any recognition that mass movements often compel those very officials to act when they otherwise would not. Without the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, for example, would there even be a Voting Rights Act to sign? More recently, conservatives and left-leaning moderates alike outdid one another to reduce the historic uprising after the police murder of George Floyd to little more than a bevy of counterproductive or ineffectual riots. The empirical evidence tells a different story. Diana Muntz, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, conducted a study of six nationally representative surveys of more than 3,000 randomized Americans between October 2012 and October 2020, finding that by “raising public awareness of the unfair treatment of Blacks,” the Black Lives Matter protests “encouraged greater support for the Democratic candidate” in political races “by a factor of 1.7 to 2.4.” If it took a movement to get Sleepy Joe elected, anti-racist activism also served as a wake-up call for those trying to collectively bargain for higher wages. After surveying 500 organizers, Rutgers University labor historian Eric Blanc reported that BLM was the “influence that was most widely cited” by union drives in 2022. “Given that Black Lives Matter protests were perhaps the largest in U.S. history,” he wrote, “it should not be that surprising

that this insurgent energy fed into a wide range of workplace actions and organizing efforts.” Surprising then that establishment Democratic strategists including James Carville continue to attribute the party’s inability to win back Congress to so-called wokeness. “Time and again, the center-left’s response to electoral defeat has been to blame the unpopular and disruptive activists pushing for progress, whether abolitionists, suffragettes, labor unions, civil rights leaders, or environmentalists,” Waleed Shahid, director of the progressive populist organization The Bloc, wrote in The Nation after Kamala Harris’ 2024 loss. “The Biden administration’s failure to offer a compelling narrative or deliver meaningful economic reforms alienated many young voters, especially on issues like unconditional weapons transfers to Israel,” Shahid counter-diagnosed. “If there is no struggle, there is no progress,” abolitionist Frederick Douglass declared in a speech delivered four years before the start of the Civil War. “Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.” Douglass concluded, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” Austin activist Bob Kafka, a wheelchair-bound Army veteran who dedicated his life to tirelessly advocating for the rights of the disabled, died on Dec. 26 at the age of 79. His is an example worth emulating, lest we forget that doing nothing is merely activism in defense of the status quo. sacurrent.com | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | CURRENT

calendar SAT | 01.10 SPECIAL EVEN T

JOHN MORETTI: THE SABER-TOOTH CATS OF TEXAS

Until roughly 12,000 years ago, saber-tooth cats were a common sight all over North America, including the Texas Gulf Coast. Like many iconic beasts of the last Ice Age, they seem to have vanished with the great melt. John Moretti, a PhD candidate in the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin, studies the ecology of these big carnivores — their possible appearance, size, range and diet — as a way to understand how animals face evolution or extinction and how adaptation or failure shaped our current Anthropocene. Free, 1-2:30 p.m., Phil

Hardberger Park Urban Ecology Center, 8400 NW Military Highway, (210) 492-7472, philhardbergerpark.org. — Anjali Gupta

SAT | 01.10 - 01.24 VISUAL ART

“MEMORIES A LIFETIME AGO”

The mixed-media exhibition “Memories a Lifetime Ago” by San Antonio-based artist Juan Vallejo examines his experience growing up as a migrant worker. Vallejo’s youthful memories of months spent planting and harvesting alongside his family now flow through his hands into works off art. Using ceramic, burlap sacks, fabric and found objects, the artist makes this tactile connection to explore identity, culture and the forces that shape memories. According to Vallejo, his work also offers glimpses into the beauty, hardship and resilience of migrant life, “blending self-portraiture and symbolic stand-ins to honor the culture and history that shaped me.” Free, opening reception Courtesy Photo Jackson School of Geosciences

7-10 p.m. and by appointment, Enzminger Studio, 1906 S. Flores St., (646) 912-4165, annenzminger.com. — AG

SUN | 01.11 FI LM

MOVIES THAT GO FAST: FORD V FERRARI

Everyone loves an underdog story, and the Collins Garden Branch Library’s current film season celebrates this phenomenon through films about the sport of racecar driving. The second installment in the series, Ford v Ferrari, stars Christian Bale and Matt Damon and follows American and British racing teams as they both struggle to defeat the Italian champions Scuderia Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans race in France. The third film in the series, Gran Turismo, screens Jan. 17. Free, 3-5:30 p.m., Collins Garden Branch Library, 200 N. Park Blvd., (210) 207-9120, mysapl.org. — AG

Photo by Merrick Morton - © 20th Century Fox

CURRENT | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | sacurrent.com

SPORTS

SPURS VS. BUCKS

The Spurs tip off a three-game homestand Thursday night against nine-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Antetokounmpo recently recovered from a right calf strain that sidelined him for more than three weeks, and he now looks to lift the Bucks into the Eastern Conference playoff picture with his return. Despite recent setbacks against the Jazz and Cavaliers, San Antonio remains on pace to return to the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. After the disappointing loss to the Cavs, Spurs center Victor Wembanyama reflected on the challenges associated with handling success. “It’s also a transition in our season for us, because we just came off a very tough stretch of which we came out pretty successful,” Wemby told reporters. “It was very demanding games, mentally demanding scouting reports and opponents. We have to be able to settle down after that and not let everything go to waste.” Barring injuries, expect another epic clash between Wembanyama and Antetokounmpo. $36 and up, 7 p.m., Frost Bank Center, 1 Frost Bank Center Drive, (210) 444-5140, frostbankcenter.com, Fanduel Sports Network-Southwest. — M. Solis

calendar

THUR | 01.15

Instagram Spurs

THU | 01.15 - SAT | 01.17 COMEDY

STEPH TOLEV

Toronto's Steph Tolev is inescapable. From her debut Netflix special Filth Queen

—Vulture's No. 2-ranked special of 2025 — to scene-stealing cameos on Hacks, Tires,

This Fool and Old Dads to her Steph Infection podcast, this Canadian Comedy Award winner commands attention. Her physical, unapologetically raunchy style even earned her the host role at the Adult Video News Awards and a feature article in Hustler magazine. The Filth Queen is bringing her high-octane standup, legendary mullet and powerhouse comedy to San Antonio, where audiences can expect her to transform every gross, self-deprecating moment into pure rock-concert energy.

$31.40-$43.76, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 16-17, Laugh Out Loud San Antonio, 618 Northwest Loop 410, (210) 541-8805, improvtx.com/sanantonio. — Valerie Lopez

Facebook Steph Tolev

CURRENT | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | sacurrent.com

calendar FRI | 01.16 SPECIAL EVENT

TRIVIA NIGHT: SUPERNATURAL

Do you enjoy trivia? Specifically, do you enjoy retaining random facts about fictional characters placed into implausible scenarios? Bring your inner nerd to Schaefer Library for an evening of fast-paced, lighthearted competition. Teams of up to five players will compete as they tap their knowledge of the long-running fantasy television series Supernatural. Tantalizingly cheesy and chock full of well-developed characters and fantastical plot twists, the show follows a pair of brothers whose lives constantly intertwine with the divine, the demonic and anything in between. Free, 4-5:30 p.m., Schaefer Branch Library, 6322 U.S. Highway 87 East, (210) 207-9300, mysapl.org. — AG

Courtesy Photo The CW Network

SAT | 01.17 FI LM

ASCO: WITHOUT PERMISSION

Ruby City and MonteVideo will join with Slab Cinema for a screening and discussion of ASCO: Without Permission, a documentary by Travis Gutiérrez Senger about the ’70s Chicano art collective Active, Social, Conceptual, Observational. Eschewing traditional forms of Chicanx art such as murals, ASCO presented performative, conceptually based work that ran the gamut from public reenactments of the Stations of the Cross to fake crime scenes. Provocative and often polarizing, the group’s work challenged social norms associated with representation as well as the very foundations of what constituted Chicanx art at the time. Following the screening, University of the Incarnate Word Art Professor Kathy Vargas, UTSA Bicultural Bilingual Studies Professor Emerita Ellen Riojas Clark and Ruby City Director Elyse A. Gonzales will discuss ASCO’s legacy and impact on Chicanx art. Due to limited seating, registration is required. Free, 6:30-9 p.m., Slab Cinema Arthouse at Blue Star, 134 Blue Star, (210) 227-8400, rubycity. org. — AG

sacurrent.com | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | CURRENT

Free and open to the public seven days a week. Free parking is located at 513 N Flores. Holiday hours – Closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

Exhibitions on view now until January 18, 2026

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Citing financial hardship, the San Antonio Philharmonic scraps two January performances BY SANFORD NOWLIN

acing a financial crunch, the San Antonio Philharmonic has cancelled its third set of concert dates since December, an email from the organization’s top official shows. The message — which CEO Roberto Treviño sent to musicians on Dec. 30 — scraps the orchestra’s Jan. 16 and 17 Classics V shows. The nonprofit arts organization couldn’t raise the cash to “safely cover the costs associated with staging the guest artist, the ensemble and the production team,” he adds in the communication. Further, Treviño writes that the orchestra’s staff and board are working to line up future funding so they can “bring inspired music back for our community as soon as possible.” News of the cancelation follows less than a month after the Philharmonic scrapped its Holiday Pops and New Year’s Eve concerts. However, the Holiday Pops shows were later relocated to Sea World San Antonio. The string of aborted and rescheduled dates also comes after the Scottish Rite fraternal order sent a letter to the Philharmonic in November ordering it to vacate the masonic lodge’s downtown building. A year prior, the orchestra had announced a deal that it said made the 1924 structure its permanent performance space. In comments to the Current at the time, Treviño said the December cancellations were the result of “ongoing negotiations” with the Scottish Rite. Contacted by phone about the latest email, Treviño chalked up the Classics V cancelations to a slowdown in fundraising, which he said typically comes in “waves.” While waiting on the disbursement of $300,000 in recently awarded funds from Bexar County, the nonprofit experienced a falloff in late-year donations. “We are rebuilding those relationships [with donors] as we speak,” Treviño told the Current. “The reality for us as we put on our events is that we want to make sure our concerts are things that we can cover. You know, we have a large payroll — we have a guest artist, a conductor and so forth.”

New legal filing Treviño added that the Philharmonic’s attorney is continuing talks with Scottish Rite officials. The orchestra hopes to iron out a new agreement that

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will allow it to use the building on a regular basis, he added. Scottish Rite officials, including the group’s attorney, were unavailable for comment at press time Monday morning. However, in paperwork intervening in an existing legal dispute between the Philharmonic and individuals David Woods and Peter Rubins, the Scottish Rite seeks to sever its relationship with the orchestra. The legal filing, made just before deadline Monday in Bexar County court and after the Current’s initial call with Treviño, alleges a deal signed between the lodge and the Phil for use of the building required the orchestra to pay $750,000 to begin repairs and refurbishment of the century-old building by July 31. That deadline came and went, as did an extension until Aug. 7, according to the document’s allegations. “The precise amount aside, Philharmonic did not and has not tendered any amount in satisfaction of the Initial Investment, nor has it provided any accounting or backup for any argument that it has made $750,000 worth of contributions that could or should comprise the Initial Investment,” the filing states. “Philharmonic has not even identified the amount it contends should be paid. Philharmonic knows well that Scottish Rite expected the Initial Investment and yet refused to tender it (likely, it was unable to do so).” The filing asks the court to enforce the Scottish Rite’s claim that it can eject the orchestra from its building. When asked about the filing, Treviño had no immediate comment, although he said the Phil’s team is looking into the matter and “will respond accordingly.”

Email details Treviño’s email thanks the Phil’s musicians for their “understanding, resilience and unwavering commitment” and adds that the organization’s leadership is “inspired by your artistry even in difficult moments.” Even so, the message strikes a somber tone about the financial situation at the orchestra. The organization rose from the ashes of the San Antonio Symphony, which dissolved in 2022 during a prolonged labor dispute. “This decision [to cancel] did not come lightly, and it follows careful consideration of our current financial reality,” the email states. “Despite our best efforts to secure the necessary funds, donations and sponsorships have not reached the

level required to safely cover the costs associated with staging the guest artist, the ensemble and the production team.” The message continues: “Understandably, this news may bring disappointment and concern. We share in that disappointment with you. We are committed to being transparent about what happened and what comes next, and we are here to support you through this change.” At press time, the Philharmonic’s website still lists the Classics V concerts, which were to feature pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, a finalist in the 2018 BBC Young Musician contest. The performances were to include Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 11, “The Year 1905,” and other selections. However, an attempt to click the button to buy tickets via the website resulted in the message “We’re sorry, that event is currently unavailable.”

Fundraising questions An executive at one large San Antonio company familiar with the city’s corporate fundraising circles said his employer has cut off funding for the Philharmonic. The person also said a lack of a corporate presence on the organization’s board suggests it may be having trouble bringing in significant donations from others in the business community. “If they don’t have corporate support, they won’t survive,” said the person, who asked not to be named for fear of harming the reputation of the company where they now work. However, Treviño said he’s confident new funding streams will carry the orchestra through. He pointed out that the Classics VI concert is still on the books for Feb. 13 and 14. Beyond that, four additional weekends of classical performances remain listed on the orchestra’s website. Treviño said the Philharmonic, in common with other arts organizations, experienced tough fundraising conditions in 2025. The cancelation of the January concerts was a fiscally responsible move made to avoid losing money, he added. “We’re incredibly grateful for every donation we receive,” Treviño said, noting that the organization has received contributions as small as $10 from individual community members. “We really see that as a huge responsibility to be very, very careful how we operate and manage within our means. I think we’re doing that. We’re being smart about that. We want to carry to legacy of the Symphony and the Philharmonic for another hundred years.”

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Julien A. Mahler, MD Alamo Colleges District Alumnus “At the Alamo Colleges, the class sizes are so small that I received a lot of personal attention and character development on campus. I think I would have gotten lost in the bookshelf at a larger institution. There were faculty and staﬀ members who were really there for me.”

CURRENT | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | sacurrent.com

Filmmaker Michael Premo on Homegrown and America’s radical turn to the right BY MARCELO GARZA

n the documentary Homegrown, filmmaker Michael Premo offers an unflinching look at the events of Jan. 6, 2021. On that date, a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. One of the Trump supporters Premo profiles in the film is Thad Cisneros, a member of the Proud Boys originally from Alice, Texas. In Homegrown, Premo follows Cisneros inside the extremist circles he navigates and paints a picture of what radicalization looks like in America. During our interview with Premo, we discussed his immersive filmmaking process, the challenges of earning trust with his subjects and what Homegrown reveals about how grievance, identity and community can shape someone’s political ideology. Homegrown is now available to rent via the Direct to Audience platform GATHR at gathr.com.

Did you go into the production of this documentary with a goal in mind or did you let that naturally progress?

For this project, we were really trying to understand people. We recognized this widening partisan divide — this chasm that started happening after [Barack] Obama was elected. We wanted to understand what people were fighting for when they said they were fighting for America and what that meant to them, and why an increasing number of them felt like violence might be the only way to remedy their grievances.

You go into the belly of the beast for the film and get the subjects to speak very candidly with you. How were you able to earn their trust?

I think we approach all our work with an authentic interest in what people’s lives are like, and we try to create a space for people to feel comfortable to share who they are and what they are. The longer you spend time with people, you develop a rapport and a relationship. Those relationships are based on this honest interest in what

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makes them tick. I think that was a big contributing factor that let them feel like they could be themselves.

One of your subjects is Thad Cisneros from Alice, Texas. How did he come to be in your film? I think we first met him at a rally in Portland, Oregon, right around the start of the pandemic. He was rolling around with the Salt Lake City Proud Boys at that time. It was interesting that there was this Latino dude from South Texas who was involved in the Proud Boys. When we met Thad, I wanted to know what brought him here and what motivated him. He was very meticulous and careful to feel me out. He had to go through a series of conversations with the whole chapter and let them approve before we could start filming.

From your perspective, what was his motivation?

Across the board, regardless of cultural or ethnic background, most people we met were not motivated by ideology. People were looking for community, belonging, purpose and meaning. Some people found friends that they liked and found a common cause, which maybe led them to ideology. But it didn’t start that way. That was particularly the case for people of color and Latino folks. They didn’t feel like they were welcomed into progressive or more liberal causes. I think part of it too is this perception that the conservative movement has a stronger relationship with the machinations of American power. I think that draws some people like Thad, who self-identifies as a conspiracy theorist.

You were at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Did you know what was going to happen that day? In the fall of 2020, it was clear that people were frustrated and fed up and that something big was going to happen. As soon as Trump sent that “will be wild” tweet some-

time around Christmas 2020, the whole movement erupted in excitement around storming the Capitol. So, we knew that was the plan. It wasn’t surprising, but it was absolutely shocking.

Since Jan. 6, Trump and his supporters have attempted to change the narrative about what actually happened that day. This includes Trump pardoning all the rioters who were convicted of federal offenses. What do you hope your film contributes to history?

I think it’s fascinating that Jan. 6 is probably one of the most documented events in history, and yet the narrative of what actually happened that day has been so manipulated. So, we really hope our film can contribute an unvarnished look at what actually happened that day and what people were there to do.

What is your theory on what will happen on Jan. 20, 2029? Will Trump leave office voluntarily?

My theory is that it’s really unlikely to see him leave office peacefully. He’s said repeatedly that he thinks he’s owed a third term. I think he’s going to try his best to make that happen.

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Super-Duper Scary San Antonio actress makes big-screen debut in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 BY KIKO MARTINEZ

an Antonio actress Miriam Spumpkin didn’t know much about the popular Five Nights at Freddy’s video game series when she auditioned for the 2025 movie sequel. However, her brothers, longtime fans of the game, were confident that landing the role could take her career to new heights. “I barely even heard of Five Nights at Freddy’s,” Spumpkin, 11, told the Current during a recent interview. “My brothers knew more about it than I did and were the ones that really pushed me to audition. They told me [the game] was really big, and that if I got it, I would be super-duper famous.” In Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, which has earned an eye-popping $222 million in the worldwide box office since it premiered at theaters last month, Spumpkin plays the main character Vanessa as a kid. Actress Elizabeth Lail reprises her role as the adult version of Vanessa from the original 2023 film. At the beginning of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, young Vanessa appears in flashbacks that show events that happened at the original Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza where chaos caused by creepy animatronics begins. The scene builds on the lore that ties Vanessa to the trauma caused by her murderous father William (Matthew Lillard). It’s still too early to know if Spumpkin’s role in the horror sequel will launch her into “super-duper famous” status, but the young actress is hopeful. She appeared in her first movie at the age of 5 and has since starred in a handful of short films, a music video and a podcast series called Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. Spumpkin said she knew she want-

Courtesy Photo Elizabeth Spumpkin

ed to be in the spotlight when she started dancing at age 3. “I liked being on the stage,” she said. “My mom started having me do acting stuff. I fell in love with it.” Her parents, Rebecca and Tom, said

their daughter developed an extraordinary ability to immerse herself in creative roleplaying even at preschool age. When friends come over to hang out, a “flurry of costumes, sets, and makeup” come out for

everyone to enjoy. Their daughter is genuinely entertained by acting and playing characters, Rebecca added. “Miriam has always been very cavalier about portraying someone in a way that she finds authentic,” Rebecca said. “She never overthinks a character’s motivation but instead lives in each scene like she belongs there.” When Spumpkin shot her scene for Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, she had recently turned 10. When she saw the movie about a year later, she said she could tell how much she had changed in that short amount of time. “I sounded so little!” Spumpkin said. “I sounded so high-pitched!” Looking back at how youthful she was a year ago — facetiously speaking — it made losing a tooth on set feel fitting for a kid her age. It was an ordinary moment that forced filmmakers to get creative, so the continuity of her scenes wouldn’t be disrupted. “Me and my mom were a little bit worried on how much work they would have to put in to make it look like I didn’t lose a tooth,” she said. “They had me take photos up close from each side, so they could see exactly where it was missing and how to make it look right. We all had to put in a lot of work, so it didn’t look awkward.” Spumpkin’s scene at the beginning of the film isn’t the only time she’s on screen. The photos of a young Vanessa in the movie were actual photos from the Spumpkin’s household. It worked out especially well because one of the photos that filmmakers used featured Spumpkin in an Easter bunny costume. It was a perfect tie-in to the lore of the series since the character’s evil father dresses in a Yellow Rabbit costume — also known as Spring Bonnie — to kill. “It was super funny to see all of my photos lined up on the wall,” Spumpkin said. “They edited me in another photo to make it look like I drew Spring Bonnie in the sand.” The lore behind Five Nights at Freddy’s is the main reason Spumpkin thinks the media franchise is so popular with kids today. Parents may not always understand it, but the mystery behind the narrative and the characters is what keeps pre-teens and teens so fascinated. “You really have to know about the game and the lore to understand the movies,” she said. “That’s part of the fun of it — having to figure it all out.”

CURRENT | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | sacurrent.com

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’On My Own Terms’ San Antonio chef Steve McHugh shares why he closed down Cured BY KAT STINSON

hen James Beard Award-nominated chef Steve McHugh opened Cured in 2013 in a renovated building at the Pearl, it was an act of gratitude. The restaurant was born after he survived non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and represented a renewed belief in how precious good health can be. More than a decade later, that same perspective shaped McHugh’s decision to close the acclaimed dining spot, known for artisanal charcuterie, dry-aged steaks and nods to his New Orleans roots. It’s a move that demonstrates intention over obligation, he told the Current in a recent interview. Cured ceased operation Sunday, Jan. 4. The announcement days before cited no specific reason for the chef-owner decision not to renew the lease. However, he thanked the community for its years of support. At the time he launched the venture, McHugh said he was motivated as much by technique as meaning, using curing as a lens through which to explore preservation, patience and transformation — ideas that mirrored his own recovery and the road to remission. But over the years that focus shifted, he told the Current. What began as an intensely personal project grew into something larger, reshaped by the people who passed through Cured’s dining room and kitchen. McHugh said the restaurant taught him that cooking is ultimately an act of service, not self-expression. It was a lesson reinforced by staff members who built careers under his leadership, guests who marked milestones at its tables and community organizations the restaurant supported along the way. “The greatest growth comes from understanding that cooking isn’t about you as the chef,” he said. “It’s about service, community and gratitude for the gifts we’ve been given.”

Balancing craft and care That philosophy helped define Cured’s place in San Antonio’s dining scene, where it became known for ingredient-driven cooking that honored Texas traditions while pushing them forward. McHugh hopes the balance between craft and care, ambition and responsibility is

Josh Huskin

the legacy the restaurant leaves behind. In his view, Cured proved that a restaurant could be profitable while still giving back, and that a kitchen could be a place of healing and purpose, not just production. As news of Cured’s closing spread, many longtime fans wondered what McHugh plans to do next. For now, he says his focus remains firmly on the restaurant’s final days and the people who helped shape its 13-year run. “Right now, I’m focused on giving Cured the sendoff it deserves and honoring this incredible journey with our team and guests,” McHugh said. He emphasized that his decision not to renew the lease wasn’t about stepping away from cooking or rent costs, but about closing one chapter in his culinary journey with purpose. Family played a central role in that choice, he added.

Taking a pause McHugh said he plans to take time before announcing his next move, allowing space to reflect on where his passion and sense of purpose lead him. Still, he made clear that

the values behind Cured — appreciation, gratitude and giving back — will continue to guide whatever comes next. That ethos, he noted, is already living on through his 2024 cookbook, CURED: Cooking with Ferments, Pickles, Preserves, & More, which preserves many of the techniques and recipes developed at the restaurant. As he prepares to close the doors, McHugh says the decision is less about endings than about intention. “I’m closing this chapter on my own terms,” he said, expressing gratitude for a city that embraced Cured not just as a restaurant but as a gathering place rooted in appreciation for being alive and part of a community. As for the next restaurant taking over the notable Pearl building? That’s still up in the air as of press time. But McHugh said he’ll keep the Alamo City community informed about his next life chapter. “San Antonio has been extraordinarily good to me, the Pearl district has allowed me to thrive and I’m not going anywhere,” he added. “When the time is right to share what’s next, this community will be the first to know.”

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Cooking Up Conversation

that. Then I became [chef de cuisine] at Playland Pizza, which taught me a ton about pizza and gave me this art-meetsfood outlet where I made a new menu every day.

San Antonio chef Jacob Gonzales on creativity, community and culinary consistency

How did COVID change your trajectory?

When COVID hit, I was bored at home and just started cooking for friends. I was hanging out with Aaron Peña from Squeezebox, and we did curbside meals together. We turned that into pop-ups, and that’s where Fajita Lounge organically came from — literally cooking fajitas out of the back of my truck for staff and neighbors. People noticed, and that grew into what it is now.

rom Feast, Rebelle and Playland Pizza to his current role at River Walk seafood restaurant Ostra and with the Fajita Lounge and Mall Noodz popups, Jacob Gonzalez has become one of the city’s most versatile chefs. His 18-year culinary career has made him a fixture across many places San Antonians go to eat.

Then you went back to Rebelle?

Yeah, once things opened up. I worked at Rebelle again as a lead cook, then I got a seasonal sous chef job in upstate New York. I ran that kitchen, learned a lot, then returned home and linked back up with old coworkers like Emilio [TK] and Chef Robert [Cantu] at Ostra.

When did you start cooking?

What’s it like working at Ostra now?

I think it began with a summer job at Van’s on Broadway. I was making breakfast, prepping for lunch, working dinner, skateboarding in between … . That whole summer I was in the kitchen, and I realized I really liked it.

I’m there full-time and also doing Fajita Lounge on my days off, plus monthly popups for Mall Noodz. Working with Emilio and Robert feels like getting the band back together — old shipmates who know what we’re doing in the kitchen.

You were originally in film school?

One dish that sticks in people’s minds is the pork entree at Ostra. What goes into that?

Yeah. I was in film school originally, but I’m pretty creative and artistic. I was watching way too much Rachael Ray that summer. I started making lunches for my mom to take to work, then started looking up culinary schools. That’s how I landed on St. Philip’s [College].

What year was that?

I went to St. Philip’s while working fulltime, so it took about six years. I was there roughly from 2009 to 2015 while I was working at Feast.

Speaking of Feast, what were some of the other places you worked around town?

Feast was my first professional kitchen. I went from baking and salads into sauté and grill. After that, Chef Stefan [Bowers] took me to help open Rebelle. I got my first management job at Battalion, then worked with Andrew Weissman at Signature. I came back to Rebelle, then got the opportunity to be chef de cuisine at Feast and change the menu toward the end of

Jacob Gonzales

QUICK BITES Last book you read: The cookbook Estella by Ignacio Mattos Last movie you watched: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Go-to post-shift drink: A Busch at Pumper’s Underrated local spots: Bliss in Southtown and Pumper’s Anything else you want people to know? “I’m really grateful for the community and the support from peers, friends, and everyone who’s helped along the way. I love technical, ingredient-driven cooking — it’s fun and always evolving.”

That dish is Chef Robert’s brainchild, but we all contribute. The pork is brined and seasoned with a baharat-like spice blend. But the standout is the toum — pureed raw garlic emulsified with olive oil and water, basically a garlic mayonnaise without eggs. It’s about technique and balance.

You’ve worked lots of different styles. Do you have a favorite?

I’d say California-style cuisine — even though I’ve never been to California. It’s about balance and simplicity: acid, fat, respect for vegetables and meat, dishes that look simple but are thoughtful and composed.

Do you dream of opening your own place?

Absolutely. One day it will happen — it’s about patience and getting the ducks in a row. I’m still pretty young, and I want to do it right. sacurrent.com | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | CURRENT

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music Diane Davis, Courtesy of San Antonio, Texas Punk Rock Archive

Viva Villa Fontana Looking back at the San Antonio music venue that brought punk and metal together BY BILL BAIRD

illa Fontana might be the most famous venue you’ve never heard of. Unless, that is, you attended shows during its late-’70s through mid-’80s heyday. In which case, it likely shaped your view of just how exciting and varied live music could be — and the blurred lines between the rock’s rebellious punk and heavy metal uprisings. Housed in an abandoned corner of the original Hemisfair site, Villa Fontana emerged as an unlikely — and all-ages — cradle of underground punk and metal. Although it’s famous for having hosted the legendary Slayer vs. Slayer show, where the now-iconic California

thrash band performed with a like-named Alamo City outfit, that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the spot’s influence. From around 1980 until 1985, Villa Fontana hosted the likes of the Dead Kennedys, Riot, the UK Subs, Black Flag, GBH, D.O.A., Die Kreuzen, the Big Boys, Hickoids, Meat Puppets, Sun City Girls, Juggernaut, Watchtower, the Offenders and dozens more acts representing the flurry of creative activity simultaneously rising from the emerging punk and metal scenes. “The Fontana was really special: the first San Antonio theater that served as a venue for under-18 crowds and original metal music,” said veteran San Antonio musician Art Villarreal, who played guitar in SA Slayer, Karion and other metal acts. “It was the first in Texas besides the Ritz in Austin.” Villa Fontana was originally part of the Pearl Pavilion for Hemisfair ’68 and avoided the wrecking ball that demolished so much else erected for the event. A decade after the fair, the venue emerged as a go-to for quinceañeras, weddings and high school commencements. But it also led a secret, seedier side hustle as a hub for underground music. More than just a concert venue, Villa Fontana captured an era when DIY punk cross-pollinated with underground heavy metal. It was an exciting and creative time before bland alt-rock and posing hair metal hijacked the respective movements sometime later in the ’80s.

Canadian punk band D.O.A. performs at Villa Fontana

It was a time when fiercely independent San Antonio radio stations KISS and KMAC were important local tastemakers and helped turn the city into an international nerve center for hard rock. Jason McMaster, Austin-based frontman for prog-metal pioneers Watchtower and late’-80s MTV darlings Dangerous Toys calls Villa Fontana and its place in the era’s rock pantheon “history-book worthy.” “For a hot second, it was a cool place for anybody from us to Slayer to Helstar to the Offenders to [Millions of Dead Cops] to crossover metal-punk bands to have shows for cheap — three bucks a head,” he said. “I know that I had a good time, and I know that it was often sold out. And I know that it’s tattooed on everyone’s hearts and brains.”

Raoul Cortez’s dream For rockers, Villa Fontana may be best known in its Hemisfair location, but the ballroom originated decades before at 411 South Presa St., poised above the showrooms for two long forgotten automakers: Packard and Willys-Overland. The venue was the brainchild of Raoul

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CURRENT | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | sacurrent.com

music Cortez, the father of Spanish-language radio and TV broadcasting in U.S. Cortez was not only San Antonio’s inaugural Rey Feo, he’s honored in the Smithsonian for his history-making contributions to Spanish-language media. Born in Xalapa, Mexico, in 1905, Cortez moved to San Antonio just after the start of the Mexican Revolution. He worked at iconic downtown clothier Penner’s then at Pearl Brewery before landing a reporting job at newspaper La Prensa. His typewriter from that era is on display at the Smithsonian. But Cortez’s real dream was opening his own radio station. His father had owned one in Mexico, and as a youth, Cortez sold ad time to sponsors. But starting a new U.S. radio station in the 1940s was tricky, especially as World War II raged. The FCC had frozen all new radio licenses to ensure broadcasts would support the Allied forces. With that in mind, Cortez applied for a license, promising to promote the war effort to Spanish-language audiences — a groundbreaking idea. He received the license but didn’t launch station KCOR until 1946, the year after the conflict ended. Cortez’s venture broke history just the same. The bootstrap operation was the first all-Spanish language radio station owned and operated by a Latino. Cortez and his staff further broke ground by wring original radio plays and hosting superstar Latin American singers and musicians. After growing KCOR into a nationwide Spanish-language enterprise dubbed the Sombrero Network, Cortez founded the first Villa Fontana to host the many artists he featured on air. The Ramiro Cervera Orchestra, the Felix Solis Orchestra and Ruco Villarreal were among the artists who kicked back in the original location after their SA concerts. “Villa Fontana was my grandfather Raoul Cortez’ venture,” said San Antonio businessman and Texas Public Radio board member Guillermo Nicolas. “He was a real entrepreneur. Radio, TV, bowling alleys, restaurants. He opened the club to entertain the big stars who used to come from all of the Spanish-speaking world to sing live on his radio station. They’d sing at the station during the day, sing at the Alameda Theater at night and wind down at the Villa Fontana.”

Hemisfair and after

Courtesy Image San Antonio, Texas Punk Rock Archive

As Hemisfair transformed downtown, Villa Fontana closed and ulti-

mately moved into the Pearl Pavilion left over after fair ended. Fronted by a small canal created for Hemisfair, the pavilion was a cute two-story building with rickety balconies that evoked a bygone era. Ironically, it’s that quaint structure so many aging San Antonio rockers fondly remember. “Built in imitation of the old-world charm of the famed Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark, the bright new pavilion was a place of gaiety and laughter,” the Express-News wrote of the pavilion in 1968. The interior was decorated to resemble turn-of-the century San Antonio with various murals showing spring waters that flowed “straight to the brewery” to produce Pearl’s namesake brew. The pavilion’s bucolic murals and tributes to a bygone era gave no hint of the heavy metal and punk mayhem yet to come. Indeed, many of the musicians and fans interviewed for this article thought the old-timey decor they witnessed there in the ’80s indicated Villa Fontana was a hundred-year-old Wild West relic. After the fair’s six-month run and a failed attempt at turning the pavilion into a USO post, the building languished until Cortez stepped in. Having recently sold his radio network plus a TV station he’d since acquired, the entrepreneur sensed a chance to relocate Villa Fontana and give it a new use. “A lot of the talent stopped going because the carrot of singing on the radio was gone,” said Nicolas, Cortez’s grandson. “Hemisfair was a new opportunity and venue for new customers and talent.” Villa Fontana moved in, but much of the Hemisfair remnants around the building had fallen into neglect. Parts were fenced off, razed or crumbling in disrepair. The relaunched Villa Fontana was tucked into the corner of a massive parking lot in the shadow of the Tower of Americas. The canal in front remained, but it was a far cry from its glittering glory. This new version of the venue became a hall for rent, mostly for quinceañeras, weddings and graduations.

DIY space By the time the laid-back, earth-toned late ’70s coasted into view, rock ’n’ roll had had lost its exciting, transgressive and rebellious spirit. It had become corporate, pompous and boring. Or, worse, disco. Against that backdrop, the youthful sacurrent.com | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | CURRENT

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Courtesy Photo Metal Blade Records

energy of punk emerged, dragging rock back to its loud, dumb, fun roots. It many ways, it was a distillation of the mid-’60s garage rock scene — raw, unfiltered, unpolished — a middle finger to the Eagles and other bands that represented the recording industry’s airbrushed commercial output. Without established venues to host their bands and receptive labels willing to release their records, the era’s punks created their own world through a do-ityourself, or DIY, ethic. Austin’s Big Boys were at the forefront of that effort. “There was this weird thing in the ’70s,” Big Boys bassist Chris Gates said. “There was me in my room with a guitar, and there’s Van Halen at the ‘Enormo-dome,’ and nothing in between for local music. And then this punk rock thing happens, and ... we’re all the

weirdos that aren’t like this ‘Morning in America’ Reagan bullshit. We’ve found each other and there’s a space to do this. You don’t even have to be good, you just have to have something interesting to say and we’ll support it. We had this DIY community all over the country that shared information, so we didn’t have to figure it out ourselves.” That DIY outlook meant renting halls and promoting your own shows. In San Antonio, Villa Fontana fit the bill. Similarly, Austin had the Ritz Theater, another forgotten space that found new life thanks to punk. Both were appealingly funky, all-ages —a punk requirement — and, best of all, cheap to rent. “There was a seediness to [Villa Fontana] that had its appeal, man,” recalled longtime San Antonio musician Bobdog Catlin, who played with SA Slayer,

Juggernaut and myriad other acts. “That was a building past its prime. The water-stained ceiling, the overall vibe, off to the side of a massive parking lot in the shadow of the Tower.” By the time local promoters started renting the Fontana for shows, the building felt like it’d been forgotten in time. Paintings of San Antonio’s storied springs still adorned the walls, though the context was long forgotten. The second-floor railing was legendarily shoddy. “That balcony — that was tough,” Catlin said. “That place would never pass code. That place was fucking dangerous, man. There was a white railing along the balcony, like a white picket fence. I remember it being a little scary. The whole balcony was a little scary.” Just the same, local promoters such as

Los Angeles-based thrash maniacs Slayer played a legendary Villa Fontana show with San Antonio’s SA Slayer.

Hickoids frontman and Saustex Records honcho Jeff Smith, BOSS Recording Studios head Bob O’Neill and independent operator Tony Chainsaw saw the aging venue as an opportunity to host shows for bands too loud, raw or weird to be accepted elsewhere. At a show for British street-punk band G.B.H., the crowd was whipped into such a frenzy that members stage dived from the rickety balcony. “I don’t know who started the stage dives off the balcony, but that was fucking crazy,” Catlin said. Word spread quickly that Fontana was sacurrent.com | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | CURRENT

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Courtesy Photo UTSA Special Collections

both all-ages and lax in drinking-age enforcement — a golden combo for any miscreant teen. Indie promoter Chainsaw began hosting all-day punk shows, while Jeff Smith brought in legendary SoCal hardcore group Black Flag for the first-ever Hickoids gig. Iconic punk act the Dead Kennedys played the venue Aug. 15, 1984, on its Kill Everyone Tour. “They were on fucking fire, man,” Catlin said of the band. “[Singer] Jello Biafra was wearing a cast. Someone had broken his leg. He was ranting and raving about how [Fear frontman] Lee Ving had paid someone to do it — all that paranoia that made him so wonderful back then.”

Metal up your ass The punks weren’t the only underground outsiders who found refuge at Villa Fontana. Before heavy metal found mainstream MTV acceptance in the latter part of the ‘80s, it too was a musical

refuge for misfits and outcasts. “Heavy metal was for people who didn’t go to the prom,” as McMaster of Watchtower and Dangerous Toys succinctly put it. McMaster began driving from Austin to San Antonio to hang out with SA Slayer — then just known as Slayer — in a garage rehearsal space. “Off Fredericksburg and Babcock: Danville Street,” McMaster recalled. “Hallowed ground if you ask me. SA Slayer rehearsed in that garage, songs were written there. It’s how Don Van Stavern from SA Slayer became friendly with Mark Reale and joined Riot.” For those unfamiliar, New York’s Riot was a pioneering force in power metal, recording album after album of anthemic material with guitarist and bandleader Mark Reale. Though terminally unrecognized, the band still retains legendary status among discriminating metalheads. Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, for example, is an ardent fan. During one of Riot’s periodic break-

ups, Reale moved to San Antonio — a key market where fans had seized on the band’s music. In that garage off Fredericksburg Road, Reale joined forces with SA Slayer bassist Van Stavern and drummer Dave McClain to form Narita, a short-lived group that produced some of the best U.S. metal of the era. Some of its songs later ended up on Riot’s Thundersteel album. If it’s all a bit confusing, just know this: a makeshift San Antonio rehearsal space helped shape U.S. metal in the ’80s by producing SA Slayer and helping reinvigorate Riot. Against that hotbed of creativity, San Antonio’s metal underground also found a home at Villa Fontana, which hosted shows for both touring and local acts dealing in fast and heavy riffs. Like Catlin, McMaster was struck by both the venue’s down-in-the-heels vibe and the creativity it showcased. “It needed paint, there was a strange catwalk all the way around, the roof probably leaked in places,” he said. “The

Villa Fontana started its life as the Pearl Pavilion at the 1968 HemisFair.

catwalk did not look sturdy at all, rickety stairs to get up there. A funky old country dancehall — that’s how I remember it. But to be 18 and playing in there was just wonderful.”

Cross-pollination Whether they initially realized it, the metalheads and punks of the time were kindred spirits. Both loved loud, fast rock ignored by the mainstream, and both despised hippies. As the city’s emerging metal scene looked to expand, it needed to learn DIY promotion from the punks. Turns out some of the punks were happy to oblige. “The punk rock dudes were falling in love with the metal stuff,” McMaster said. “And the punk rockers said, ‘Whoa, we are the same people. Let me show you sacurrent.com | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | CURRENT

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music

Courtesy Photo San Antonio, TX Punk Rock Archive

how to promote your shows, make a flier, make a shirt and a sticker.’ We learned it all from the punk rock dudes. It was cross-pollination, and it was new and fresh and fun — before it was called a crossover. It’s fellowship.” McMaster credits the Big Boys’ Chris Gates with showing him the ropes. After a chance meeting at a high school gig, Gates befriended Watchtower and taught the group’s members how to make their own merchandise and promote their own shows. “In the early years, it was unheard of to have merchandise,” McMaster said. “The punk rock bands were doing that, printing their own shirts in the garage. So, Chris Gates showed us that and printed the first Watchtower shirts in his garage.” Gates said he saw Watchtower as kindred spirits in figuring out how to navigate the music underground. “Watchtower were mind-bogglingly good at what they did, but they had no idea [how to take it to the next step],” Gates said. “Stuck at a rehearsal place and playing an occasional kegger. Not too

different from me, three years earlier.” But Watchtower and the Big Boys didn’t represent the only meeting of the minds. Numerous points of contact occurred between the metal and punk scenes of the time. Both were fueled by youthful energy. “There was a DIY magic to it all,” SA Slayer’s Villarreal said. “It was really a magical time, very exciting. Making our fliers, doing our own PR, no handlers. We were running the asylum.” For Gates, a Motörhead gig in San Antonio represented a defining moment in the merging of punk and metal. “There was a Motörhead show in San Antonio in ’83, and about 200 punk guys drove down to the show,” Gates said. “The metal guys didn’t know about slam dancing yet and the punk guys made them uncomfortable, but Motörhead was the connective show. A bunch of angry Hispanic dudes wanted to kill us because we were slam dancing, and they didn’t know what that was. By the end of the night, they were having a ball and we were all moshing together.”

SA promoter Chainsaw’s all-day parties also stood out as memorable Villa Fontana moments. At one of those, all-female trio Heather Leather brawled onstage while stumbling through a cover of Mötley Crüe’s “Looks That Kill.” The band was comprised of the three sisters, and they fought like only siblings can. “It gets to the big drum riff of the song and she plays it wrong,” Catlin remembered of the dustup. “The bass player looks over her shoulder and says, ‘Fucking play it right, bitch,’ or something to that effect. So, they restart from the beginning. They get to the drum riff. And, goddamn, if she doesn’t do it again. Ruthie says something really mean to her. So they start over again, she fucked it up again, and Ruthie threw down her bass, and they went at it — fisticuffs onstage at the Villa Fontana.” Such unscripted bouts of insanity were as far as SA music fans could get from the scripted and choreographed rock shows happening at local arenas. “Follow that, motherfucker,” Catlin said of the onstage brawl. “It was cool

Heather Leather became one of the punks’ favorite metal bands.

as shit. Brilliant. That’s why Heather Leather were the punk rockers’ favorite metal band.”

A unique ecosystem The 1983 compilation album Cottage Cheese From the Lips of Death, curated by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers, stands as a significant representation of San Antonio’s initial mixing of punk and metal. Recorded at now-defunct BOSS Studios, Cottage Cheese captures the energy of Texas punk from the era, featuring the Dicks, the Big Boys, the Offenders, the Mydolls and more. But tacked onto the end is “Meltdown,” a bonkers track by the then-unknown Watchtower. “We were down in San Antonio at BOSS studios,” McMaster of Watchtower said. “The Butthole Surfers — Gibby and sacurrent.com | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | CURRENT

APPLICATION. Unifirst Corporation, has applied to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for renewal of Air Quality Permit Number 135584, which would authorize continued operation of a Commercial Laundry Facility located at 3047 East Commerce Street, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas 78220. AVISO DE IDIOMA ALTERNATIVO. El aviso de idioma alternativo en espanol está disponible en https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/air/newsourcereview/airpermits-pendingpermit-apps. This link to an electronic map of the site or facility’s general location is provided as a public courtesy and not part of the application or notice. For exact location, refer to application. https://gisweb.tceq.texas.gov/LocationMapper/?marker=-98.440889,29.420281&level=1. The existing facility is authorized to emit the following air contaminants: hazardous air pollutants and organic compounds. This application was submitted to the TCEQ on December 9, 2025. The application will be available for viewing and copying at the TCEQ central office, TCEQ San Antonio regional office, and the Carver Branch Library, 3350 East Commerce Street, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas beginning the first day of publication of this notice. The facility’s compliance file, if any exists, is available for public review in the San Antonio regional office of the TCEQ. The application, including any updates, is available electronically at the following webpage: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/air/airpermit-applications-notices The executive director has determined the application is administratively complete and will conduct a technical review of the application. Information in the application indicates that this permit renewal would not result in an increase in allowable emissions and would not result in the emission of an air contaminant not previously emitted. The TCEQ may act on this application without seeking further public comment or providing an opportunity for a contested case hearing if certain criteria are met. PUBLIC COMMENT. You may submit public comments to the Office of the Chief Clerk at the address below. The TCEQ will consider all public comments in developing a final decision on the application and the executive director will prepare a response to those comments. Issues such as property values, noise, traffic safety, and zoning are outside of the TCEQ’s jurisdiction to address in the permit process. OPPORTUNITY FOR A CONTESTED CASE HEARING. You may request a contested case hearing if you are a person who may be affected by emissions of air contaminants from the facility. If requesting a contested case hearing, you must submit the following: (1) your name (or for a group or association, an official representative), mailing address, daytime phone number; (2) applicant’s name and permit number; (3) the statement “[I/we] request a contested case hearing;” (4) a specific description of how you would be adversely affected by the application and air emissions from the facility in a way not common to the general public; (5) the location and distance of your property relative to the facility; (6) a description of how you use the property which may be impacted by the facility; and (7) a list of all disputed issues of fact that you submit during the comment period. If the request is made by a group or association, one or more members who have standing to request a hearing must be identified by name and physical address. The interests the group or association seeks to protect must also be identified. You may also submit your proposed adjustments to the application/permit which would satisfy your concerns. The deadline to submit a request for a contested case hearing is 15 days after newspaper notice is published. If a request is timely filed, the deadline for requesting a contes ed case hearing will be extended to 30 days after mailing of the response to comments. If any requests for a contested case hearing are timely filed, the Executive Director will forward the application and any requests for a contested case hearing to the Commissioners for their consideration at a scheduled Commission meeting. Unless the application is directly referred to a contested case hearing, the executive director will mail the response to comments along with notification of Commission meeting to everyone who submitted comments or is on the mailing list for this application. The Commission may only grant a request for a contested case hearing on issues the requestor submitted in their timely comments that were not subsequently withdrawn. If a hearing is granted, the subject of a hearing will be limited to disputed issues of fact or mixed questions of fact and law relating to relevant and material air quality concerns submitted during the comment period. Issues such as property values, noise, traffic safety, and zoning are outside of the Commission’s jurisdiction to address in this proceeding. MAILING LIST. In addition to submitting public comments, you may ask to be placed on a mailing list for this application by sending a request to the Office of the Chief Clerk at the address below. Those on the mailing list will receive copies of future public notices (if any) mailed by the Office of the Chief Clerk for this application. AGENCY CONTACTS AND INFORMATION. All public comments and requests must be submitted either electronically at www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/, or in writing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Office of the Chief Clerk, MC-105, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087. Please be aware that any contact information you provide, including your name, phone number, email address and physical address will become part of the agency’s public record. For more information about the permitting process, please call the TCEQ Public Education Program, Toll Free, at 1-800-687-4040 or visit their website at www.tceq.texas.gov/goto/pep. Si desea información en Español, puede llamar al 1-800-687-4040. You can also view our website for public participation opportunities at www.tceq.texas.gov/goto/participation. Further information may also be obtained from Unifirst Corporation, 3047 East Commerce Street, San Antonio, Texas 78220-1036 or by calling Ms. Darcy Melzer, Environmental Compliance at (330) 858-8569. Notice Issuance Date: December 15, 2025 34

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Find the quality Care YOU deserve Operation BRAVE connects people with HIV who are either newly diagnosed, are diagnosed but currently not in care, or individuals who have not reached viral suppression to essential HIV care and treatment and support services. We want you to know there is support available! We’re here for YOU! This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $2,249,831.00. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the US. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.

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music Paul — were finishing up a session. We were all hanging around the control room and they’re switching the reels out. ‘Meltdown’ comes on. We’re trying to sound like Rush on speed, like a pissedoff Geddy Lee meets Udo from Accept. It comes on and it’s crazy-as-shit sounding, and Gibby said, ‘What the hell is this?’” The Surfers were instantly smitten by what they heard. “We were a metal band, but not really a metal band,” McMaster said. “In the early throes of it, the punk rockers came to the shows, the nerds, the weirdos. We were the Sonic Youth of metal. Punks and hardcore folks fell in love with it because it was not hippie shit at all. It was barely rock ’n’ roll influenced.” Haynes and Leary slapped “Meltdown” onto the final product, marking McMaster’s first vinyl appearance among many of his crossover heroes. Speaking of the Surfers, there are conflicting accounts as to whether the bizarre psych-punk band played the Villa Fontana. While most interviewed for this article said the group never performed at the venue, memories get hazy over time. “I know that Butthole Surfers played there with Hugh Beaumont [Experience] and Fudge Tunnel,” Catlin maintained. Well, sort-of. “I know that for a fact, but I could be wrong.” To be sure, Cottage Cheese represents just part of an entire ecosystem that grew up during the Villa Fontana era. That also included radio and print media, each reinforcing the other. In San Antonio, the heart of that ecosystem was KISS/KMAC radio, where DJs Joe Anthony and Lou Roney engaged in fearless programming, regularly playing then-unknown bands such as Judas Priest, Budgie, Rush, Scorpions and Triumph who later broke out into international fame. The DJs made San Antonio an international tastemaker for hard rock. “I was at this party with Danny Fields, who worked with the Doors and signed the MC5,” Gates of the Big Boys recalled. “One of the things he told me was that in the ’70s and ’80s, if a major label signed a rock band and they were trying to figure if a band would “go” or not, they sent them to Los Angeles, Detroit and San Antonio.” With two stations spinning hard rock and heavy metal bands that the rest of the country had yet to catch up with, it’s little surprise so many San Antonio kids had a taste for the hard stuff that dominated at Villa Fontana. “Radio was the most powerful thing

we had, and we were ahead of the curve, compared to other scenes,” Villarreal said. “Joe Anthony and Lou Roney were a couple of music nerds with carte blanche to play what they wanted. It was completely organic.” Tom “T-Bone” Sheppke, who served as KISS’s music director during much of the ’80s, remembers things a bit differently. “People think it was all organic, but that’s up for discussion,” he said with a laugh. While more freewheeling than rock stations of today, Sheppke said there were still some rules and constraints. “It was still block format. An open-format rock thing — free rein or DJs,” Sheppke said. “It was pretty amazing.”

Slayer vs. Slayer Fewer things better symbolize the Villa Fontana’s influence than the now-legendary Slayer vs. Slayer gig. As the heavy metal underground bubbled up across the U.S., it was inevitable that two bands would choose the same name. And so it happened: separate bands named Slayer rose to the tops of their scenes in Los Angeles and San Antonio. SA Slayer recorded its album first at BOSS Studio, but a delay in its release allowed LA Slayer to swoop in and lay claim. Shortly after SA Slayer gave up the ghost, a local promoter brought the West Coast Slayer to town for a show billed as Slayer vs. Slayer. It went down at Villa Fontana. Two bands, one name. Many in attendance argue SA Slayer outperformed the outof-towners. That night, Texas metal’s distinctive aspects were on full display. “For Texas metal, we wanted to play a more technical brand, to have the instrumentation stand out,” says guitarist Villarreal said. “More about technique and power. Our lyrical content was about war, oppression in society, the police — a rebellious tint to those songs. An observer to war history, not a celebration of it. Societal issues. None of our songs were about getting laid. It was creative expression and observing our world, where we were in our lives. We had a strong aversion to being generic.” Catlin pulled double duty for the show. As an employee at Hastings Records at Windsor Park Mall, he assigned himself as liaison for LA Slayer, who’d arrived at the mall for an in-store performance. “This was 1984. Slayer’s first American tour,” says Catlin. “Touring with a Camaro, pulling a U-Haul, pulling up to the

mall. I mean, how ‘80s can you be?” Scott Womack, Hastings’ manager and bassist for local metal band Juggernaut, took pride in taking in-store promotions a step beyond. For the Slayer in-store, he sent an employee to a local butcher to buy large animal femurs, meat still attached, which he fashioned into upside-down crucifixes to hang above Slayer while they performed. “There are hundreds of rabid Slayer fans,” Catlin recalled of the mall show. “Hundreds of satanists outside and they’re trying to get in, rattling and shaking the glass panels, screaming satanic shit, and the glass panels are starting to bend. It was scary.” Crazy as it got, nobody died. Meanwhile, after the mall performance and before the Villa Fontana show, Catlin swilled vodka with the touring band. Unaware who their drinking buddy was, LA Slayer told Catlin they weren’t looking forward to the nighttime gig. “Kerry King, the least friendly of the four band members, looks at his watch and in his gruff voice says, ‘Its about time to get down there and see this other fucking Slayer band.’ He looks me right in the eye, says, ‘What do you know about these guys anyhow?’” Catlin said. “I said ‘I’m the guitar player.’” And they said, ‘But you’re cool.’ And I said, ‘You win, we lose. We broke up, you have the name.’ And at that point, all the potential drama bullshit that could have gone on just went away, because we’d spent the day together. It ended up a really fun night.”

Leaving a legacy As vital a scene as Villa Fontana fostered, change was in the air come 1986. The energy of the metal underground had been swallowed by glam, and punk splintered into various underground rock scenes, most of them considerably more tame. The Fontana was demolished for an expansion of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. “The city razed it. Very sad,” Villarreal said. “And when the Fontana shut down, things started changing. We were seeing the glam influence. Younger guys wanted to be Poison or Warrant or Guns n’ Roses.” KMAC changed ownership in 1982 and became a religious station. San Antonio’s original den of allegedly “satanic” heavy metal was reborn as a spot for Christian talk radio. God, or at least the FCC, apparently had a sense of humor.

While KISS continued to play the hard stuff, Sheppke recalls the station losing more and more of its autonomy as the ’80s unfolded. Finally, in 1996, Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act, lifting limits on media ownership and effectively killing independent radio voices in the U.S. “Eventually at KISS, they hired a guy from California who came in with a list and said, ‘This is what you’re gonna play,’” Sheppke added. “We went from playing The Vamps and Judas Priest to Hall and Oates and Eddie Money. And KISS became the No. 1 station in town.” With San Antonio radio’s power to break heavier and more challenging bands, the city also lost its national prominence as a hard-rock destination. As the changes played out, McMaster left Watchtower to form Dangerous Toys, who scored a platinum record and had videos in heavy MTV rotation. In the end, Watchtower influenced an entire generation of challenging prog-metal that flew in the face of ’80s glam-rock glitz. It just didn’t happen fast enough. “Until the wall was completely on the ground and in rubble, the world was not ready for a band like Watchtower,” McMaster said. “Later, there was a shit ton of bands like that, though — Celtic Frost, Tool, Clutch, Voivod. Young people creating their own style that wasn’t Twisted Sister.” As grunge, alt-rock and other trends shook up the market, metal bands that dominated the ’80s, from Dio to Anthrax, were now back to playing clubs. McMaster found himself revisiting the DIY skills he’d cultivated a decade earlier with Gates and honed at Villa Fontana. “If you’re a musician, there’s a whole lot of DIY. It was important to realize,” McMaster said. “I’ve gotta go put the gloves on and get back into the ring if I want to make art, be relevant. I have to play guitar, it’s my therapy, its my job. As Rob Halford said, ‘Adapt or die.’ So, I got a day job so I could pay to make fliers and post them around town for my shows. It wasn’t a big thing for me to go back to DIY. I’d been doing that just a couple years before.” For Villarreal, the Villa Fontana era can’t be duplicated. “You can’t manufacture the energy of that age, being 18 or 19 years old,” he said. Still, the infectious rock n’ roll spirit that infected him then defies trends and the passing of time, he added. “Rock til I die. That’s the plan.” sacurrent.com | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | CURRENT

critics’ picks Thursday, Jan. 8 Any Color You Like, Mr. Pidge, Daniel Miller and the Red Roses, Et Al This outstanding local lineup of underground country and left-field lo-fi Latin sounds should merit attention no matter where it’s taking place. But since it’s part of a series of SA-focused showcases organized by Stable Hall, one of the city’s best venues, it sure seems like a surefire winner. Any Color You Like explodes with youthful guitar-driven energy and a vocal style verging on emo. Mr. Pidge plies a winsome take on indie-country that features dueling female vocals, pedal steel, mellow sax and an absorbing vibe. Daniel Miller and the Red Roses, meanwhile, offer a more rockin’ take on alt-country. Rounding out the lineup, Et Al creates mysteriously lo-fi and enticing Latin-tinged folk and indie-rock. $17, 8 p.m., Stable Hall, 307 Pearl Parkway, stablehall.com. — Bill Baird

Friday, Jan. 9 mypilotis, Roshii, Stillbefriends Another locally focused bill from Stable Hall, this one appears to elevate prime San Antonio up-and-comers. Chesca Umeno, who fronts the indie rockers mypilotis, cited Dayglow and Ginger Root among her influences during a recent interview. Roshii is a math-rock band that borders on dream pop. Another alternative rock act Stillbefriends rounds out the lineup. $14.29, 8 p.m., Stable Hall, 307 Pearl Parkway, stablehall.com. — Danny Cervantes

The New Attractions

Saturday, Jan. 10 Morrissey So, we’re really doing this again? This sold-out Morrissey performance is a makeup for his cancellation in May. Fans of the former Smiths frontman already know the odds of him actually turning up are less than ideal. We’re guessing plenty of the same fans have been willing to overlook his no-show rep, just as they’ve been willing to overlook his anti-immigrant views. Either way, here’s hoping for the best. SOLD OUT, 8 p.m., Boeing Center at Tech Port, 3331 General Hudnell Drive, (210) 600-3699, boeingcentertechport.com. — DC

Thursday, Jan. 15 Katzu Oso Katzu Oso — the stage-name of LA solo artist Paul Hernandez — plays dream-pop mixed with funk, samples and a heaping helping of vintage synth. The schtick isn’t dissimilar to Poolside, whom the act remixed a few years back. Which is to say Katzu Oso has a winning formula — one designed to get your hips shaking and singing along in Spanish in your best Prince-style falsetto impression. $21, 8 p.m., Paper Tiger, 2410 N. St. Mary’s St., papertigersatx.com. — BB 38

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Friday, Jan. 16 Everclear Frontman Art Alexakis is bringing Everclear’s post-grunge sounds back to town after a 30th anniversary tour celebrating Sparkle and Fade, the album that held its breakout anthem “Santa Monica.” While it’s a sure bet that song will get prominent play on this tour as well, the good news is that Alexakis likes to dig into the group’s robust catalog for deeper cuts, such as the underrated bop “Heartspark Dollarsign” from the same album. $48-$111, 8 p.m., Aztec Theatre, 104 N. St. Mary’s, (210) 812-4355, theaztectheatre.com. — DC

Saturday, Jan. 17 New Attractions, Garrett T. Capps, Jack Mitts and the Daylights January is shaping up to be full of strong local lineups, this one included. New Attractions play pleasingly melodic power-pop a la early Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Local luminary Garrett T. Capps, playing sans band, will test various strategies for solo performing — past shows have featured drum machines, samples

and ‘80s-ish keyboard, combined with his newfound fiddling skills. Opener Jack Mitts, formerly of Jibberish, Deer Vibes and other SA outfits, plays smart, tuneful indie-folk. $10, 8 p.m., Lonesome Rose, 2114 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 455-0233, thelonesomerosesa.com. — BB

Sunday, Jan. 18 Malford Milligan Though relatively unknown outside Central Texas, Malford Milligan has won Best Vocalist in the Austin Music Awards an astounding eight times. As singer of the now-defunct Storyville, Milligan fused blues, soul and a special Austin flavor to create something unique. Raised rural and poor in Texas, Milligan faced the hardships of picking cotton and along with ridicule from cruel kids due to his albinism. Music was his way out of that life, and it’s evident in every note he sings. $15, 8 p.m., Gruene Hall, 1281 Gruene Road, New Braunfels, (830) 6061281, gruenehall.com. — BB Empty Heaven and Friends The stage moniker of erstwhile San Antonian Anthony Sanders, Empty Heaven crafts a

unique brew of piano pop, emo, prog and something else hard to define. By turns the music is melodic, dark, humorous and extremely rocking. Fans of blurred genre lines rejoice. $10, 8 p.m., Lonesome Rose, 2114 N. St. Mary’s St., (210) 455-0233, thelonesomerosesa.com. — BB

Monday, Jan. 19 Marbin While lots of jazz musicians like to characterize their music as progressive, the group Marbin actually earns the description thanks to its whiplash-inducing jumps between swing, metal shredding, off-kilter funk and more. The band was formed in Israel in 2007 when saxophonist Danny Markovitch and guitarist Dani Rabin met after the latter graduated from the Berklee School of Music. The duo moved to Chicago in 2009, and after having assembled a crack rhythm section, has gone onto create an extensive catalog of eight albums, with 2022’s Dirty Horse being their most recent. $25.09, 7:30 p.m., The Starlighter, 1910 Fredericksburg Road, thestarlighter.com. — DC

Employment Accountant - Joybox LLC (San Antonio, TX). Prepare financial statements, conduct budget/billing analysis, and support financial reporting. Req. Master’s in Finance/Acct/ rltd. Salary: $71,427/yr. Mail resume: 8750 San Fidel Way, San Antonio, TX 78255. “Welcome to ‘26”--with a tribute to my favorite 26! by Matt Jones © 2025 Matt Jones Across 1. Aardvark’s diet 5. Absorb with a piece of bread 10. Acne spot 13. BÈchamel base, in a French restaurant 14. Compensate (for) 15. Cost increase 16. DEA agent’s find 17. Desmond of “Sunset Boulevard” 18. Emotionally honest 19. First part of a phrase describing a special feature of this puzzle ... 22. Fried rice veggie 23. Furry barker 24. Galaxy hops may go into making one 27. Giant’s N.L. West rival, for short 30. “Hope & Faith” actress (and talk show host) Kelly 33. ... in which I (this is part 2, by the way) ... 35. Japanese temple 37. Kitchenware inventor Tupper 38. Laid-back Brazilian samba offshoot ___ nova 40. Moistureless 41. Nearly used up, like a short pencil 43. ... normally don’t do this, but here you get to see each one of the (part 3) .. 45. “Omnia vincit ___”

46. Popular sans-serif Windows font 47. Questionable, in “Among Us” 48. Robert of HBO’s “Arli$$” 50. Short winter month? 52. ... twenty-six represented! (4th and final part) 59. Utterance from the awestruck 60. Van Pelt sibling in “Peanuts” 61. Wanton sort 62. Xylophone material 63. Yannick Noah’s 2025 Laver Cup opposing captain ___ Agassi 64. Yellow vehicle driver on “The Simpsons” 65. “You can’t judge a book by ___ cover” 66. Zoo animals 67. Zymurgy-related verb Down 1. ___-Seltzer 2. Hammering target 3. Part of a cash register 4. Bend down 5. Holiday song made famous by Eartha Kitt 6. “Alternatively,” in a text 7. Skin opening 8. Reveal one’s identity 9. Quiet’s companion 10. Rushes along 11. Mike and ___ (candies) 12. X, in Roman numerals 15. Rowdy soccer fan 20. Government agents 21. ___ avis (uncommon thing) 24. Some frozen treats

25. Silver, as in Montana’s motto 26. Gold, in Latin 28. Not prone to infatuation, colloquially 29. Labor organizer Chavez 31. Fluffy birdlike creatures in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” 32. “Au revoir” relative 34. Skater’s protection 35. Utopias 36. Does simple math 39. Start of some Indian place names 42. Tyler Perry BET+ series centered around a group of male friends 44. “30 Rock” star Baldwin 46. Late audio engineer Steve 49. Jewish : kosher :: Islamic : ___ 51. Chocolate substitute that doesn’t taste like it 52. “Cat on ___ Tin Roof ” 53. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” novelist Anita 54. Medical prefix with scope 55. Time to roll or draw, maybe 56. Peter Jackson film franchise, initially 57. Ren fair instrument 58. “Ouch, that’s hot!” 59. “All Quiet on the Western Front” conflict Answers on page 17.

Notice Application has been made with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for a BG permit by SR cafe group LLC, dba Voila Cafe, to be located at 1803 Broadway Street, San Antonio, Bexar, Texas 78215. Officer of said corporation is Stephane Raveneau, owner. sacurrent.com | Jan 7 - 20, 2026 | CURRENT