The Texas Burlesque Festival returns May 14-16th, 2026 in Austin!
Texas Burlesque Festival will be accepting performer applications for its 19th annual raucous hoedown & showdown celebrating all things burlesque/cabaret starting on September 15th.
2026 dates are:
- Opening night party/performance Thursday May 14th at Elysium on Red River St.
- Friday and Saturday May 15th-16th at The Rollins Theater in The Long Center featuring an Audience Choice Competition.
The festival is presented by Texas Burlesque Productions – a Texas Not For Profit Corporation that celebrates the renaissance of all performances burlesque, cabaret and vaudeville in nature and strives to foster a supportive community among performers in Texas and across the United States and the World through networking and professional performance opportunities. Get ready for some real Texas hospitality!
The Texas Burlesque Festival is aimed at the local, regional, national as well as international community of burlesque artists. This will be a great opportunity for a limited number of selected performers to showcase their bump and grind skills at a weekend featuring audience choice and in-house performer awards, workshops, parties, and a performer brunch/roundtable with our Legend on Sunday May 17th.
Be a part of an impressive cast! We’re looking for an amazing mix of solos, duets, trios, and ensembles to fill each showcase. Friday and Saturday performers may opt out of the competition each night without it affecting their application status.
All performers can attend the workshop taught by our headliner on Saturday and Sunday Legends and Headliner Brunch for free! We will be doing in-house performer awards again! These fun and frivolous categories are voted on by your peers will be presented at the brunch.
In our continued commitment to making the festival more inclusive and financially accessible to ALL performers, especially those of marginalized groups who historically have had to navigate extra obstacles to their success, TXBF has a FREE application period!
Fee Schedule
- September 15-30, 2025 — NO APPLICATION FEE
- October 1 – December 31, 2025 — $25
- January 1 – January 31, 2026 — $35
Application fees are due at time of submission.