There is nothing more hip than complaining about what Lower Broadway has turned into over the last half decade or so. But the situation could be so much incredibly worse. It could be 6th Street in Austin, which is supposed to be the entertainment epicenter of the “Live Music Capital of the World.”
t seems like the Nashville country music machine is obsessed with integrating the Austin and Texas market into their slimy, scuzzy sphere of influence. They’ve already secured such an iron grip on the Nashville music industry with their greedy and malevolent suction cup-lined mandibles.
The good news is that nobody was killed. But for the 13 injured and the two currently in critical condition—and everyone else in Austin’s iconic 6th Street entertainment district Friday night (6/12) trying to enjoy an evening out—it was a nightmare scenario nonetheless.
The Broken Spoke honky tonk is just about the most authentic thing you can still find within the city limits of Austin, TX. And now it’s long-time owner, mascot, patron saint, and a man that has been a major booster for music in the region and the stepping stone for many major careers has passed on.
The 70-minute film ‘Nothing Stays The Same: The Story of the Saxon Pub’ might be about a specific venue in Austin. But even if you’ve never been to Austin, the film offers a great encapsulation of why it’s so critical to preserve these performance spaces.
Though we’ll never forget, it will be impossible to not remember all those good times Jerry Jeff afforded us, and feel a rush of incredible sadness proportionate to the impact Jerry Jeff Walker had on music, and people, and places, which was infinite.
A pioneer of Austin’s progressive country scene, as well as respected songwriter and country music personality Doak Snead has passed on. A member of the duo Tom and Billy, and later the leader of the Doak Snead Band, he was a staple and regular opener at Austin’s legendary Armadillo World Headquarters.
For 30 years Austin has been officially nicknamed the Live Music Capital of the World. However for years the city’s music scene has been experiencing dramatic contraction, and now with a mediocre COVID-19 response, it could lose the moniker.
Ryman Hospitality Properties, which owns The Grand Ole Opry, The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, as well as numerous other important music properties in Nashville and beyond, has struck a deal to purchase the 37-story, full city block-sized mixed-use complex in downtown Austin along second street known as Block 21.
Croy and the Boys are the true sound of Austin, TX paid forward over the decades, with the permanent stench of the honky tonks soiling their pearl snap shirts, and the 10,000 hours spent twirling the shit kickers of central Texas around dance floors logged and certified, thank you very much.
Dale Watson was the face of the music scene, and not just in country and roots. Whenever there was a charity function involving music, a car dealership opening, or just about anything having to do with the city, Dale Watson seemed to be there. He was Austin’s music’s mascot.
Yes, Yes, and Yes! On Thursday (1-11), the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville announced their newest major exhibit to open on May 25th, 2018. Not just part of the regular rotation of smaller exhibits, the major exhibit creates the cornerstone for the museum’s focus for the next few years.
If you’re one who finds yourself enamored with the Texoma music scene, then you most certainly have an opinion on Koe Wetzel, one way or the other. And that opinion is also probably pretty fiery, no matter how it falls. And if you don’t have an opinion or don’t even know who he is yet, then you soon will, because he’s not going anywhere.
It’s like 2016 all over again, only centralized in its grief in the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin, Texas. In a span of a few hours, the city, and music, lost two titans that may not rise to the recognition of household names across America, but were seminal to the sound and influence that Austin music is known for.
Whitney Rose has relocated to Austin and can be regularly seen playing the famous haunts in the heart of Texas such as Austin’s Continental Club, and Luckenbach. Whitney Rose’s new EP ‘South Texas Suite’ finds her standing on her own two feet as producer, not just songwriter, and putting together what is tantamount to a love letter to her newfound home.
Legendary rockabilly and Western swing guitarist Tommy Allsup passed away on Wednesday, January 11th according to his son Austin Allsup. The 85-year-old had been placed in Intensive Care earlier this month. No funeral arrangements have been made at the moment, but the family is asking for continued prayers.
Famous director Terrence Malick is getting set to release a new movie on March 17th (when Austin’s SXSW is raging) called Song To Song starring Ryan Gosling and Natalie Portman. The movie is centered around the Austin music scene, with a heavy musical component to the film. Many big-time music names appear in the movie, but none from Austin.
One woman is dead, and four others are injured after a shooter opened fire in Austin, TX’s popular 6th Street district—the heart of the Live Music Capital of the World. The suspect is still at large. The suspect opened fire at approximately 2:17 a.m. Sunday morning, right after Austin’s bars close and 6th Street is usually at its most crowded.
It says a lot about where country music is, and where Wheeler Walker Jr. is going, that his show at Austin’s new Grizzly Hall was one of the most highly-anticipated country shows in Austin in months. Bloggers, radio DJ’s, and even Texas country artist Sam Riggs turned out to see what all of the hype was about surrounding the country’s newest raunch artist.
Sturgill Simpson embarked on the second night of a two-night sold-out stop at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin, on Friday (5-6). It was the second night on his current tour, and one of the first glimpses of what fans can expect from an expanded lineup, and a new sound that veers slightly away from the country style Sturgill’s career has been known for up to this point.
There’s no more hypothesizing what Austin might look like if the music scene is bled out of its system. All you have to do is walk down 7th Street or Red River to see it. So will the solutions be small baby steps that look to support the dwindling artists and infrastructure that’s still left? Or will there be big proposals and bold plans that not only fix Austin music, but fix Austin in general?
For the past few years, if you truly wanted to get a snoot full of an authentic Texas country experience, you sought out a show from the Austin-based country-fried Outlaw Conjunto band called the Crooks. Originally formed as a two piece in 2007 around the songs of frontman Josh Mazour, over the years it has slowly morphed into one of the coolest live country music experiences you can find.
David Rodriguez, a beloved and influential Texas singer, songwriter, poet, and part of an extended musical family, passed away on Monday (10-26) at his home in the Netherlands according to his family. He was 63-years-old. Word quickly spread around the Austin and Texas songwriter community, and the Rodriguez-influenced Lyle Lovett dedicated his final song to Rodriguez at his show at Austin’s Paramount Theatre.
Though decibel levels might be set-in-stone benchmarks, they can’t measure the historic precedent a music venue like Gruene Hall presents, or the spirit of the live performance, reading a crowd, and seizing the moment to deliver a memorable performance. It was Hank Williams playing six encores in 1949 on the Grand Ole Opry stage that launched his career, and country music itself, to superstardom.