Those who have lived in Austin for the past few decades (like me 😊) have watched Austin’s music scene go through many evolutions. In the 1950’s, most of the music played here was country with a little jazz mixed in. Did you know that Hank Williams’ last performance was at the Skyline Lounge on North Lamar? Yep, he had played the Skyline, and then left to head to his next gig in Charlston, West Virginia, but that event was cancelled due to bad weather. He was on the way to play in Canton, Ohio instead when he died in the back seat of his car in West Virginia on January 1, 1953.
Anyway back to Austin….my youth is full of memories of honky tonks like The Split Rail on South Lamar, Soap Creek Saloon off Walsh Tarlton in Westlake (extra credit if you know where it was on today’s map), and of course the iconic Broken Spoke. Traditional country music evolved to “progressive country” when Willie Nelson and other names like Waylon Jennings, Gary P. Nunn, Jerry Jeff Walker, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Michael Murphy, Blaze Foley and Doug Sahm kicked it up a notch by weaving more electric instruments and rock beats into the music. The music venue du jour was the Armadillo World Headquarters where the big crowds gathered, but smaller venues like Threadgill’s, Hole in the Wall, Stubbs, Rome Inn, Ginny’s Little Longhorn and many others still held their own with the overwhelming local talent available. In a class by itself was Antone’s, first on Guadalupe near 29th Street, now on 5th at Trinity St (now owned by famous Austinite and blues guitarist Gary Clark, Jr….a fellow Austin High Maroon…Loyal Forever!).
Some say this was the Austin Sound, and many also say the Austin Sound began with the rise of the first bars on the newly gentrified Sixth Street like Steamboat, Maggie Mae’s, and Paradise.
In the early 1980’s, the sound morphed into a sort of bluesy rock with hints of country. Musicians like Bonnie Raitt, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmy LaFave, Charlie Sexton, Marcia Ball, Bob Schneider and the incredible Stevie Ray Vaughn brought the blues guitar front and center and created a sound that spread like wildfire. I’ll never forget the night a friend of mine dragged me down to Steamboat on 6th Street in 1980 to see a young locally known guitarist play…. Stevie Ray electrified the audience and hooked me to the blues forever.
And you can’t ignore the events and happenings that drove the music not only into the music world, but across the country and across the oceans. Who can forget the insane 4th of July birthday parties thrown by Willie? The Battle of the Bands at the Dillo? The Dripping Springs Reunion in ‘72 (which was a total flop), Or the advent of Austin City Limits as a TV show and a way to expose the Austin Sound to everyone? Or Aqua Fest and the different culture nights with music ranging from Tejano to Polka? And modern events like SXSW and the ACL Music Festival that draw an international audience?
Yep, the Austin Sound is real, and Austin is absolutely in the eye of the musical hurricane. Will it last, with cost of living skyrocketing, lack of affordable housing, rising cost of healthcare (shout out here to HAAM); insanely high ticket prices, and the closing of some of the famous venues like Liberty Lunch, the Dillo, Steamboat, Threadgill’s, Rome Inn (now a burned-down Texas French Bread)? Who knows? But I can tell you this, with an incredibly rich history, it won’t go down easy. Personally, I think it’s here forever, and due for another evolution. It’s too big a part of who we are as a city and a culture. My only hope is that it stays true to its roots and doesn’t forget where it came from. (Note: In the interest of saving space I left out dozens of people, places and events. Don’t shoot the piano player!)
