Austin, Texas "Live Music Capitol of the World"
Texans love to say that "everything’s bigger in Texas" and with regards to music, it’s the truth.
Austin proudly maintains a long-standing musical tradition, and in 1991, "The Live Music Capitol of the World" became the city’s official slogan.
On practically and given night of the year, you can find live music of almost every possible type. With more than one hundred, Austin has more live music venues per capita than Nashville, New York City, and other renowned "music" cities.
The pulsing heart of Austin’s music scene beats in the internationally-known Sixth Street, but the city also features numerous clubs recognized for promoting live music.
Austin City Limits (ACL) is the longest running concert music program in America, and is the only television show ever to receive the National Medal of Arts. The show features various genres of music, including featuring country, blues, jazz, and alternative rock.
The program spawned its own annual festival – the three-day Austin City Limits Music Festival held annually in Zilker Park. The Festival features eight-stages with a line-up of 130 bands of all types including rock, hip-hop, bluegrass, country, folk, indie, Americana, reggae, and bluegrass.
With crowds of about 65,000 fans visiting the eight stages each day, the event has become one the nation’s premier rock festivals.
Austin also hosts the annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference and Festival (SXSW) - one of the largest music festivals in the United States. Now celebrating its 20th year, event has evolved into an interactive, film and music conference.
More than one thousand performers take to scores of stages throughout downtown Austin each March, bringing 10,000 visitors to the city.
For a nightly listing of bands and venues, visit the Austin Chronicle’s online listing.
