LOST IN SPACE

Hollywood A-listers beam into San Antonio for celebrity fan event

Brie Larson is among the stars zooming into Spacecon.

Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

A stellar array of Hollywood A-listers will beam into San Antonio October 24-26 for sci-fi gathering Spacecon. Planners recently revealed a star-studded lineup for the 2025 event at Freeman Coliseum Expo Halls, including household names from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, The Matrix, and more.

The delegation from the Marvel Cinematic Universe includes a captain, an archer, and a furious witch. Brie Larson, Hailee Steinfeld, and Elizabeth Olsen will headline the convention, along with Olsen’s on-screen husband, Paul Bettany. The Star Wars franchise will be represented by both heroes (Billy Dee Williams) and villains (Ian McDiarmid, aka Emperor Palpatine).

Other notable personalities include The X-Files’ David Duchovny, The Cell’s Vincent D’Onofrio, The Matrix’s Carrie-Anne Moss, Star Trek’s George Takei, and a fleet of cast members from the Battlestar Galactica remake. Denise Richards will also be there, not in her capacity as an often befuddled “friend” of various Real Housewives, but as a valiant bug fighter in Starship Troopers.

31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards - Show David Duchovny will be selling autographs for $100. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Spacecon will also feature a cosplay contest, with prizes up to $1,000. Professional cosplayers like ClockyChan, SnarkyJay, and Loopy Lopez will be on hand to make guests’ attempts at a Princess Leia costume seem like castoffs from Spirit Halloween.

As with all fan conventions, the Spacecon floor will be filled with exhibitors hawking souvenirs, t-shirts, and action figures. Guests who cannot attend the event IRL can submit photos and other items to be autographed by the celebrities.

$2024 TCM Classic Film Festival Day 2 \u2013 Friday$ Billy Dee Williams leads the Star Wars delegation. Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for TCM

Spacecon CEO Bob Wills launched the event, inspired by his childhood love of TV shows like My Favorite Martian and Lost in Space. The initial headliners were a trio of heartthrobs — Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, and Josh Brolin.

Tickets start at $75 for a one-day Friday pass, but fans can get more zap out of the $179 three-day multi-pass. Photo-ops are priced individually but can cost a pretty penny. A candid with Lando Calrissian will set guests back $350. A dual shot with Larson and Olsen is a relative bargain at $389.

comic books sci-fi movies celebrities fan fests conventions event planner

RADIO WAVES

Alt-rock radio returns to San Antonio airwaves after nearly a decade

Photo by Steve Keros

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It can’t bring back Kurt Cobain, but a revived radio station is reliving the alt-rock glory days on San Antonio’s airwaves. Connoisseur Media says 103.3 The App has returned after nearly a decade off the dial.

The station officially started broadcasting from the Tower of the Americas on December 1, calling itself San Antonio’s only alternative radio destination. A news release promises that listeners can expect to hear bands like Linkin Park, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Imagine Dragons, The Lumineers, Sublime, and Nirvana, among more contemporary artists.

The App has been off the airwaves since April 2017, and the signal has since had a bit of a personality crisis, flipping between classic hip-hop, contemporary hip-hop, sports, Tejano, and back to sports again.

Along with the new-old format, the station will bring a familiar on-air personality back to her hometown. San Antonio native DJ Mighty Iris has joined the lineup as the afternoon drive-time host from 3–7 pm.

“I’m honestly still in shock and honored that I will soon be able to return to the S.A. airwaves and be part of someone’s drive home,” says Iris in the release. “We all love this station because it’s different. Alternative music has so many sounds and offshoots; it doesn’t fit into one box. You can hear anything from The Strokes to The Clash to R.E.M.”

Connecticut-based Connoisseur Media shares that it is going all in on the format nationwide— introducing it in markets like Dayton, Ohio, and Saginaw, Michigan. Part of that is renewed interest in current left-of-the-dial rock bands like Tame Impala, Sombr, Turnstile, and Royal Otis.

In addition to tuning in on their car stereos, alt fans can now listen to The App on an app. The download is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. Might we suggest Hole’s ”Violet” for a particularly vigorous house-cleaning session? You can use rags made from your old flannels.

“San Antonio has always been a rock town, but there has been a void in this city for this body of music, concludes operations manager Greg Martin. “103.3 The App was received with great praise when it debuted nearly a decade ago, and the excitement is absolutely here again for this second run.”

music entertainment alt-rock alternative radio

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RADIO WAVES

Alt-rock radio returns to San Antonio airwaves after nearly a decade