Austin TX

[jallenbass]

We are tentatively planning a trip to Austin at the end of March. Any suggestions for the best places to go to hear music? I know that there are about 100 different places in the Live Music Capitol but I wouldn't mind narrowing that number down just a little. The only style that we aren't too interested in would be C&W. But, if there is something that we shouldn't miss in that genre then by all means. Also, any non-musical suggestions are welcome. Lodging recommendations too.

[txstatebass]

Haybale at the Continental Club on Sundays. Check out the Broken Spoke as well. Enjoy my fair city!

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by txstatebass

Haybale at the Continental Club on Sundays. Check out the Broken Spoke as well. Enjoy my fair city!

Oh yeah! Haybale is Redd's band, right?

[eekmeg]

Go to the Elephant Room. Best jazz club in town. You can catch some phenomenal music there. A walk down 6th street will yeild many blues bands; crappy to slightly better than crappy. Most clubs on Red River are going to have heavier bands. You can usually catch some good music at Saxon Pub and MOMO's. If you want, PM me and I'll send you some links to those clubs.

[jallenbass]

Thanks much for the recommendations. When looking for a place to stay all of the downtown places tout being close to 6th St but that doesn't sound like the best place to walk around to find something. Any other general areas that are better?

[salcott]

Ginny's Little Longhorn (esp Sundays w/Dale Watson), see if Justin Trevino is playing anywhere.

[John Bigboote]

Don't know how long you'll be in town, or what your budget is. Yes, downtown or S. Congress are your best bets if you want to be in walking distance to anything. There's a little boutique hotel on S. Congress right across the street from the Continental Club. Can't remember its name at the moment, but it gets high marks, and is a good base of operations. Don't wait to make a reservation. The Driscoll is sort of the grande old dame of Austin hotels; I've loved staying there in the past, but it's been a decade or more since, so I can't vouch for its current condition, service or prices. It's right on E. Sixth St., so also a good base, but parking is a real hassle.

Sixth St. on a Friday or Saturday is not to be missed. It had slumped for a while, but we were back last April, and I couldn't believe how packed and fun it was. Don't like the music in one place? Walk next door. Repeat until you're happy. PDX *really* needs a bar/club district like that. I found all the bands good; seems to me you can't be mediocre or crappy and survive in a hugely competitive environment like that.

Other places to hit depending on their calendars: Antone's, Stubb's. Go to Threadgill's on N. Lamar for the chicken-fried steak. Yeah, Janis used to perform there. Get a jalapeno burger at Martin's/Dirty's where Nueces meets Guadalupe. Check out the bats.

HTH,

-jb

[jallenbass]

So downtown lodging is all booked up due to SXSW. Best to stay north or south of downtown?

[John Bigboote]

Originally Posted by jallenbass

So downtown lodging is all booked up due to SXSW. Best to stay north or south of downtown?

Crikey, SXSW. Should have put two and two together.

Er... there's a bunch of newer hotels near the Arboretum, by the intersection of 183 and 360 and MoPac (15-minute drive north of DT off rush hour), but that puts you at the opposite end of town from the airport. Other (older) hotels near IH-35 and 183 (10-minute drive)... but yeah, I reckon anything within three to five miles of downtown has been booked for a while.

Well, the good news is, you won't have to look too hard to find some live music! Did you check the SXSW site? Might have some lodging recommendations...

-jb

[ctxbass]

Originally Posted by jallenbass

So downtown lodging is all booked up due to SXSW. Best to stay north or south of downtown?

SXSW... Best to stay away. Come when Austin is business as usual.

[jallenbass]

SXSW will only be going on for the first few days of our visit. We'll plan on doing some hiking and canoeing first.

[5StringBlues]

Like the blues? See if Alan Haynes is playing anywhere while you are in town.

[Pat Harris]

As previously stated, the Elephant Room is Austin's *only* jazz club. There is a $5 cover on Fridays and Saturdays otherwise it's free admission. Other venues that have consistently good music: Saxon Pub, Continental Club, Cactus Cafe.

If you're looking for quality music, 6th Street isn't the place. There are some great bands that grace those stages, but you really have to do some digging, and it's mostly about the college bar scene down there. I would suggest looking at http://www.austinchronicle.com/ once you get into town for a complete listing of who is playing on any given night. I'm not sure, but the symphony may be performing when you're in town depending on the dates.

If you're a beer guy, you should definitely check out the Ginger Man.

Other places of interest/tourist destinations - Whole Foods, Waterloo Records, The Salt Lick (outside of town), Texas State Capital, and the list could go on and on.

[jallenbass]

I knew I could count on TB to separate the wheat from the chaff. Thanks much everyone.

[AlanBartram]

Check out the One World Theatre. Great, intimate venue. Not sure who's playing while you're there but it would be worth looking in to.

[Moe Monsarrat]

My GF owns a club (The Flamingo Cantina 515 E.6th) that specializes in world beat music-reggae music. Shows run nightly from Wed.-Sat. She's been there 18 years, one of the oldest clubs in the district. Drop by & say hello. We play every Wednesday night for free. Love to have you. BTW we counted the number of live music venues in Austin that have live music at least 4 days a week a few years ago.....243.

[jallenbass]

Cool. Thanks. Sounds like fun. We'll try to stop by on Wednesday.

[wideyes]

Update: if you're still reading this, check out the One2One bar at 5th and Brazos. Of all the bars on or near the drag, they most consistently have music I think is worth giving a listen.