The Club & Music Scene

The appearance of country-and-western "outlaw" Willie Nelson at the Armadillo World Headquarters in 1972 united hippies and rednecks in a common musical cause, and is often credited with the birth of the live-music scene on Austin's Sixth Street. The city has since become an incubator for a wonderfully vital, crossbred alternative sound that mixes rock, country, folk, blues, punk, and tejano. Although the Armadillo is now defunct, live music in Austin is very much alive, just more geographically diffuse. There's always something happening downtown on Sixth Street or in the Warehouse District, and, most recently, on the stretch of Red River between 6th and 10th streets. Some venues, like the Continental Club, have long been outposts, while others, like the Backyard, have extended the boundaries of Austin's musical terrain. It's best to have fun and poke around, as you can never tell which dive might turn up the latest talent (Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, among many others, all played local gigs). If you're here during SXSW, you'll see the town turn into one huge, music-mad party.

Note: Categories of clubs in a city known for crossover are often very rough approximations, so those that completely defy typecasting are dubbed "eclectic." Cover charges range from $5 to $15 for well-liked local bands. Note, too, that in addition to the clubs, several restaurants including Threadgill's and Manuel's, offer live music regularly.

Label It Successful -- Austin's SxSW

Started in 1987 as a way to showcase unsigned Texas bands, SxSW soon became the place for fledgling musicians from around the world to come to schmooze music-industry bigwigs. In the mid-1990s, film and interactive (high-tech and Internet) components were added to the event, and now they're almost as important as the original musical showcases. A list of festival participants could easily be mistaken for a Rolling Stone or People magazine table of contents.

Even if you're not looking to make it in the music, film, or Internet industries, this is still the hottest conference ticket around. Programs might include as many as 60 panels and workshops and 900 musical appearances at more than 40 venues around town. Prices for 2006 range from $150 (if you register early for the film or interactive aspects alone) to $810 for the walk-up Platinum rate, which affords access to all conference and music events.

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media Conference & Festival (its full name) is held during UT's spring break, usually the third week of March. For current schedules and speakers/performers, check the website at www.sxsw.com or call tel. 512/467-7979.

Girl Power -- The Austin sound may have long been dominated by names like Willie, Stevie Ray, and Jerry Jeff (Janis was a too-brief blip on the all-male radar screen), but that's changing. Austin is now becoming known as the home of such prominent female performers as Sara Hickman, Shawn Colvin, Patrice Pike, Kelly Willis, Eliza Gilkyson, and the Dixie Chicks.

Smoking in Austin's Clubs

At the time of this writing, the legality and enforcement of a total smoking ban for Austin are, shall we say, swirling in the air. In September of 2004, the City Council approved a smoking ban that required restaurants and clubs to acquire city permits to allow smoking. To get the permit owners had to show that they had proper ventilation and designated no smoking areas. In September of 2005, an outright ban on smoking was instituted after a voter referendum was narrowly passed. A year later, a Judge has struck down the ban because of vague wording and because it penalized club owners rather than smokers. Since the ban was ruled unconstitutional, smokers have surreptitiously been lighting up, and law enforcement has turned a blind eye . . . so far. This is a fluid situation and will probably remain so until the city's appeal is heard.