h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Austin is home to some of the very, very best of American music. I am led to believe that it has one of the liveliest music scenes in the country.

I could mention Joe Ely, Flaco Jimenez and possible a few others (Joe "King" Carrasco) but I'm no expert. Perhaps a researcher from Austin could help fill out this entry.

From Distant Shores

BTW I know that Joe Ely hails from Lubbock but I believe that he is part of the Austin scene.

The music scene in Austin largely runs along 6th Street, which may not be the largest party district in the United States for sheer size, but makes up for it in quality.

The television show "Austin City Limits", which airs on PBS, is filmed in Austin, and perhaps the longest-running musical show in America today. And it's all blues and/or rock music.

Please do not forget Jimmy Vaughan and (RIP) Stevie Ray Vaughan, two of the most influential of Austin's musical sons.

When I think of Austin (where I've never been), the Vaughan brothers almost immediately come to my mind.

As someone who relocated to Austin just over a year ago (from London), I have to say that its (presumably) self imposed title of 'Live music capital of the world' is slightly overblown, but in this case there really is a grain of truth in the exagerration. There's no doubt that the kind of music to come from here is distinctly blues/country tinged, and as that kind of music has little interest for me, I thought I was going to be in a cultural desert. I was wrong. Reggae, for instance, is huge here. The night after I arrived, The Mighty Diamonds played. Burning Spear, Lee Perry, and Toots and The Maytals have all been here at least once since then. My passion is classical music, and there is plenty of that here too, including a wonderful radio station called KMFA - one of a handful of radio stations across the country which is entirely funded by members, trusts, and grants - i.e. it's not part of the PBS network. And Tom Waits (blessed be his name for he is the one true God may his tribe increase) chose the annual South by Southwest festival last year for his first live show in many many moons, and the kickoff for his Mule Variations tour. If it weren't for that show, I wouldn't be here.... but that's a whole nother story

Austin's claim to be the "Live Music Capital of the World" may be overblown a little, but I have yet to find another city that could claim the title. Only in Austin have I had trouble finding a place I could drink a beer and not listen to a band. Even the airport has live music, for Pete's sake.

It depends how you look at it guess - in London, I know that I had access to much more, and a wider range of music than in Austin (and the same could probably said of NYC), but then London is a city of 12,000,000 or so people and is a capital city, so has world class venues like The Royal Opera House, The Royal Festival Hall, The Royal Albert Hall, and countless other venues to see every kind of music imaginable, even at the local pub. Austin probably has more live music per head of population. But then again, there's Nashville, or New Orleans......

For reggae fans, nothing beats the annual Bob Marley Fest! Held on Auditorium Shores every April, this year the Fest starts Saturday, April 16 and end the following day. Az One, D.R.U.M., Tribal Nation and many other bands converge on the south shore of Town Lake to celebrate the life and music of reggae's most famous son. $7 and two cans of non-perishable food items, which all benefits the Capitol Area Food Bank, are all that is required to enjoy a full day of good music, food, Shiner Bock and plenty of friends. See you there!

Well, if you arrived in Austin in 1999, you arrived just as the title was being threatened by the noise ordinance, which is so vaguely worded that it was conceivably possible for members of the Austin Police Department to take a decibel meter right up to speakers inside a club.

The main reason for Austin's title of "Live Music Capitol of the World" is South by Southwest (aka SXSW), which has been slowly floundering since the noise ordinance was passed, but is still managing to struggle along.