Austin: Kelela at Emo’s
September 15 @ 8:00 pm - September 16 @ 12:00 am
$27
Ethiopian-American vocalist Kelela brings her “new avatar live” show to Emo’s in Austin on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at 8:00 PM (doors typically an hour earlier). Tickets start at $27 for a night with one of experimental R&B’s most acclaimed voices.
Kelela built her reputation on a sound that fuses R&B songcraft with left-field, club-adjacent electronic production, collaborating early on with producers from the UK bass and footwork scenes before her 2017 debut album “Take Me Apart” earned widespread critical acclaim. Her follow-up, “Raven” (2023), pushed further into dub and techno textures while keeping her voice — soulful, layered, and technically precise — at the center of the mix.
Emo’s sound system and stage give Kelela’s dense, bass-forward production real room to move, making it a fitting stop for an artist whose live shows are as much about atmosphere and rhythm as they are about vocal performance.
“Raven” landed on numerous best-of-the-year lists upon release and cemented Kelela’s status as one of the most influential voices bridging underground electronic music and mainstream R&B. Fans looking to make a full night of downtown Austin can also check out Empire Control Room & Garage, another Austin venue known for electronic and left-field bookings.
Emo’s has anchored Austin’s rock and alternative scene for decades, and its current East Riverside location gives touring acts a bigger stage and better sightlines than the venue’s earlier downtown home while keeping the same reputation for booking acts across punk, metal, hip-hop, and everything in between. The room’s industrial-leaning design and heavyweight sound system have made it a favorite stop for bands looking to bring real production energy to a mid-sized Austin crowd, and its booking history spans genres in a way few other venues in the city can match. Both the indoor stage and adjoining outdoor space give visitors options for how close to get to the action.
Doors typically open about an hour before the 8:00 PM set. Emo’s offers both an indoor stage and outdoor space, so plan to arrive with time to explore both before the show starts.