Music of Austin

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Stevie Ray Vaughan statue on Austin's Town Lake.

The music of Austin, Texas centers on Red River and 6th Street, where bars and clubs of every kind can be found. On any night more than 600 venues stage live music. Austin's official motto is the "Live Music Capital of the World."

1 History
2 Television
3 Festivals
4 Venues
5 Musical acts
6 External links

[edit] History

Austin's modern musical heritage began in the late-1960s and 1970s where the country music made popular by Willie Nelson and others was joined by a host of other music brought by the more liberal inhabitants, who migrated to Austin during these two decades.

Austin was home to the Vulcan Gas Company that featured headliners such as the 13th Floor Elevators, the Winter brothers (Johnny and Edgar), and Shiva's Headband. The Vulcan morphed into the Armadillo World Headquarters that for more than ten years featured music of all genres, from Bruce Springsteen to Bette Midler, as well as local ballet, blues and jazz. The artwork from this establishment was a part of the Austin scene and the Armadillo became the Austin city animal. Songs such as Gary P. Nunn's "Home with the Armadillo" made this a staple of Austin. The artist that began the Armadillo logo was Jim Franklin, who is still working today.

The Armadillo World Headquarters in 1976.

In the following years, Austin gained a reputation as a place where struggling musicians could launch their careers in informal live venues in front of receptive audiences. A major force in this time period, was the efforts of Clifford Antone and the namesake blues club he founded at age 25 in 1975. The club, Antone's, became one of the first music venues on Austin's 6th Street and fostered the careers of a number of musicians such as Stevie Ray Vaughan. The Austin Music Foundation is one of several Austin groups that a help independent artists further their music careers. Today, 6th Street is home to hundreds of bars and live music venues, and is center stage for Austin's South by Southwest Music Conference.

[edit] Television

The live music television show Austin City Limits on PBS began in 1975 and has featured, as of 2005, over 500 artists of all genres, spanning rock, folk, country, bluegrass and zydeco. The show has been broadcast all over the world and is in part responsible for Austin's world-wide renown.

Austin was also home to the Austin Music Network (AMN), which began broadcasting April 1, 1994, ending on September 1, 2005. AMN proclaimed itself to be the only non-profit independent music television channel, AMN's programming was mostly music videos or recorded live sessions, interspersed with presenters. Although all musical tastes were broadcast, AMN emphasized non-mainstream music such as indie, punk, blues, country and jazz.

[edit] Festivals

Austin City Limits Music Festival with view of stages and the Austin skyline.

Austin is the home of South by Southwest, an annual film, music and interactive conference and festival. In the fall, Austin hosts the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Every summer, local businesses put on a series of free blues shows in Zilker Park entitled "Blues on the Green." Numerous other music festivals occur year-round.

[edit] Venues

The Austin Chronicle offers a guide of the most common venues, but may not cover smaller restaurants and coffee shops hosting local bands on the weekends.

Below is a short list of notable venues: