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Austin

Live music, political protests and everything in between: The photos that defined Austin in 2025

By KUT News staff

Published December 15, 2025 at 9:26 AM CST

A girl is shown in a school workout room doing a handstand on a mat. Her shirt has the words Cheetah Cheerleading written on it. — Vivian Wilts practices her backhand spring during cheerleading practice at Sunset Valley Elementary.

This year brought news big and small to Austin, and KUT's multimedia staff was here to capture the moments that defined 2025, from a busy legislative session to festivals to protests at the Capitol and downtown.

Their cameras also helped bring us the stories of our neighbors: a presidential tailor, a sumo wrestling coach, a hip-hop manager turned cattle rancher.

We're winding down 2025 with a look at some of our favorite photos of the year:

A man with tattoos on his hands, a western shirt and a cowboy hat, holds onto horse reins. — Mason “Bric” LaDue, a hip-hop music industry professional turned cattle rancher, takes the reins off of his horse, Bolero, at his family’s ranch in Marquez, Texas, in February. LaDue's journey from touring with Wiz Khalifa to ranching was featured in Texas Standard's "Rap to the Ranch."

A woman in a crowd is seen yelling as she holds up a sign that says "deport racists." — Jazmine Cortez screams at Austin Police Department officers and state troopers near the J.J. Pickle Federal Building in downtown Austin during the ICE out of Austin protest in June.

A man is reflected in a mirror as he looks at a wall full of photos. — Joseph Faraj, a tailor in North Austin, looks at photos hung in his shop in August. Faraj immigrated from Lebanon in the 1970s and runs the shop for his brother-in-law, Ghassan Karim, who tailored clothes for President Lyndon Johnson.

Four people embrace each other. Only one face can be seen. In the background other people can be seen. — Rhonda, Kaylee, Khloe and Nathan Duff embrace one another at a vigil in Leander in July. Both Kaylee and Khloe lost friends to the flooding that occurred in their town a week before — one was a local high school band section leader, and another was visiting from out of town.

A man's head is shown looking to the upper left. A bright line of light goes across the top portion of his eye and forehead. — U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a press conference regarding rural healthcare initiatives at the Texas Capitol in August.

A man shown from behind, wearing a sumo uniform, holds his hands outstretched in the air. Shown in the background are others stretching in the same way. — Justin Kizzart, sumo wrestling coach with Dark Circle Sumo, warms up during a practice at Rising Sun Aikido in September. Kizzart was profiled for the podcast "This Is My Thing" — you can learn more here.

A man at a concert takes a selfie as the lead singer of a band jumps into the crowd. — A man takes a selfie as the lead singer of Empire of the Sun jumps into the audience during their performance at the Austin City Limits Festival in October. More photos of the festival can be viewed here and here.

A man holding a U.S. flag and a Mexico flag, with his face covered stands next to a woman holding a sign which reads We Don't Support This Hater Agenda. She is wearing face paint and a flower crown. — Juan Godinez holds a Mexican-American flag next to a woman, who did not want to be identified because she did not want to be searchable, during a “No Kings Day” protest against Trump administration policies at Auditorium Shores in October.

A bat can be seen being helds by gloved hands under a red light. A measuring stick is being helpd near the bat. — Janet Debelak Tyburec, of Bat Survey Solutions, measures the ears of an evening bat during a Join the Nightlife Workshop at Swift River Pecans in Lockhart in September. The bats are helping to keep pests under control at the farm.

A fan sits atop a pair of shoulders at a crowded concert. Around her are arms raised in the air, many with phones held up. — A fan sits atop a pair of shoulders as the Strokes perform during the second weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival in October.

A girl sitting on the room of a red car waves to a crowd on either side of the street during a parade. — A girl sitting atop a car waves to the crowd during a Juneteenth parade as it winds its way down Chicon Street.

A woman playing guitar sings with her mouth wide open as she is surrounded by a crowd who is applauding. — Erin Walter, singer and bassist of Parker Woodland, performs on the lawn of the Long Center during the Drop-In in June.

People are seen below in a rotunda with the seal of Texas in the center. The people are holding signs, many wearing red. They form a semi-circle and hold a sheet of paper that is the length of the circle. — Protesters demonstrate against school vouchers in the Capitol rotunda ahead of a Texas House vote in April.

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Austin Austin City Limits Music Festival UT Austin Public Schools KUT