It’s time to tip our caps to the year that was 2013, and in Austin the year produced many great concert and arts opportunities to enjoy.

Here are some of the shows that stuck out last year, at least in my humble opinion.

Zellar, Ciola and Cloud Cult’s Frid-Rubin return home

To sum it up, the first Austin ArtWorks Concert proved a great summer homecoming.

The first large concert to cap off the second ArtWorks Festival featured Gear Daddies Martin Zellar and Nick Ciola, and Cloud Cult violinist Shannon Frid-Rubin — all Austin natives. Plus, the concert was the main event for Pacelli Catholic School’s 100th anniversary. ArtWorks and community officials did a great job planning this show and working together.

The anniversary and hometown musicians brought Austin residents and natives out, and Cloud Cult brought in music lovers from out of town.

Don’t forget the ArtWorks Festival itself, which grew and attracted more people in its second year.

It was a great way to end the summer in Austin, and it’ll be exciting to see what 2014 brings.

Right on Parr

October saw another homecoming in Austin.

Duluth folk-blues musician Charlie Parr returned to his hometown with the Caravan du Nord.

The Current’s Bill DeVille announced Charlie Parr to the Paramount Theatre crowd at the start of the show, describing the Austin native as the city’s greatest export since Spam. Even thought the comparison seemed to catch Parr a bit off guard, he didn’t do anything to mute the praise he received from DeVille and the audience that night as he put on a riveting show with just his voice and his guitar.

The show was another positive example of the community working together: The Paramount and KSMQ partnered to let KSMQ members into the show for free.

Tough acts to follow

The excitement from area actors earlier this year was no act.

The Summerset Theatre and Riverland Community College Theatre Department have long been sources of pride for the community, and both featured shows this year that seemed to up the excitement level.

For Summerset, it was the Monty Python classic “Spamalot” coming to Austin for the first time. For the Riverland Theatre Department, it was “The Rocky Horror  Show” coming to Austin for the first time.

Both shows featured different challenges: “Spamalot” tested the actors acting chops, and the campy “The Rocky Horror Show” required the actors to let loose and embrace the edgy musical.

It was clear, especially with “Rocky” that the actors relished the opportunities.

Seasonal cheer

It truly was a Christmas season to remember for the Paramount Theatre.

The ever-popular Veldman and Friends holiday show returned with this year’s “A Christmas to Remember.” It’s hard to argue with almost 3,500 tickets sold, and crowds willing to wait in long lines each year to buy tickets.

In 10 years worth of shows, Veldman and Friends has proven to be one of the most popular and successful shows in Austin. When they announced they’d no longer be doing the show a few years ago, it was clear to see that Paramount officials were left with a substantial hole to fill in their winter lineup. It was easy to see how excited Paramount leaders and fans were to have them back.

If you missed them this year, never fear. The show is slated to return in 2014, with tickets scheduled to go on sale Oct. 4, 2014.