Nightlife

Austin’s nightlife is so vibrant we had to divide it into two chapters: The second, The Music Scene, is a comprehensive look at the musicians and clubs that have made it possible for Austin to claim the title Live Music Capital of the World. This chapter also lists a great many music and dance venues and takes a look at some of the other spots where residents and visitors gather after the sun goes down.

Austin after dark can be a quiet glass of wine in a subdued, sophisticated setting; or a cold brew among friends at a cheery pub; perhaps a shot of tequila and a salsa dance; a glass of sherry with tapas; a beach blanket bingo movie with Coke and pizza; or an evening of satire with Austin’s favorite comedy troupe, Esther’s Follies.

One thing that is constant about the Austin nightlife scene is it is evolving and growing by leaps and bounds. The historic center of the city’s night scene is, of course, Sixth Street, sometimes called Austin’s Bourbon Street. The scene there has evolved over the past three decades. The liveliest nightlife is to be found downtown around Sixth Street, both east and west of Congress; in the Warehouse District/Second Street District just west of Congress Avenue; and south of the river in SoCo, the South Congress Avenue neighborhood, which is a mix of restaurants, bars, cafes, shops, and street theater.

Nightlife - The Music Scene

If this chapter were set to the tune of Austin music, the savory sounds of country, blues, folk, funk, punk, pop, jazz, bluegrass, Tejano, and rock ’n’ roll would waft off the pages and fill the air like a Saturday night on Sixth Street. While we can’t reproduce the sounds, we can tell you about some of the artists, the venues, the free concerts, and the record stores that constitute the Live Music Capital of the World. So whether you’re a music lover eager to explore the sounds of Austin or you’ve arrived with a guitar on your back and a pocketful of songs, get ready to enter a truly remarkable realm.

No matter what you may have heard about Austin’s live music scene, there really is nothing that prepares newcomers for the jolt of firsthand experience. Music is, indeed, here, there, and everywhere in Austin. On any given Friday night, music lovers can choose from among well over 90 venues offering just about any style of music you can imagine, including those exotic strains created by our true Texas hybrids. No weekend-warrior music mentality exists here, however, as our club scene rocks seven nights a week. From national touring shows and top local acts to the most exciting up-and-coming artists and youngsters (some barely past puberty) taking the stage for the very first time, Austin is tuned in to music.

Overview

You’ll find live music in record stores and bookstores. There’s live music to accompany your Sun brunch and live music to stir your evening coffee. Austin’s premier gourmet grocery offers live music at its two locations on the patio. You can listen to live music in our museums and art galleries, and there’s live music in our parks and on our sidewalks. Austin’s Sixth Street is an entire district dedicated to live music and dance halls, while our own nationally televised music TV show has celebrated Austin music for more than 35 years. Austin City Limits, which has been called the city’s cultural calling card to the world, is Austin’s top showcase for musical talent. Our city also hosts one of the most important live music festivals in the country, South-by-Southwest, in the spring, as well as the ever-popular Austin City Limits Festival in the fall, and a variety of other festivals throughout the year.

Though Austin took the motto “The Live Music Capital of the World” in the early 1990s, it gained prominence long before that as a haven for artists seeking to follow their own music and create their own sounds without much interference from the commercial establishments in L.A., New York, and Nashville. Billboard magazine has called Austin a “mecca for musical mavericks,” saying Austin is known as “a creative oasis, a place that puts music first and career far behind.” While it’s true that many artists are drawn to Austin for its no-strings-attached spirit, so to speak, it is also true that some current and former Austin regulars have found the magic formula that cracks the charts, including Willie Nelson, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Earl Keen, Pat Green, Shawn Colvin, Lyle Lovett, and Jerry Jeff Walker.

In fact, Austin is one of the few cities in the United States where young musicians can go from learning to play, to having a garage band, to performing in a club, to burning their own CDs, to getting an independent record contract, to earning a major-label deal without ever moving their base of operations.

Austin’s music scene appears as dynamic today as ever, as more and more young musicians pour into town seeking the freedom to explore their music and the comfort of Austin’s appreciative audiences. The constantly changing array of artists onstage—our classic legends and old mainstays combined with young newcomers and emerging talents—renews Austin’s status as a musical mecca each and every night. So whether you prefer a lone singer onstage strumming a folk tune on an acoustic guitar or a 10-piece band rocking off the roof, you’ll find that Austin has a sound all its own—the sound of originality.