Music of Austin
Encyclopedia
The music of Austin, Texas
, USA has gone beyond 6th Street and now includes other areas such as Red River, the University of Texas, the Warehouse District and Downtown, South Lamar, South Austin, East Austin and the Market District where bars and clubs of every kind can be found. Every night over one hundred venues stage live music. Austin's official motto is the "Live Music Capital of the World".
participated in her early days. On the African American East Side of town other music venues such as the Victory Grill
, Charlie's Playhouse, Big Mary's, Ernie's Chicken Shack, and Doris Miller Auditorium featured local and touring acts. These destinations, which were part of the "chitlin circuit" featuring big bands, jazz and blues, became famous for later hosting musical legends including Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Bobby Bland, B.B. King, Ike Turner
and Tina Turner
.
In 1964, the Broken Spoke, opened featuring country acts such as Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, and the young Willie Nelson. The late-1960s and 1970s saw the country music
popularized by Willie Nelson
and others being joined by a host of other music brought by the more liberal inhabitants, who migrated to Austin during these two decades. Specifically, Roky Erickson and his 13th Floor Elevators helped bring in this psychedelic era.
Austin was home to the Vulcan Gas Company
that featured headliners such as the 13th Floor Elevators
, (Johnny
and Edgar
) Winter brothers, and Shiva's Headband
. The Vulcan morphed into the Armadillo World Headquarters
in 1970 and 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 "London Homesick Blues" (which includes in the chorus "I want to go home with the armadillo") made this a staple of Austin. The artist who began the Armadillo logo was Jim Franklin
, who is still working today.
In the following years, Austin gained a reputation as a place where struggling musicians could launch their careers in front of receptive audiences, at informal live venues. A major influence during this time was Clifford Antone
and the namesake blues club he founded in 1975, at the age of 25. Antone's located on Austin's 6th Street fostered the careers of a number of musicians, including Stevie Ray Vaughan
. Liberty Lunch was a live-music venue in Austin and during its heyday in the late 1970s and 1980s featured all kinds of music, including reggae and ska, punk, indie, country and rock. The venue was forced to close to make way for Austin's downtown redevelopment rampage in the late 1990s. Since then, Liberty Lunch has attained a (partly deserved) legendary status in the history of Austin music. Now-defunct Armadillo World Headquarters has attained a similar status.
The punk/new wave era in Austin began in earnest in 1978. The Club Foot played an important role in hosting many of the local punk/new wave acts. The city's first two rock/new wave bands, the Skunks and the Violators, made their debut at a University-area club called Raul's in February. The explosive show by the Sex Pistols in San Antonio the previous month helped build toward an excited reception for local purveyors of the style. The Skunks' lineup consisted of Jesse Sublett on bass and vocals, Eddie Munoz on guitar and Bill Blackmon on drums. The Violators featured Kathy Valentine (later of the Go-Go's), Carla Olson (later of the Textones), Marilyn Dean and Sublett on bass. The Violators were short-lived, as all the members except for Sublett moved to LA the following year. Margaret Moser, of the Austin Chronicle, later wrote that "The Skunks put Austin on the rock n' roll map." Another influential band that led the punk scene in Austin was the Big Boys.
Austin became one of the important stops on every tour of important punk/new wave acts. Many of these bands, such as the Police, Joe Jackson, Blondie and Talking Heads, played at the Armadillo. A number of them, including the Clash, Elvis Costello and Blondie, would make appearances at gigs by the Skunks and take the opportunity to jam with the band.
The 1980s and 1990s also helped shape Austin's music scene. Waterloo Records, which has been voted the best independent record store in the country and hosts live in-store shows, first opened in 1982. Austinite Stevie Ray Vaughan won a Grammy in 1990 for best contemporary blues album. After tragically dying in a helicopter crash, he was memorialized with a statue on the shores of Austin's Lady Bird Lake. Additionally in the early 1990s, Austin city leaders named Austin, "The Live Music Capital of the World", because of the number of live music venues.
Visitors and Austinites alike may notice the 10-foot guitars standing on the sides of the city's streets. In 2006, Gibson Guitar brought Guitar Town to Austin, placing 35 of these giant guitars around the city.
The Austin Music Foundation
is one of several Austin groups that help independent artists further their music careers. Assisting musicians with medical needs are the Simms Foundation and Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM). Helping to promote the $1 billion music industry in the city is the Austin Music Office. A department of the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Austin Music Office offers creative, personalized assistance in booking live music, discounted Austin Compilation CDs and mini-guides to the city's live music scene, assistance with utilization of live music venues for off-site events, and guidance with local music attractions and creation of music tours.
live music television
show Austin City Limits
began in 1976 and has featured, as of 2005, over 500 artists of various genres, including rock, folk
, country
, bluegrass
and zydeco
. Part responsible for Austin's reputation as a live music hub, the show is broadcast worldwide and stands as the longest running music television program ever. Public tours of Studio 6A are given on Fridays at 10:30 a.m.
Austin was also home to the Austin Music Network (AMN), which broadcast from 1994 to 2005. AMN, featured on cable channel 15, proclaimed itself to be the only non-profit independent music television channel, and its programming was mostly music video
s 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
.
Today channel 15 is still a 24-hour music channel now run by Music and Entertainment Television (M*E). M*E launched October 1, 2005 and is currently broadcast to Austin and the 44 surrounding cities. M*E is a regional network dedicated to showcasing and providing television exposure for regional artists as well as the hundreds of touring groups that make up the vibrant Texas live music scene. Supporting established artists and promoting and discovering new talent is a priority. M*E is the entertainment resource, with venue schedules, artist information, interviews and local live music shows every night at 7 p.m. on M*E Live! from Austin. M*E represents different musical genres and areas of the arts community with numerous original programs highlighting everything from filmmakers to art galleries, and musicians to the ballet. In addition, M*E's mostly music line-up, spotlights live performance footage, concept music videos as well as biographies, reviews, restaurant tours and more.
(ACL) and the Fun Fun Fun Fest
. 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. Other annual festivals include the "Keep Austin Weird Festival" and the Heart of Texas Quadruple Bypass Music Festival a.k.a. The Texas Rockfest.
Austin is home to other large annual festivals including:
, Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau and Do512 offer information on the most common venues that host local bands.
Below is a short list of notable venues:
In addition to the usual restaurant/bar venues listed above, Austin offers live music in unexpected places as well. These unique venues include:
Musicians who previously contributed to the Austin music scene (including those who have broken up or moved from the city):
Deceased Austin musicians include:
The Austin Music Memorial, at the Joe and Teresa Long Center, honors those who have contributed to the development of the Austin music community.
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, USA has gone beyond 6th Street and now includes other areas such as Red River, the University of Texas, the Warehouse District and Downtown, South Lamar, South Austin, East Austin and the Market District where bars and clubs of every kind can be found. Every night over one hundred venues stage live music. Austin's official motto is the "Live Music Capital of the World".
History
A large portion of Austin's early musical heritage began in the German Beer Gardens and Halls in the late 1800's, places such as Scholz's Garden and Hall (the hall later to become Saengurrunde Hall) and further up the road at Dessau Hall. Dessau Hall peaked in the 1940's and 1950's with acts as diverse as Glenn Miller, Hank Williams, and Elvis Presley. Other major venues for country music included Big Gil's on South Congress and The Skyline on North Lamar. Local singer/yodeler Kenneth Threadgill opened Threadgill's in 1933 on North Lamar, a venue that later hosted Folk/Country jams where Janis JoplinJanis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
participated in her early days. On the African American East Side of town other music venues such as the Victory Grill
Victory Grill
Victory Grill is a historic music venue located at 1104 E. 11th St, Austin, Texas. The nightclub was on the Chitlin' Circuit and hosted famous African American acts such as Bobby Bland, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, W. C. Clark and B. B. King when Austin was legally segregated...
, Charlie's Playhouse, Big Mary's, Ernie's Chicken Shack, and Doris Miller Auditorium featured local and touring acts. These destinations, which were part of the "chitlin circuit" featuring big bands, jazz and blues, became famous for later hosting musical legends including Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Bobby Bland, B.B. King, Ike Turner
Ike Turner
Isaac Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk...
and Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
.
In 1964, the Broken Spoke, opened featuring country acts such as Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, and the young Willie Nelson. The late-1960s and 1970s saw the country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
popularized by Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
and others being joined by a host of other music brought by the more liberal inhabitants, who migrated to Austin during these two decades. Specifically, Roky Erickson and his 13th Floor Elevators helped bring in this psychedelic era.
Austin was home to the Vulcan Gas Company
Vulcan Gas Company
The Vulcan Gas Company was the first successful psychedelic music venue in Austin, Texas. The Vulcan opened its doors at 316 Congress Avenue in the fall of 1967, and closed in the summer of 1970. Houston White, Gary Maxwell, Don Hyde, and Sandy Lockett started the Vulcan...
that featured headliners such as the 13th Floor Elevators
13th Floor Elevators
The 13th Floor Elevators were an American rock band from Austin, Texas formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland, which existed from 1965 to 1969...
, (Johnny
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
and Edgar
Edgar Winter
Edgar Holland Winter is an American musician. He is famous for being a multi-instrumentalist. He is a highly skilled keyboardist, saxophonist and percussionist. He often plays an instrument while singing. He was most successful in the 1970s with his band, The Edgar Winter Group, notably with their...
) Winter brothers, and Shiva's Headband
Shiva's Headband
Shiva’s Headband, an early Texas psychedelic rock band, formed in Austin in 1967. The group was the house band at the Vulcan Gas Company, a late 1960s Austin nightclub. The band is credited with a significant role in the founding of the Armadillo World Headquarters. The bands first royalty check...
. The Vulcan morphed into the Armadillo World Headquarters
Armadillo World Headquarters
The Armadillo World Headquarters was the premier music hall and entertainment center in Austin, Texas, United States from 1970 to 1980.-History:...
in 1970 and for more than ten years featured music of all genres, from Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
to Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
, 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 "London Homesick Blues" (which includes in the chorus "I want to go home with the armadillo") made this a staple of Austin. The artist who began the Armadillo logo was Jim Franklin
Jim Franklin (artist)
Jim Franklin is an artist best known for his poster art created for the Armadillo World Headquarters, a former Austin, Texas music hall....
, who is still working today.
Clifford Antone
Clifford Antone was the founder of a well-known Austin blues club, record label, and a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan and numerous other musicians....
and the namesake blues club he founded in 1975, at the age of 25. Antone's located on Austin's 6th Street fostered the careers of a number of musicians, including Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
. Liberty Lunch was a live-music venue in Austin and during its heyday in the late 1970s and 1980s featured all kinds of music, including reggae and ska, punk, indie, country and rock. The venue was forced to close to make way for Austin's downtown redevelopment rampage in the late 1990s. Since then, Liberty Lunch has attained a (partly deserved) legendary status in the history of Austin music. Now-defunct Armadillo World Headquarters has attained a similar status.
The punk/new wave era in Austin began in earnest in 1978. The Club Foot played an important role in hosting many of the local punk/new wave acts. The city's first two rock/new wave bands, the Skunks and the Violators, made their debut at a University-area club called Raul's in February. The explosive show by the Sex Pistols in San Antonio the previous month helped build toward an excited reception for local purveyors of the style. The Skunks' lineup consisted of Jesse Sublett on bass and vocals, Eddie Munoz on guitar and Bill Blackmon on drums. The Violators featured Kathy Valentine (later of the Go-Go's), Carla Olson (later of the Textones), Marilyn Dean and Sublett on bass. The Violators were short-lived, as all the members except for Sublett moved to LA the following year. Margaret Moser, of the Austin Chronicle, later wrote that "The Skunks put Austin on the rock n' roll map." Another influential band that led the punk scene in Austin was the Big Boys.
Austin became one of the important stops on every tour of important punk/new wave acts. Many of these bands, such as the Police, Joe Jackson, Blondie and Talking Heads, played at the Armadillo. A number of them, including the Clash, Elvis Costello and Blondie, would make appearances at gigs by the Skunks and take the opportunity to jam with the band.
The 1980s and 1990s also helped shape Austin's music scene. Waterloo Records, which has been voted the best independent record store in the country and hosts live in-store shows, first opened in 1982. Austinite Stevie Ray Vaughan won a Grammy in 1990 for best contemporary blues album. After tragically dying in a helicopter crash, he was memorialized with a statue on the shores of Austin's Lady Bird Lake. Additionally in the early 1990s, Austin city leaders named Austin, "The Live Music Capital of the World", because of the number of live music venues.
Visitors and Austinites alike may notice the 10-foot guitars standing on the sides of the city's streets. In 2006, Gibson Guitar brought Guitar Town to Austin, placing 35 of these giant guitars around the city.
The Austin Music Foundation
Austin Music Foundation
The Austin Music Foundation is a nonprofit organization with a singular mission: to unite, ignite, and revolutionize Austin's local music community. Launched in March 2002, AMF has grown to over 3,500 members. Its advisory board consists of 21 highly respected local and national industry...
is one of several Austin groups that help independent artists further their music careers. Assisting musicians with medical needs are the Simms Foundation and Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM). Helping to promote the $1 billion music industry in the city is the Austin Music Office. A department of the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Austin Music Office offers creative, personalized assistance in booking live music, discounted Austin Compilation CDs and mini-guides to the city's live music scene, assistance with utilization of live music venues for off-site events, and guidance with local music attractions and creation of music tours.
Television
The PBSPublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
live music television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...
began in 1976 and has featured, as of 2005, over 500 artists of various genres, including rock, folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
and zydeco
Zydeco
Zydeco is a form of uniquely American roots or folk music. It evolved in southwest Louisiana in the early 19th century from forms of "la la" Creole music...
. Part responsible for Austin's reputation as a live music hub, the show is broadcast worldwide and stands as the longest running music television program ever. Public tours of Studio 6A are given on Fridays at 10:30 a.m.
Austin was also home to the Austin Music Network (AMN), which broadcast from 1994 to 2005. AMN, featured on cable channel 15, proclaimed itself to be the only non-profit independent music television channel, and its programming was mostly music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s or recorded live sessions, interspersed with presenters. Although all musical tastes were broadcast, AMN emphasized non-mainstream music such as indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
, punk, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
.
Today channel 15 is still a 24-hour music channel now run by Music and Entertainment Television (M*E). M*E launched October 1, 2005 and is currently broadcast to Austin and the 44 surrounding cities. M*E is a regional network dedicated to showcasing and providing television exposure for regional artists as well as the hundreds of touring groups that make up the vibrant Texas live music scene. Supporting established artists and promoting and discovering new talent is a priority. M*E is the entertainment resource, with venue schedules, artist information, interviews and local live music shows every night at 7 p.m. on M*E Live! from Austin. M*E represents different musical genres and areas of the arts community with numerous original programs highlighting everything from filmmakers to art galleries, and musicians to the ballet. In addition, M*E's mostly music line-up, spotlights live performance footage, concept music videos as well as biographies, reviews, restaurant tours and more.
Festivals
Austin is the home of South by Southwest (SXSW), an annual film, music and interactive conference and festival, and the expanding number of fringe events that take place during the festival, at venues all over town. In the fall, Austin hosts the Austin City Limits Music FestivalAustin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas at the city's central public park, Zilker Park...
(ACL) and the Fun Fun Fun Fest
Fun Fun Fun Fest
Fun Fun Fun Fest is an annual music festival held in Austin, Texas. Started in 2006, the festival brings together many progressive and underground musicians with a focus on indie rock, punk rock/hardcore, and hip hop/DJ....
. Every summer, local businesses put on a series of free blues shows in Zilker Park
Zilker Park
Zilker Metropolitan Park is a recreational area in the heart of south Austin that comprises over of publicly owned land. It is named after its benefactor Andrew Jackson Zilker, who donated the land to the city in 1917. It was developed into the park during the Great Depression in the 1930s...
entitled "Blues on the Green." Numerous other music festivals occur year-round. Other annual festivals include the "Keep Austin Weird Festival" and the Heart of Texas Quadruple Bypass Music Festival a.k.a. The Texas Rockfest.
Austin is home to other large annual festivals including:
- Carnaval Brasileiro
- Urban Music Festival
- Texas Wine and Food Festival
- Art City Austin
- Eeyore's Birthday PartyEeyore's Birthday PartyEeyore's Birthday Party is a day-long festival taking place annually in Austin, Texas since 1963. It typically occurs on the last Saturday of April in Austin's Pease Park. It includes live music, food and drink vending which benefit local non-profit organizations, attendees in colorful costumes,...
- Old Pecan Street FestivalPecan Street FestivalThe Pecan Street Festival is the common name for the Old Pecan Street Spring and Fall Arts Festival, a free, bi-annual juried fine art and arts and crafts festival held on 6th Street in Austin, Texas...
- Pachanga Festival
- Republic of Texas Biker RallyRepublic of Texas Biker RallyThe Republic of Texas Biker Rally is the biggest motorcycle rally in Texas. It is the fourth largest motorcycle rally of any kind in the U.S....
- Batfest
- First Night Austin
Venues
The Austin ChronicleAustin Chronicle
The Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
, Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau and Do512 offer information on the most common venues that host local bands.
Below is a short list of notable venues:
- The Amsterdam
- Angel's
- Antone'sClifford AntoneClifford Antone was the founder of a well-known Austin blues club, record label, and a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan and numerous other musicians....
- Artz Rib House
- Austin Music Hall
- B. D. Riley's
- The Backyard
- Beauty Bar
- Beerland
- The Broken Spoke
- The Broken Neck
- Cactus Cafe (UT campus)
- Café Mundi
- Carlos 'n Charlie's
- The Carousel Lounge
- Cedar Street Courtyard
- Central MarketCentral Market (Texas)Central Market is a gourmet grocery store chain owned by San Antonio, Texas-based H-E-B Grocery Company. It specializes in high-quality, hard-to-find gourmet foods. Most locations also have a full-service kitchen, offer cooking and wine classes in their culinary school, and offer catering...
- Club De Ville
- The Continental Club
- Cotton Club
- Dirty Dog Bar
- Donn's Depot
- Ego's
- Elephant Room
- Elysium Night Club
- Emo'sEmo'sEmo's is a prominent nightclub located in Austin, Texas. Emo's got its start as a Houston punk club in 1989, with the Austin location opening in 1992. The Houston location closed its doors in September 2001....
- Evangeline Café
- Flamingo Cantina
- Flipnotics
- The Frank Erwin Center
- Friends
- The Ghost Room
- Guero's
- Headhunters
- Hill's Cafe
- Hole in the Wall
- Jovita's
- La Zona Rosa
- Liberty LunchLiberty LunchLiberty Lunch was a live-music venue in Austin, Texas. It began in the 1940s as an eatery and, over the years, evolved into a live-music venue. It closed in 1999....
(closed) - Lovejoy's
- Lucky Lounge
- Maggie Mae's
- The Mohawk
- Momo's
- Mulligan's
- Nasty's
- Nuno's
- Nutty Brown Café
- The Oaks
- One World Theater
- The Parish
- The Parlor
- Plush
- Poodies
- Radio Room
- Red 7
- Red Eyed Fly
- Red Fez
- Republic Live
- Reed's Jazz Club
- Room 710
- Ruta Maya International Headquarters
- Saxon Pub
- Scoot Inn
- Shooters
- Speakeasy
- Stubb's BBQ
- Threadgill's
- 311 Club
- Trophy's
In addition to the usual restaurant/bar venues listed above, Austin offers live music in unexpected places as well. These unique venues include:
- City Hall - Every Thursday, City Council honors a local musician at its council meeting. Also, the free concert series "Live from the Plaza" takes place at City Hall every Friday at noon from April to December.
- Austin-Bergstrom International AirportAustin-Bergstrom International AirportAustin-Bergstrom International Airport is a mixed-use commercial airport located southeast of the central business district of Austin, Texas, United States. It covers and has two runways and three helipads.The airport began passenger service on May 23, 1999...
- Live music is featured 11 times a week at four locations. - Grocery Stores - Central MarketCentral Market (Texas)Central Market is a gourmet grocery store chain owned by San Antonio, Texas-based H-E-B Grocery Company. It specializes in high-quality, hard-to-find gourmet foods. Most locations also have a full-service kitchen, offer cooking and wine classes in their culinary school, and offer catering...
features live music three times a week, while Whole Foods MarketWhole Foods MarketWhole Foods Market is a foods supermarket chain based in Austin, Texas which emphasizes "natural and organic products." The company has been ranked among the most socially responsible businesses and placed third on the U.S...
hosts the "Music at the Market" music series every Thursday evening in the spring. - Road Races - The Austin MarathonAustin MarathonThe Austin Marathon is an annual marathon held in Austin, Texas. Freescale Semiconductor, spun off from Motorola's semiconductor products sector in 2006, founded the marathon in 1991 and served as title sponsor for fifteen years. The marathon was sponsored by AT&T in 2007 and 2008, but ran with no...
hosts more than 30 bands along the race course and the Capitol 10K features a band at every mile marker.
Musical acts
Some Austin musicians who are currently active in the city include:- The Alice RoseThe Alice RoseThe Alice Rose is an indie pop/rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 2001. The group's founding members are songwriter and vocalist JoDee Purkeypile, bassist Sean Crooks, and drummer Chris Sensat. Keyboardist Brendan Rogers joined the band in 2005...
- Alpha RevAlpha RevAlpha Rev is an American alternative rock band from Austin, Texas, fronted by Casey McPherson .-History:Casey McPherson started Alpha Rev in 2005 after the breakup of his previous band Endochine, which had toured with Staind, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pete Yorn and Bob Schneider.Alpha Rev released...
- The American Analog SetThe American Analog SetThe American Analog Set is an Austin-based indie rock band. They have released six studio albums, on the record labels Emperor Jones and Tiger Style, with their latest on Arts & Crafts.-History:...
- …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
- Arc AngelsArc AngelsArc Angels are a blues rock band formed in Austin, Texas in the early 1990s. The band was composed of guitarist and singers Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton and two former members of Stevie Ray Vaughan's band Double Trouble, drummer Chris Layton. and bassist Tommy Shannon...
- ArcAttackArcAttackArcAttack is a performance art group that specializes in playing music through a combination of home made, high tech instruments, and more traditional instruments suchas guitar and bass.-Background:...
- Asylum Street SpankersAsylum Street SpankersThe Asylum Street Spankers, formed in Austin, Texas in 1994, was a band whose music was rooted in early 20th century American musical forms. In fall 2006, the band's anti-war satire video "Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your SUV", directed by Morgan Higby Night garnered 1,054,743 views on YouTube within...
- Austin Lounge LizardsAustin Lounge LizardsThe Austin Lounge Lizards are a band from Austin, Texas formed in 1980. The band includes founding members Hank Card and Conrad Deisler, along with Darcie Deaville and Bruce Jones...
- Averse SefiraAverse Sefira- Biography :Averse Sefira was formed in 1996 by guitarist and vocalist Sanguine Mapsama and bassist Wrath Sathariel Diabolus. Their demo, Blasphomet Sin Abset, was released later that year. It featured a drum machine in lieu of a live drummer...
- Balcones FaultBalcones Fault (band)Balcones Fault was a 1970s comedic Dixieland jazz band from Austin, Texas who took their name after the Balcones Fault zone in southwest-central Texas. Balcones Fault appeared frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters...
- Marcia BallMarcia BallMarcia Ball is an American blues singer and pianist, born in Orange, Texas but who grew up in Vinton, Louisiana. She was described in USA Today as "a sensation, saucy singer and superb pianist.....
- BalmorheaBalmorhea (band)Balmorhea is a minimalist instrumental ensemble from Austin, Texas that was formed in 2006 by Rob Lowe and Michael Muller. Balmorhea were influenced by Ludovico Einaudi, The Six Parts Seven, Claude Debussy, Ludwig van Beethoven, Rachel's, Gillian Welch, Max Richter, Arvo Pärt and John Cage.The band...
- Band of HeathensBand of HeathensThe Band of Heathens are an American Rock and Roll band from Austin, Texas.The three principal songwriters - Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist - shared the bill at Momo's, an Austin club. Originally, each singer/songwriter performed his own set. However, they eventually started sharing the...
- Best FwendsBest FwendsBest Fwends are a musical group from Fort Worth, Texas. All but unknown in the United States, the duo have attracted much more notice in Europe, having been featured in a Bacardi commercial in the United Kingdom and performing with bands such as Bloc Party, Grizzly Bear, of Montreal, !!!, Deerhoof,...
- Big BoysBig Boys (band)The Big Boys were a pioneering band who are credited with helping introduce the new style of hardcore punk that became popular in the 1980s.-History:...
- The Black and White YearsThe Black and White YearsThe Black and White Years are an indie art rock band based in Austin, Texas. Formed in 2006, the band consists of Scott Butler, Landon Thompson and John Aldridge. Scott, Landon, and John met while attending college in Nashville, Tennessee...
- The Black AngelsThe Black Angels (band)- History :Formed in May 2004, the band's name derives from the Velvet Underground song "The Black Angel's Death Song".In 2005, the Black Angels were featured on a dual-disc compilation album of psychedelic music called Psychedelica Vol.1 from Northern Star Records...
- Black BooksBlack BooksBlack Books is a British sitcom television series created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan and produced by Nira Park, first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2004...
- The Boxing LessonThe Boxing LessonThe Boxing Lesson is a group of psychedelic progressive rock musicians based in Austin, TX. Currently a power trio with synthesizers performing the bass players role, they create a layered sound that usually starts minimally and builds into grand orchestrations...
- Blue OctoberBlue OctoberBlue October is a rock band from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and currently consists of Justin Furstenfeld , Jeremy Furstenfeld , Ryan Delahoussaye , Matt Noveskey , and Julian Mandrake .-History:Blue October was formed by lead...
- Bubble PuppyBubble Puppy-Origins:The group was formed in 1966 in San Antonio, Texas by Rod Prince and Roy Cox. Looking to form a "top gun rock band" based on the concept of dual lead guitars, a staple of southern rock that was highly unusual on the psychedelic music scene, Prince and Cox recruited Todd Potter: a gymnast,...
- Maya BondMaya BondMaya Bond is a Japanese-born American indie and avant-garde music singer-songwriter and drummer from Austin, Texas. She is the daughter of musician and composer T.W...
- The Bright Light Social HourThe Bright Light Social HourThe Bright Light Social Hour is a rock band from Austin, Texas. The band features Curtis Roush on guitar and vocals, Jack O'Brien on bass guitar and vocals, Joseph Mirasole on drums, and A.J...
- Brobdingnagian BardsBrobdingnagian Bards-History:Marc Gunn, formerly of Austin Texas' alternative rock bands Skander and Breastfed, released a solo album featuring himself on autoharp and Andrew McKee on recorder in 1998...
- Doyle Bramhall IIDoyle Bramhall IIDoyle Bramhall II is a guitarist and vocalist in his band Smokestack and was also the second guitarist in Eric Clapton's band from 2004 to 2009.-Discography:with Arc Angels*Arc Angels...
- Butthole SurfersButthole SurfersButthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
- CanvasCanvas (band)Canvas was a rock band from Austin, Texas. For most of their history the lineup was Joseph King , Julian Mandrake , Ben Rada , Brad Byram , and Scott Thomas...
- Cindy CashdollarCindy CashdollarCindy Cashdollar is a steel guitar and Dobro artist. She grew up in Woodstock, New York where she perfected her skills by playing with bluegrass musician John Herald, blues musician Paul Butterfield, and Levon Helm and Rick Danko of The Band.Cashdollar received five Grammy awards while playing...
- CharalambidesCharalambidesCharalambides is an avant garde musical group originally from Houston, Texas, USA and lately of Austin, Texas. Formed in 1991 by Tom Carter, Christina Carter and Kyle Silfer, they have followed in the footsteps of other Texas psychedelic music artists such as the 13th Floor Elevators, Red Crayola,...
- ChingonChingon (band)Chingon is a Mexican rock band based in Austin, Texas. Their sound is heavily influenced by mariachi, ranchera, and Texan rock 'n roll music.-History:...
- Lakrea ClarkLakrea ClarkLakrea Merie Clark is an American R&B and jazz singer-songwriter who also goes by the stage name Lakrea.-Biography:...
- W. C. ClarkW. C. ClarkW. C. Clark is an American blues musician. He is known as the "Godfather of Austin Blues" for his influence on the Austin, Texas blues scene since the late 1960s.-Biography:...
- Slaid CleavesSlaid CleavesSlaid Cleaves is a singer-songwriter born in Washington, D.C. and raised in South Berwick, Maine and Round Pond, Maine. An alumnus of Tufts University, where he majored in English and philosophy, Cleaves lives in Austin, Texas....
- Shawn ColvinShawn ColvinShawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
- Court Yard HoundsCourt Yard HoundsCourt Yard Hounds is an American country music and folk duo founded by sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison. They, along with Natalie Maines, make up the Dixie Chicks, which went on hiatus in 2008. Maguire and Robison became eager to record again in 2009, but Maines said she didn't feel...
- Alvin Crow
- Kacy CrowleyKacy CrowleyKacy Crowley is an American musician and singer-songwriter. A New England native, she currently resides in Austin, Texas.-Early life:Born in Northampton, Massachusetts, her mother was a piano teacher and her father was a construction worker. Her family soon relocated to Connecticut, where Kacy...
- Death is not a joyrideDeath Is Not a JoyrideDeath Is Not a Joyride is an Austin, Texas-based experimental art rock three piece. Because of a diverse arrangement of instruments and tendency to explore different genres, the band has been described as having elements of post-rock, punk, goth, indie, trip-hop and electronica...
- Del CastilloDel CastilloDel Castillo is a Latin rock band based in Austin, Texas. The band's name comes from the last name of two brothers, Rick and Mark del Castillo, who founded the group.-History:...
- Dexter FreebishDexter FreebishDexter Freebish is a band based in Austin, Texas, consisting of lead singer Kyle, guitars of Scott Romig, bass and vocals of Chris Lowe, and the drums of Rob Schilz...
- The DicksThe DicksThe Dicks are an American punk rock band from Austin, Texas, originally formed in 1980. They initially disbanded in 1986 before reforming in 2004...
- Joe ElyJoe ElyJoe Ely is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist whose music touches on honky-tonk, Texas Country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll....
- Alejandro EscovedoAlejandro EscovedoAlejandro Escovedo is an American singer-songwriter.-Biography:The son of Mexican immigrants to Texas, Escovedo is from a family that boasts several professional musicians, including brothers Coke Escovedo and Pete Escovedo, and Sheila E...
- Esther's FolliesEsther's FolliesEsther's Follies is a modern day vaudeville theatre located on 6th Street in downtown Austin, Texas. The group is named after actress Esther Williams. Acts incorporate magic, juggling, singing, dancing, and sketches on current events...
- Explosions in the SkyExplosions in the SkyExplosions in the Sky is an American post-rock band from Texas. The band has garnered popularity beyond the post-rock scene for their elaborately developed guitar work, narratively styled instrumentals, what they refer to as "cathartic mini-symphonies," and their enthusiastic and emotional live shows...
- The Fabulous ThunderbirdsThe Fabulous ThunderbirdsThe Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...
- FastballFastball (band)Fastball is an American rock band that formed in Austin, Texas in the 1990s. The band originally called themselves "Magneto U.S.A." but changed their name after signing with Hollywood Records....
- Rosie FloresRosie FloresRosie Flores is a rockabilly and country music artist of Mexican American heritage. Her music blends rockabilly, honky tonk, jazz, and Western swing along with traditional influences from her Tex-Mex heritage...
- Michael FracassoMichael FracassoMichael Fracasso is a singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas. His music spans country and rock as he sings in a high tenor that evokes the "high lonesome" sound of early country....
- Future Clouds and RadarFuture Clouds and RadarFuture Clouds and Radar is Robert Harrison’s follow-up to his band Cotton Mather. The first album, an eponymous double CD, was released in 2007. Their second release, entitled "Peoria" was released on the 4th of November, 2008 on the Star Apple Kingdom label....
- Davíd GarzaDavíd GarzaDavíd Garza is an Austin-based, American singer-songwriter who infuses rock and pop with a Latin feel and whose vocal style draws comparisons to Freddie Mercury, Jeff Buckley, Donovan and Robert Plant.-Biography:...
- Larry GatlinLarry GatlinLarry Wayne Gatlin is an American country music singer/songwriter. He is perhaps best known for teaming up with his brothers Steve and Rudy in the late 1970s, becoming one of country music's most successful acts of the 1970s and 1980s. Gatlin has had a total of 33 Top 40 singles...
- Ghostland ObservatoryGhostland ObservatoryGhostland Observatory is an American music duo based in Austin, Texas. Their music has been described as a combination of electro, rock and funk by Allmusic, and "electro-dance soul rock" by Gothamist....
- Eliza GilkysonEliza GilkysonEliza Gilkyson is an Austin, Texas-based folk musician. She is the daughter of songwriter and folk musician Terry Gilkyson and Jane Gilkyson. She is the sister of guitarist Tony Gilkyson, who played with the Los Angeles-based bands Lone Justice and X...
- Jimmie Dale GilmoreJimmie Dale GilmoreJimmie Dale Gilmore is a country singer, songwriter, actor, recording artist and producer, currently living in Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
- Golden Arm TrioGolden Arm TrioGolden Arm Trio is the performance and recording vehicle of Graham Reynolds, a composer, bandleader, pianist and drummer based in Austin, Texas who works constantly in theater, dance, film, concert halls, and nightclubs...
- GoudieGoudie (band)Goudie was a glam rock band from Austin, Texas fronted by Johnny Goudie.Goudie started in 1996 as a solo project of frontman Johnny Goudie. In 1998 Johnny's friend Einar Pedersen joined on bass and Bill Lefler replaced the original drummer Kyle Schneider, and Jimmy Messer was brought in as lead...
/ Johnny GoudieJohnny GoudieJohn Charles "Johnny" Goudie is a Cuban-American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumental musician, record producer, actor, and podcaster based in Austin, Texas... - The GourdsThe GourdsThe Gourds are an American alternative country band that formed in Austin, Texas during the summer of 1994.-Career:Primarily evolving from the Picket Line Coyotes and the Grackles, The Gourds original line-up consisted of Kevin Russell , Jimmy Smith , Claude Bernard , and Charlie Llewellin...
- GovindaGovinda' and ' are names of Krishna, referring to his youthful occupation as a cowherd. He is regarded as the Supreme Godhead in the Vaishnava tradition and also by much of the pan-Hindu tradition...
- Jon Dee GrahamJon Dee GrahamJon Dee Graham is a musician, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas. He was born February 28, 1959. Graham was named the Austin Musician of the Year during the South by Southwest music conference in 2006...
- Patty GriffinPatty GriffinPatty Griffin, born Patricia Jean Griffin, March 16, 1964, is an American Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. She is especially known for her down-home crafting of songs and her connection to musicians including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, and the Dixie Chicks, who have played with...
- Grupo FantasmaGrupo Fantasma (American band)Grupo Fantasma is an eleven-piece, Grammy Award winning Latin funk orchestra from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2000 from the merger of two Austin acts, The Blue Noise Band and The Blimp, the band emerged with a sold out show at the former Empanada Parlour in Austin...
- HarlemHarlemHarlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
- Roy HeinrichRoy HeinrichRoy Heinrich, born Elroy Paul Heinrich, Jr., July 31, 1953, is a Country music singer and songwriter born in Houston, Texas. Heinrich began singing Country music in Los Angeles, CA in 1989. After moving to Austin, Texas in the fall of 1992, Heinrich has established himself as Roots/Honky Tonk...
- Terri HendrixTerri HendrixTerri Hendrix is a San Marcos, Texas-based contemporary folk singer-songwriter. In addition to releasing several albums on her own label, Wilory Records, she co-wrote the Dixie Chicks Grammy-winning instrumental, "Lil' Jack Slade".- Awards :...
- Sara HickmanSara HickmanSara Hickman is a rock/folk/pop/children's music singer, songwriter, and artist.-Biography:Hickman was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She grew up in Houston, Texas, where she attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts as a vocal major. In 1986, she graduated from the...
- Tish HinojosaTish HinojosaLeticia Hinojosa is a folksinger recording in both Spanish and English. Hinojosa was the youngest of 13 children. Hinojosa's parents were Mexican immigrants...
- I Love You But I've Chosen DarknessI Love You But I've Chosen DarknessI Love You but I've Chosen Darkness is an indie rock quintet originating from Austin, Texas...
- Jack IngramJack IngramJack Owen Ingram is an American Texas Country artist signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eight studio albums, one extended play, six live albums and eighteen singles. Although active since 1992, Ingram did not reach the U.S. country Top 40 until the late...
- Eric JohnsonEric JohnsonEric Johnson is an American guitarist. Though he is best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, gospel and country and western music into his recordings...
- Robert Earl KeenRobert Earl KeenRobert Earl Keen, Junior is an American Texas Country singer-songwriter. He is popular with fans of traditional country music, folk music, college radio, and alt-country. Keen currently resides in Kerrville, Texas and maintains a ranch in Medina, Texas.-Early life:Growing up in Houston, Texas,...
- Ben KwellerBen KwellerBen Kweller is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.-Early life:Ben Kweller was born in San Francisco, CA in 1981. In 1982, his family relocated to Emory, Texas, where his father, Howard Kweller, became the town's first doctor. In 1986, the Kwellers moved to a much larger city,...
- Jimmy LaFaveJimmy LaFaveJimmy LaFave is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician born in Wills Point, Texas, a small farming community located near Dallas. At a young age, LaFave's family moved to the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, Texas where he attended junior high and high school. By the early teens LaFave was...
- The Lovely SparrowsThe Lovely Sparrows"The Lovely Sparrows" is an Austin, Texas based indie rock band currently on Abandoned Love Records and founded by Shawn Jones. Their sound is categorized as indie rock, folk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, or just rock, blending lush, complex arrangements with sing-along choruses that...
- Lower Class BratsLower Class BratsLower Class Brats are a punk rock band founded in Austin, Texas in January 1995. They describe their sound as high energy "Rock and Roll Street Noize." They have released a number of recordings including twelve 7" singles, two 12" singles, four full-length albums and one live album...
- Lloyd MainesLloyd MainesLloyd Maines is an American Grammy Award-winning country music record producer, musician and songwriter. He was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas and is now based in Bulverde, Texas....
- Julian MandrakeJulian MandrakeJulian Mandrake is a guitarist from Austin, Texas best known for his work with the bands Blue October, Canvas, and Mothers Anthem....
- Ian McLaganIan McLaganIan McLagan is an English keyboard instrumentalist, best known as a member of the English rock bands Small Faces and Faces.-Small Faces and Faces:...
- James McMurtryJames McMurtryJames McMurtry is a Texas rock/Texas Country singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader and occasional actor...
- MDCMDC (band)MDC is an American hardcore punk band formed in Austin, Texas in 1979. The band were subsequently based in San Francisco, California, and are currently based in Portland, Oregon. MDC originally formed as The Stains before changing their name...
- Matt the Electrician
- MineralMineral (band)Mineral was a prominent mid-90s emo band originally from Houston, Texas, but soon relocated to Austin following their formation. All four members of Mineral were signed to Interscope Records on individual contracts...
- Monte MontgomeryMonte MontgomeryMonte Montgomery is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Career:Montgomery appeared on PBS's Austin City Limits program on April 17, 1999....
- Abra MooreAbra MooreAbra Moore is a folk-styled rock singer-songwriter. Her 1997 album Strangest Places included the hit "Four Leaf Clover", which received airplay in Midwest U.S. radio markets and VH1 and MTV2 rotation, and charted on the Billboard Hot 100.-Biography:Moore's parents named Abra after the heroine of...
- Ian Moore
- Gurf MorlixGurf MorlixGurf Morlix is an American multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter and record producer residing for many years in Austin, Texas. He has worked with many of the best known performers of Americana and alternative country music. His most notable works include albums by Lucinda Williams, Robert...
- MothfightMothfightMoth Fight is an Austin, Texas-based experimental pop outfit. Their sound is a blend of orchestral instrumentation , tape loops, samples, synthesizers, and circuit bent toys.-Discography:-US singles:...
- Trish MurphyTrish MurphyTrish Murphy is an Austin-based singer-songwriter.- Music career :Trish Murphy grew up in Houston, Texas, the daughter of a struggling musician and songwriter. After earning a Bachelor's Degree in philosophy at the University of Dallas, she formed a duo—Trish and Darin—with her brother Darin Murphy...
- Nathan's Stupid Drama
- Willie NelsonWillie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
- The Noise Revival OrchestraThe Noise Revival OrchestraThe Noise Revival Orchestra is an orchestral indie collective based in Austin, Texas. Formed in 2004 as a 4 piece by Nathan Felix, The Noise Revival Orchestra has grown to a 13 to 17 piece orchestra.In 2008, the band was featured on mtvU Ahead of the Curve...
- Matt NoveskeyMatt NoveskeyWilliam Matthew "Matt" Noveskey is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, guitarist, and bassist, best known for his work with the bands Blue October and machines.-Early life:...
- The Octopus ProjectThe Octopus ProjectThe Octopus Project is an American indietronica band based in Austin, Texas, active since 1999. Its unique sound, blending pop and experimental elements, is a combination of digital and electronic sounds and noises and analog equipment...
- Oh No! Oh My!Oh No! Oh My!-Biography:Oh No Oh My consists of multi-instrumentalists Daniel Hoxmeier, Joel Calvin, Greg Barkley, and Tim Regan. The members of Oh No Oh My started playing music when they were fourteen years old, and all of them play at least three different instruments...
- Okkervil River
- One-Eyed DollOne-Eyed DollOne-Eyed Doll is an eclectic goth punk duo based in Austin, Texas, which was voted the Best Punk Band in 2009, 2010 and 2011 at the Austin Music Awards at SXSW along with variously placing in the Top Ten in the categories of Best New Band, Best Metal Band, Best Female Vocalist, Best Guitarist, Best...
- Ephraim OwensEphraim OwensEphraim Owens is an American musician, composer, and jazz bandleader who plays trumpet and flugelhorn.Owens began playing trumpet in elementary school, after classmates urged him to join the school band. He continued his music education at the Booker T...
- Michael Scott ParkerMichael Scott ParkerMichael Scott Parker is an American musician, songwriter, and visual artist currently living in Austin, Texas. She had an international upbringing as the elder of Hollywood stuntwoman Ramsey Scott's two children...
- PeelPeel (band)-Members:*Josh Permenter: guitar, vocals*Dakota Smith: guitar, vocals*Allison Moore: keyboards, vocals*Michael Rogers: bass*Anthony Castañeda: drums-External links:* *...
- Patrice PikePatrice PikePatrice Pike is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She's been a professional musician and songwriter since she was sixteen. Billboard magazine proclaimed her "one of the finest up and coming contemporary rock singers in America"....
- PowderburnPowderburnPowderburn is an Austin, Texas-based rock band. They formed in 1998 and have released three full length CD's under independent labels. The group is one of the foremost acts in the metal scene in the city of Austin, having won several honors in the city's annual awards show, and is sponsored by...
- Toni PriceToni PriceToni Price is a country-blues singer from Austin, Texas.-Life and career:Price was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her adoptive parents, the Prices, named her Luiese Esther after her grandmothers. Her first exposure to blues was through second-generation blueswoman Bonnie Raitt...
- PushmonkeyPushmonkeyPushmonkey is an American rock band from Austin, Texas. Originally known as Billy Pilgrim, they first changed their name to Mad Hatter and later to just Hatter. The band experienced minor radio success with the song "Handslide" from their self-titled album. They appeared on Ozzfest in 1999 in...
- Quiet CompanyQuiet CompanyQuiet Company is a rock band hailing from Austin, Texas, led by former Eisley contributor Taylor Muse. Their first album, Shine Honesty, was released on March 23, 2006 by Northern Records and is distributed in the United States and Canada by RED Distribution .-Biography:Muse was on the leading...
- Reckless KellyReckless KellyReckless Kelly is a 1993 Australian comedy film written, directed and starring Yahoo Serious. The story is a satirical take on a modern day Ned Kelly who is forced to Hollywood in order to make enough money to save his family's land. As it goes against his belief, he cannot simply rob banks for...
- RecoverRecover (band)-History:Recover comprised Dan Keyes , Robert Mann , Ross Tweedy , and Santiago "Jimmy" Vela . The four first started playing together while in high school, but didn't officially form Recover until 2000. The band recorded a four-song demo in the spring of 2000...
- Luke RedfieldLuke RedfieldLuke Redfield is an American indie folk singer-songwriter. Sharing his Duluth birthplace with Bob Dylan, Redfield grew up in small-town Minnesota and Nebraska, and has since lived in Alaska, England, Scotland, Arizona, San Francisco, Nashville, and Austin, Texas.In 2008, Redfield recorded Fire...
- The ReiversThe Reivers (band)The Reivers were a pop band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1984 as Zeitgeist, they were forced to change their name before releasing their second album in 1987, due to another group claiming prior rights to the name...
- Riddlin' KidsRiddlin' KidsRiddlin' Kids was a punk rock band from Austin, Texas and was made up of Clint Baker , Dustin Stroud , Mark Johnson , and Dave Keel .- 2001-2005:...
- Carrie RodriguezCarrie RodriguezCarrie Luz Rodriguez is a Mexican-American singer-songwriter and the daughter of Texan singer-songwriter David Rodriguez and well-known Texas painter Katy Nail, and is the granddaughter of prolific Texas essayist Frances Nail. She sings and plays the fiddle, mandobird and tenor guitar...
- Bruce RobisonBruce RobisonBruce Robison is an Austin-based Texas country music singer-songwriter. Bruce and his brother, fellow singer-songwriter Charlie Robison, grew up in Bandera, Texas near San Antonio, and he currently resides in Austin, Texas...
- Calvin RussellCalvin Russell (musician)Calvin Russell was an American blues rock/roots rock singer-songwriter and guitarist.Born Calvert Russell Kosler, at the age of twelve he started to learn guitar and at thirteen joined a band called 'The Cavemen'. In 1989 he met Patrick Mathe of the French record label New Rose...
- ShearwaterShearwater (band)Shearwater is an American indie rock band formed in Austin, Texas in 1999 by Okkervil River members Jonathan Meiburg and Will Sheff, although Sheff is no longer with Shearwater.-History:...
- Bob SchneiderBob SchneiderBob Schneider is an Austin, Texas-based musician and artist. He currently resides in Bee Cave, Texas.- Early career :...
- Charlie SextonCharlie SextonCharles Wayne Sexton is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for the 1985 hit Beat's So Lonely and as the guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band from 1999 to 2002 and since 2009...
- Soul Track MindSoul Track MindSoul Track Mind is a popular music group from Austin, Texas with an original sound that blends soul, blues, r&b, funk, and jazz. The initial lineup came together in June 2008 and eventually began a weekly residency in East Austin juke joint TC's Lounge before branching out into other major...
- SoulhatSoulhatSoulhat was an American rock band from Texas. The group formed in 1990 around the nucleus of Kevin McKinney, Bill Cassis, and Brian Walsh; Barry E. "Frosty" Smith, who had previously played with Funkadelic, joined soon after. Their self-released debut followed in 1993, and was reissued after they...
- Stars of the LidStars of the LidStars of the Lid is a duo specializing in drone-based ambient music. They list among their influences minimalist and electronic composers such as Arvo Pärt, Zbigniew Preisner, Gavin Bryars, and Henryk Górecki, as well as Talk Talk , post-rock artists Labradford, and ambient innovator Brian...
- StoryvilleStoryville (band)Storyville was a blues-rock band formed in 1994 in Austin, Texas, USA. Drummer Chris Layton and bassist Tommy Shannon, former members of Arc Angels and the rhythm section for Stevie Ray Vaughan's band Double Trouble, formed the band with Malford Milligan after a jam session at Antone's...
- Sunny SweeneySunny SweeneySunny Michaela Sweeney is an American country music artist. She is signed to the Republic Nashville label. Her debut album, Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame, was issued in 2007. Although it produced three singles in "If I Could", "Ten Years Pass" and "East Texas Pines", none of these singles have charted...
- The Sword
- Owen TempleOwen TempleOwen Temple is an American folk and country music songwriter and musician based in Austin, Texas.Work with producer and pedal steel guitar musician Lloyd Maines led to 1997's General Store and 1999's Passing Through...
- Rick TrevinoRick TrevinoRicardo Treviño, Jr. , known professionally as Rick Trevino, is a Mexican American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Records in 1993, Trevino began his career that year with the release of his debut single, "Just Enough Rope", the first mainstream country music single to feature separate...
- Reed Turner
- UnderwoodUnderwoodUnderwood is a surname of English topographic origin.-History:Deriving from the Old English "under" a preposition meaning "under" or "below", plus "wuda", a wood. The name was originally given to one dwelling at the foot of a wood or literally "below the trees of a forest"...
- Kathy ValentineKathy ValentineKathy Valentine is the American bass guitarist for the all-girl rock band, The Go-Go's....
- VallejoVallejo (band)Vallejo is a rock band based in Austin, Texas, but formed in El Campo, Texas and Alabaster, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Albums include their self-titled 1997 debut and Beautiful Life released in 1998, both on the TVT label, and Into the New, released by Sony in 2000. In 2002, Vallejo...
- Jimmie VaughanJimmie VaughanJames Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
- Patricia VonnePatricia VonnePatricia Vonne is an American singer and actress.A native of San Antonio, Texas, Vonne moved to New York City in 1990-2001 to pursue her artistic ambitions. She worked extensively in Europe and America and was featured in national/international commercials, and film work...
- VoxtrotVoxtrotVoxtrot was an indie pop band from Austin, Texas, USA. Their first recordings were released in 2003 and their final shows were in June 2010.-Biography:Voxtrot was formed in Austin, Texas by singer/songwriter Ramesh Srivastava in the early 2000s...
- Jerry Jeff WalkerJerry Jeff WalkerJerry Jeff Walker is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is probably most famous for writing the song "Mr. Bojangles.-Biography:...
- WatchtowerWatchtower (band)WatchTower is an American progressive metal band based in Austin, Texas. The band were influenced by late 1970s progressive rock and acts such as Rush and UK as well as the burgeoning New Wave of British Heavy Metal...
- Dale WatsonDale Watson (singer)Dale Watson is an American alternative country/Texas Country singer, guitarist and songwriter based in Austin, Texas. He's positioned himself as a tattooed, stubbornly independent outsider who is interested in recording authentic country music...
- What Made Milwaukee FamousWhat Made Milwaukee FamousWhat Made Milwaukee Famous is an indie rock band from Austin, Texas.In 2005, WMMF performed for Austin City Limits with Franz Ferdinand, making them one of the only unsigned bands to play for the show in its -year history. In 2006, the band signed with Barsuk Records, which re-released their 2004...
- White Denim
- White Ghost ShiversWhite Ghost ShiversWhite Ghost Shivers is an eclectic American band based in Austin, Texas which claims cabaret, jazz, vaudeville, hokum, western swing, hillbilly, jugband and ragtime as its inspiration...
- Bobby WhitlockBobby WhitlockRobert Stanley 'Bobby' Whitlock is a songwriter and performer, best known as a member of Derek and the Dominos.- Biography :...
- Kelly WillisKelly WillisKelly Willis is an American country music singer-songwriter, whose music has been described as contemporary country, alternative country and new traditionalist.-Early life:...
- Carolyn WonderlandCarolyn WonderlandCarolyn Wonderland is an American blues singer, songwriter and musician. She is married to A. Whitney Brown.-Biography:Wonderland dropped out of Houston's Langham Creek High School to pursue her music ambitions...
- The Yuppie PricksThe Yuppie PricksThe Yuppie Pricks are a five-piece punk rock band from Austin, Texas. They "deal in reverse psychology punk by ironically celebrating the materialist excesses of the upwardly mobile in songs like 'Greed Is Good', 'Fraternity Days', and 'Fuck You, I’m Rich', which are tinged with old school UK punk,...
- Electric TouchElectric Touch (band)Electric Touch is a rock band from Austin, Texas. The band, consisting of Shane Lawlor on lead vocals/guitar/piano, Louis Messina Jr. on drums, Christopher Leigh on lead guitar/vocals, Portland Musser on bass, and Isaac Strycker on keys/vocals...
Musicians who previously contributed to the Austin music scene (including those who have broken up or moved from the city):
- 13th Floor Elevators13th Floor ElevatorsThe 13th Floor Elevators were an American rock band from Austin, Texas formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland, which existed from 1965 to 1969...
- Experimental AircraftExperimental aircraftAn experimental aircraft is an aircraft that has not yet been fully proven in flight. Often, this implies that new aerospace technologies are being tested on the aircraft, though the label is more broad....
- Gal's PanicGals Panic (band)Gals Panic was an Austin, Texas ska-punk band, formed in 1992. The band's name comes from the Kaneko arcade game of the same name.-Band history:...
- Glass EyeGlass Eye (band)Glass Eye were an influential art rock group based in Austin, Texas, and were primarily active from 1983 to 1993. Popular in Austin, and on the college radio and tour circuit, the band's unusual and unique musical style, blending melodic hooks with dissonance and occasional tendencies for the...
- Kellye GrayKellye GrayKellye Gray is a jazz vocalist based in Austin, Texas. A Dallas native, Gray was a fixture in Houston for several years before moving to San Francisco in 1992. Beginning her career on Austin’s Sixth Street, she provided a rare jazz experience that attracted thecollege crowd as well as the more...
- Greezy WheelsGreezy WheelsGreezy Wheels is an Austin, Texas-based rock band that formed in the 1970s. They played frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters, to the point of being regarded as the house band....
- Nanci GriffithNanci GriffithNanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
- Marc GunnMarc GunnMarc Gunn is a musician and podcaster. As the autoharp-playing half of the Brobdingnagian Bards, Gunn and partner Andrew McKee developed a following with weekly performances on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. This led to gigs at renaissance faires, science fiction conventions, and...
- The Impossibles
- Daniel JohnstonDaniel JohnstonDaniel Dale Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in Waller, Texas....
- Charlie RobisonCharlie RobisonCharles Fitzgerald "Charlie" Robison is an Texas Country singer/songwriter, who was raised in Bandera, Texas. His brother is singer/songwriter Bruce Robison...
- Scratch AcidScratch AcidScratch Acid was an Austin, Texas noise rock group formed in 1982. When they first began, their lineup was Steve Anderson , David Wm. Sims , Brett Bradford , David Yow , and Rey Washam and Win Vitosky...
- Sound TeamSound TeamSound Team was an American band based in Austin, Texas that formed in 2000 around principal songwriters Bill Baird and Matt Oliver. For most of their recording career, Sound Team consisted of Bill Baird , Matt Oliver , Jordan Johns , Sam Sanford , Michael Baird and Gabe Pearlman...
- SpoonSpoon (band)Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...
- The SwordThe SwordThe Sword is an American heavy metal band that formed in Austin, Texas, in 2003. Since its inception the band has comprised vocalist and guitarist John D. Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt and bassist Bryan Richie, and currently includes touring drummer Jimmy Vela following Trivett Wingo's departure in...
- Thirteen of Everything
- Two Nice GirlsTwo Nice GirlsTwo Nice Girls were a self-styled "lesbian rock" band from Austin, Texas, featuring singer-songwriter Gretchen Phillips.The group's original line up was*Gretchen Phillips - guitar, bass, mandolin and vocals...
- Union Jack and the MegatonesUnion Jack and the MegatonesUnion Jack and the Megatones were an US band which gained popularity during the third wave of ska in the late 1990s in the Austin, Texas area. They hailed from Cedar Park and Leander, Texas and were known regionally as the "first ska band from Cedar Park"...
- UnlocoUnlocoUnloco was an alternative metal/hard rock band formed in Austin, Texas.-History:Unloco was formed in 2000 by frontman Joey Duenas...
- Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!Volcano, I'm Still Excited!! was an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York . The band's name was reportedly inspired by the Tom Hanks film Joe Versus the Volcano, though the band has never revealed the inspiration for the name.-History:The band's beginnings can be traced back to 1998...
- Western KeysWestern KeysWestern Keys is a band from Austin, Texas, led by singer Ben Dickey. Their first CD, Damage, was written in a few weeks and released on The Self-Starter Foundation on 10 September 2002. This EP featured seven songs, which has been categorized as alt-country or indie...
- WideawakeWideawakeWideawake is an American alternative rock band from Austin, Texas. Their songs have been heard on One Tree Hill , Dawson's Creek and The Ring...
- Lucinda WilliamsLucinda WilliamsLucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
- ZykosZykosZykos is an American indie rock band from Austin, Texas. The band has released two albums, and is signed to Austin-based Post-Parlo Records and have toured with TV on the Radio, Interpol, Okkervil River and others.-Discography:...
Deceased Austin musicians include:
- Stephen BrutonStephen Bruton-Background:Born in Wilmington, Delaware as Turner Stephen Bruton, he moved with his family to Texas at the age of two. He fell into the Fort Worth music scene after graduating from Texas Christian University when he joined Kris Kristofferson's band as the latter's career was about to take off;...
- Janis JoplinJanis JoplinJanis Lyn Joplin was an American singer, songwriter, painter, dancer and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist with her backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band...
- Doug SahmDoug SahmDouglas Wayne Sahm , was an American musician from Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he was a child prodigy in country music, but became a significant figure in blues rock and other genres. Today Sahm is considered one of the most important figures in what is identified as Tejano music...
- Randy TurnerRandy TurnerRandy J. "Biscuit" Turner was an American punk singer and artist. He was born in Gladewater, Texas. He was the lead singer for the seminal hardcore punk band Big Boys, formed in Austin in the 1970s....
AKA Biscuit - Stevie Ray VaughanStevie Ray VaughanStephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
- Don WalserDon WalserDonald Ray Walser was an American country music singer. He was known as a unique, award-winning yodeling "Texas country music legend."- Music career :...
- Gene Ramey
- Jesse James
- Champ Hood
- Alex Napier
- Pee Wee Crayton
- Teddy Wilson
- Kenny Dorham
- Jimmy Day
The Austin Music Memorial, at the Joe and Teresa Long Center, honors those who have contributed to the development of the Austin music community.
See also
- List of radio stations in Austin