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Matt Johnson, PhD

@mossmatters.bsky.social
1.4K followers 334 following 224 posts

Associate Professor, Texas Tech University Director, E.L. Reed Herbarium bryophyte evolution, plant phylogenomics mossmatters.com ORCID: 0000-0002-1958-6334 he/his

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Reposted by Matt Johnson, PhD
Haley A Branch @stressedbranch.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
PSA to #faculty #SearchCommittees as you gear up for this year’s round. Send out questions in advance! This is #inclusive and levels the playing field. It is #equitable and easy to do. #academia #faculty #eeb #disabledinstem #hiring #evojobs #ecoevo #ecoevojobs #Botany2026 #Ecology #Evolution
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BCEENET @bceenet.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Join us in supporting these undergraduate presenters from the Johnson Lab @mossmatters.bsky.social at #Botany2026!
BCEENET Guide to Botany 2026 graphic recommending attendees to visit Johnson Lab undergraduate posters on Monday, August 3, from 5:30–7:00 PM in the Arizona Grand Ballroom. Four Texas Tech University student presenters are featured with headshots and poster numbers: P10, Charles Huff, “Friends Don’t Let Friends Use Spreadsheets: How to Develop a Modular LIMS”; P41, Evelyn Lavielle, “Behind the Fronds: PCR Sex Identification in Cycas micronesica”; P42, Sofia Rodriguez, “A New Prairie Dawn: Exploring Genetic Health in the Rare Plant Hymenoxys texana and Inspiring Conservation through Science Communication”; and P179, Rylee Creek, “Fun Sized Library Prep: Cost-Effective Target Capture Sequencing with Miniaturization, as a Service.” BCEENET, Texas Tech University, and Botany 2026 logos appear along the bottom of the graphic.
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Texas Conference of the AAUP @texasaaup.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Faculty groups sued Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton + the system’s regents Wednesday, asking a federal judge to block classroom restrictions they say have censored professors who teach about race, gender identity and sexual orientation + intentionally discriminated against Black faculty.
texastribune.org
Texas Tech sued over limits on race, gender instruction
The lawsuit asks a federal judge to halt the restrictions as discriminatory, improperly vague and a violation of free speech.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
🫡
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Caroline Bishop @doctorepiscopa.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
One more comment about this. You thought A&M was bad for censoring Plato's Symposium? Well, Texas Tech said "hold my beer" and banned Plato's REPUBLIC from a philosophy class because there's a brief mention of homosexual love in it.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
You’ve heard of Moon Joy, but have you ever considered: BOG JOY?!
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 07/04/2026
#Artemis II lunar flyby images are showing up! 😍 A crescent Earth setting behind the Moon.
Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region.  In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation.
[alt text from NASA]
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
TFW you studied lunar geology for your PhD and you just heard the Artemis II crew describe lunar meteor impact flashes from the far side of the moon science.gsfc.nasa.gov/sci/bio/kels...
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Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
I went back to capture what the astronauts said in full when the clock was stopped at T-10 minutes and they were asked if they were go for launch: This is Victor. We are going for our families. This is Christina. We are going for our teammates. This is Jeremy. We are going for all humanity.
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Shelly Gaynor @shellygaynor.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Did you know it costs us $64 a month to host Biology PhD stipends? Excited for this upgrade which takes our hosting costs to $0! mlgaynor.com/BiologyPhDSt...
mlgaynor.com
Biology PhD Stipends
Biology Ph.D. stipend database with live summaries from the shared Google Sheet.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Me when I mess up my R plot
Photo of a shipping container that says EW LINES. I suppose a letter fell off?
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Here is a link to a video of the speech. xcancel.com/netflix/stat...
xcancel.com
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Lisa Limeri @lisalimeri.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Guess who’s got two thumbs, a sword, and tenure? 🎉🍾 grateful to the wonderful friends and colleagues and collaborators who have enabled me getting here 💕 @mossmatters.bsky.social
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Good news is hard to come by, so I must celebrate a great week: • Paper accepted • Paper submitted • 3 of my lab undergrads got into grad school • Scholarship offers to both of my prospective PhD students • My faculty development leave approved for Spring 2027 • @lisalimeri.bsky.social got tenure!
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phy_papers @phypapers.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
SPrOUT: A computational and targeted sequencing approach for mixed plant DNA identification with Angiosperms353 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
New from our lab! Introducing SPrOUT: Species Prediction of Unknown Taxa. We developed and tested a novel method to ID plants in mixed DNA with Angiosperms353 using cumulative phylogenetic distances. >98% accuracy to family level for in silico and real test data. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
logo for SPrOUT: Species Prediction of Unknown Taxa - a line drawing of a plant with two green leaves emerging from a flask containing multiple DNA helices. Logo designed by Lisa Limeri, with images from the Noun Project flask from Noun Project user Humam flower from Noun Project user Vanicon studio DNA from Noun Project user Akhmad Zaini
Figure from the linked preprint, showing the relationship between the number of Angiosperms353 reference genes and Accuracy of detecting plant families in mixed reads. Based on several z-score values, SPrOUT is generally at 98% accuracy with fewer than 100 genes.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
www.texastribune.org/2026/02/04/t...
texastribune.org
Texas Tech struggles with new policy on gender, race
The system’s chancellor meant to instill clarity and accountability, but three weeks into the spring semester, some instructors say the standards have led to “censorship.”
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Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
A number of our students got the following comment back on a rejection for the NSF GFRP. They are in an eligible STEM field. Is this something people in other places are getting too? Is it a quirk or targeted?
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Nathan K. Hensley @nathankhensley.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
This must be weird news to see if you’re one of the literally hundreds or even thousands of university administrators who preemptively censored faculty, scrubbed websites, changed the names of centers, etc.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Reflecting today on this quote etched into a bench on campus, as I wonder how many on that campus understand its message. "You died when you refused to stand up for right, you died when you refused to stand up for truth, you died when you refused to stand up for justice." youtu.be/pOjpaIO2seY?...
A curved stone bench with a chiseled inscription: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter" - Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness.
media.tenor.com
two men are looking at each other in front of a window that says peacock
ALT: two men are looking at each other in front of a window that says peacock
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Here to stay, I’m afraid
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Botanical Society of America @botsocamerica.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
We 💚 the Stranger Plants—and now they’re on #BSAswag! The shirts feature bold illustrations by BSA’s own Catrina Adams, with a list of each species by common & scientific name on the back. BSA members (exp. 2026+) get 10% off—email aneely@botany.org for code. www.bonfire.com/store/bsa-wi...
Promotional graphic on a red background featuring two black-and-white raglan shirts from the Botanical Society of America’s “Stranger Plants” collection. One shirt shows a large illustrated plant scene; the other displays a grid of illustrated unusual plants. White text reads “We love the Stranger Plants BSA SWAG!” Below, descriptive text explains that the shirts highlight strange plants, with common and scientific names listed on the back in a concert-style format. A QR code labeled “Scan to Shop” appears at the lower right, along with BSA logos and text promoting additional BSA apparel.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
If Stranger Things were released today, it would be set in 1992. Feeling old yet?
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Will also feature Sofia Rodriguez, an undergraduate researcher in my lab who attended COP30. Should be a fun conversation! Link below👇
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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 01/12/2025
Join me and my @texastech.bsky.social Climate Center colleagues for a breakdown of all things COP30, in an hour. Nick is an ecologist, Ting is an engineer, Bryan is a humanities scholar, and you know me: so it should be a great discussion. Free & virtual! www.eventbrite.com/e/inside-cop...
A banner for the event listing the title "Inside COP30" and headshots of the four participants.
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Kuba Sawicki @kubasawicki.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Our paper “Giant chromosomes of a tiny plant” is out in @gigascience.bsky.social! We present a T2T genome assembly of the simple thalloid liverwort Apopellia endiviifolia with truly giant chromosomes. 🌱🧬 #plantgenomics #T2T #liverworts @nanoporetech.com Thanks @ncn.gov.pl ! tinyurl.com/m8tkkxd3
tinyurl.com
Giant chromosomes of a tiny plant - the complete telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of the simple thalloid liverwort Apopellia endiviifolia (Jungermanniopsida, Marchantiophyta)
AbstractBackground. The liverwort A. endiviifolia, a dioicous, simple thalloid species, is notable for its cryptic diversity, habitat adaptability, genomic
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Everyone is sure to remind my dad of the time he packed up the leftover turkey in Ziploc bags but for lack of counter space placed them… in the open dishwasher. This was discovered only hours later after the dishwasher ran. The Ziploc bags were open.
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Shelly Gaynor @shellygaynor.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
New paper just posted with @rschley.bsky.social et al: doi.org/10.1111/nph.... (1/n)
doi.org
The frequency and importance of polyploidy in tropical rainforest tree radiations
The presence of two or more copies of the genome in an organism, termed ‘polyploidy’, is a crucial force in plant evolution, generating genetic, phenotypic and ecological diversity. The Amazonian tr...
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Update: the university is now allegedly offering compensation to faculty who move their exams because of a football game we're not even guaranteed to play in yet.
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SMBC Comics @smbccomics.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
There's got to be SOME hypothesis that makes our experiment useless. THINK! COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/stats-3 PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm... STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com
1-panel SMBC comic update - Two people are talking while seated at computers. One of them says : "Wait! Look, if we change our hypothesis a little, run this other model, and then make a few tweaks to the variables... BAM! No need to publish. The weekend if free." A caption below the panel reads as follows : "New scientific trend: reverse p-hacking. P-hacking is the practice of manipulating data until a statistically significant result is found, here they are doing the opposite to avoid work.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Because the Big XII championship game is during final exams, our Provost suggests faculty choose from ideas including "exempt students from the exam" and "change your whole method of assessment" with 1 week notice More than usual I'm feeling I work for a football team with a school on the side.
Exempt the final exam for students who have maintained a high average in the course.
Give students a choice to adjust grading by weighting another exam more heavily or revising the grading schema. Contact [email redacted] for assistance with changes in RaiderCanvas.
Replace the final exam with an alternative assignment that meets the course’s learning goals.
Move the final exam online and consider a broader testing window.
Continue with your scheduled exam time on Saturday, Dec. 6.
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Botanical Society of America @botsocamerica.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Improving plant DNA #metabarcoding accuracy with ecological filters and #Angiosperms353: Field and pollen microscopy validation New in #AppsPlantSci by Benkendorf, @sophietaddeo.bsky.social, Fant et al bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #botany #PlantScience #herbaria #ecology
A queen bumble bee (Bombus bifarius) foraging on a pale green and white Frasera speciosa flower, with her proboscis extended into a nectary. Her orange pollen basket is prominently visible on her hind leg. Photo credit: Jane Ogilvie.
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Mason McNair, PhD (he/him) @sarraceniamason.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
Hey #Botany2026 we're actively looking for potential speakers at ALL experience levels for our proposed colloquium: Side-quest! – Level up your science!. If you have an interesting story, project, or idea to share that qualifies as a “Side-quest” we want to know about it! More info below⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Dr. Maxine “Max” Abbott (née Langford) is an oft-forgotten paleontologist of early 20th century Texas. Born in the 1920s, this pint-sized paleobotanical powerhouse worked on the Carboniferous swamps of North America and the Cretaceous jungles of Texas. (All photos from her papers at Sul Ross.)
A dark-haired woman with an upturned nose, a white shirt, a ribbon and a plaid skirt holds up a piece of carboniferous plant material from her work desk, where she's been painting it with clear varnish to preserve itA 1950s news article about Maxine Abbott's NSF grant, which notes that she was previously conducting her paleobotany research as a volunteer while at Cincinnati and working in a local department store office three days a week to pay research costs. A black and white photo of a young Maxine Langford in the 1930s at Texas Tech, smiling at the camera from a bench. She's wearing a knee-length dress, a plaid short sleeved shirt, and glasses. She's clearly very small. A photo of undergraduate Maxine Langford posing climbing in through the window of an abandoned stone building new Mexico, wearing field pants, boots, and a short sleeve shirt. It's a great look, honestly.
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Shelly Gaynor @shellygaynor.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Updated tutorials for nQuack today. Want to predict ploidy level of sequence data? See this new tutorial on how to process and model data faster: mlgaynor.com/nQuack/artic...
media.tenor.com
a little boy is driving a red toy car on the street .
Alt: a little kid is driving a red toy car on the street.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
www.texastribune.org/2025/09/26/t...
texastribune.org
Texas Tech chancellor limits academic mentions of transgender and nonbinary identities at five universities
Advocacy groups say the new state law, presidential executive order and gubernatorial letter Tedd Mitchell cited do not prohibit classroom discussions of particular LGBTQ+ identities.
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Madison Bullock @madiraiplants.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Excited to share what I've been working on with the science community! Starting to get my PhD papers out as I get closer to graduating, and looking into next steps in my career. If anyone has any postdoc ideas, please reach out! 🙂🌱
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
New preprint from our lab - how miniaturized library prep drives down costs for target capture sequencing with minimal impact on recovery. Led by @madiraibullock.bsky.social and with two undergrad coauthors! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Fun-Sized Library Prep: Miniaturization is a valid method for per-sample cost reduction in targeted sequencing of angiosperm DNA
Genomic analysis of population structure is important to the conservation of plant species of concern. A limitation of using genetic information in conservation is the cost of obtaining large datasets...
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Is it possible to learn this power?
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Interesting pilot study on paid peer review. From the thread, $250 US significantly increased "rate of conversion" for review invitations without decreasing a metric of review quality in a medical journal.
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Are you a mammologist whose research involves natural history collections? Apply to be my colleague! Assistant professor position with the Department of Biological Sciences and the Natural Science Research Laboratory at Texas Tech University. sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Sear...
sjobs.brassring.com
Job Search Welcome | Texas Tech University System
Search for Internet job openings.
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Erika R Moore-Pollard @erikarmoore11.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
So excited to be co-leading this special issue! Cannot wait to see all the innovative ways target enrichment sequencing is being used! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions ☺️
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Yes thank you very much for the design idea, Powerpoint, that is exactly the right vibe for this lecture.
Generated slide idea for "Introduction to Plant Taxonomy, BIOL4302: Field Botany and Natural History Collections" featuring a large industrial plant with several stacks billowing smoke. Might actually be a nuclear power plant? Still, wtf Powerpoint
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Emily Josephs @emjo.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
MSU Plant Bio is hiring a new herbarium director! Our herbarium is a wonderful resource on campus and I'm excited to have the opportunity to make it even better by bringing in a new director. Details here: plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu/job-postings...
plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu
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Sarita Munoz-Gomez @saristolochia.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
FREE TEACHING RESOURCE! 📣 I illustrated this poster as a project during the ComSciCon-ATL conference in 2024 on sunflowers and their unique inflorescence architecture. I am happy to share it here now! Feel free to download, use, and share! You can also contact me for a higher resolution version 🌻
Infographic showing drawings of sunflowers and sunflower parts. There are explanations to each type of flower within the sunflower inflorescence and their function
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
Hey #Botany2025 was so fun we’re ready for #Botany2026 … maybe we’ll wait for y’all here in Tuscon!
Selfie of the lab in front of the entrance to Starr Resort in Tuscon, the location of Botany 2026. Saguaros in the background!
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
When in California… #botany2025
Me in a tie dye shirt hugging a tall pine tree
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Paige Fabre, PhD @paigethebotanist.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
#UpAllNightWednesday at #Botany2025 will be at Street Bar!!! The first gay bar in Palm Springs 🏳️‍🌈 Be ready for karaoke!! 🎤 🕺 💃🏽 ✨
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Matt Johnson, PhD @mossmatters.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Opening night of #botany2025 means matching lab t-shirts! Check out the alt text to read all of our "plant band" names!
Nine botanists in bright green E.L. Reed Herbarium t-shirts at Botany2025Botany July 27-31, 2025 Palm Springs CA
Monday: Panicum! At the Disco
Hall & Sideoats • Kate Subshrub • OK Glomus
Tupackera Shakur • Postoak Malone • My Chemical Bromeliad
Bryum Adams • Imagine Snapdragons • Moss Def • Green Day 
RUBISCO Speedwagon • Blue Bonnet Jovi • Arctic Monkeyflowers

Tuesday: Chapparal Roan
Philadelphus Collins • Fleet Phloxes • Van Xanthisma
Durian Durian • Guns ‘N’ Rosaceae • The Notorious G.D.C. • AsteraceDC 
Ceratodonovan • Scurfy • Dexy’s Midnight Stolons • Violet Femmes
The Mammas and The Chaetopappas • Buddy Ilex • Smashing Curcurbita   

Up All Night Wednesday
Featuring PEAT Lab @ TTU:
CorgiOne • JellyJam • Mycelial Network • Youthful Eyes
Junior Ranger • Plant? • Tequilia Greg • Babagooya • Flora 
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