Whatever style of music y’all are into, Austin has you covered. From rock to rap, county to jazz, blues to bluegrass. Austin is the live music capital of the world, and that means you don’t need to be here for a festival live SXSW or ACL. Austin has well over 200 live music venues, so y’all can find fire any night of the week. So get off your ass and see some live music tonight!
Antone’s Nightclub
Antone’s is the home of Blues in Austin. Operating since 1975 (now in a new location – but every bit as good). Antone’s helped raise some of Austin’s heros, like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Gary Clark Junior. Pretty much everybody who’s anybody in blues has graced its stage over the years, including legends like James Brown, BB King, Muddy Waters, and Eric Clapton. If you go there tonight, you’ll see the next generation of blues legends in their prime.
Location : 305 E 5th Street, Austin, TX 78701
Shows : https://www.eventbrite.com/o/antones-nightclub-18310244748
Stubb’s
Stubb’s recipe for success is pretty simple, cold beer, great bar-b-que, and live music. And man, has it seen some live music. All the same blues greats that played Antone’s played for their supper at Stubb’s too. But it’s not just blues at Stubb’s. This venue has been home to some of the great shows from a really wide range of Artists from Johnny Cash, Ween, Matisyahu, and 21 Pilots. There is even a regular Sunday Gospel brunch.
Location : 801 Red River St, Austin
Shows : https://www.stubbsaustin.com/concert-listings
Mohawk
Mohawk is the place to see something a little more hardcore. Actually, you can get anything from metal to emo at Mohawk. It’s built around the philosophy of ‘all are welcome,’ which extends to the music and the patrons, but it’s known as a rock/punk venue. This is a great place to see great bands.
Location : 912 Red River St, Austin
Shows : https://mohawkaustin.com/
The Continental Club
Operating since 1955 on South Congress Ave, the famous Continental club has been one of the best live music venues in America for more than 50 years. Now known for its Americana and Bluegrass shows, but there is plenty of variety, blues, folk, soul, and rock all compete for spots in this astonishing venue. This is a place bands want to play, so they see plenty of great acts, and it’s open 7 days a week, so you can always get your fix.
Location : 1315 S Congress Ave, Austin
Shows : https://continentalclub.com/austin
Broken Spoke
The Broken Spoke is a Texas icon. This place is a really good time whether you’re a country music lover or you just want a taste of old Texas. There’s dance lessons, a live band every night, great food and cold beer. It’s also got some seriously talented country musicians playing original music you can dance to. The Broken Spoke is after all a dance hall.
Location : 3201 South Lamar Boulevard, AUSTIN
Website : https://www.brokenspokeaustintx.net/
Austin City Limits Live At The Moody Theatre
America’s longest running music show is recorded live at The Moody Theatre and brings some of the Worlds best artists to perform in Austin. Tickets are hard to get but worth it if you can get your hands on them.
Location : 310 W Willie Nelson Blvd, Austin
Shows : https://acl-live.com/calendar
Hole in The Wall
Hole in the Wall is a favourite place to play for up and coming local bands, and thanks to its location next to UT, it’s a popular place to for college kids to see live bands. Hole in the Wall has seen most of Austin’s homegrown acts perform on their stage since they opened in 1974.
Location : 2538 Guadalupe St, Austin
Shows : https://www.holeinthewallaustin.com/calendar
The Parish
The Parish is a 6th Street institution. It’s a great place to see live music or comedy. With one of the best sound set ups anywhere and a really intimate feeling this venue is a the perfect place to see your new favorite band. The Parish has a wide variety of music acts from jazz to rock, rap, bluegrass, indie – you’ll see pretty much anything and everything Austin has to offer.
Location : 214 E 6th St, Austin
Shows : https://parishaustin.com/calendar/
Empire Control Room & Garage
Another can’t miss downtown Austin venue is Empire Control Room and Garage. This place has seen some stunning shows, and there’s no reason you can’t be at the next one. It’s actually three venues in one with an outdoor stage, the Garage, and Control Room. Aiming to deliver the feeling of a warehouse party but with excellent sound quality. you’d have to say they deliver. This place is awesome and anyone who’s visited Austin should have a story about that night at the Empire Control Room. If not you need to visit again and make those memories.
Location : 606 E. 7th street, Austin TX
Shows : https://empireatx.com/
Hotel Vegas
Hotel Vegas is neither a hotel, nor in Las Vegas. It is however, an Austin icon. Offering live music and DJ’s 6 nights a week, from a great location in East Austin. They have indoor and outdoor stages, most shows are outdoors at the moment due to Covid. The bar has a really eclectic vibe, great food and cocktails and a happy hour that’s 2 hours long. Famous for its great sound, this place can get pretty loud!
Location : 1502 E. 6th Street Austin
Shows : https://texashotelvegas.com/calendar/
Emo’s
Emo’s is a larger venue holding about 1700 people, so considerably larger than most of the clubs in Austin. Owned and run by C3 Presents (The peeps behind Austin City Limits Festival) it gets some great touring bands as well as local acts. Emo’s is an awesome place to see your favorite band perform in Austin.
Location : 2015 E Riverside Drive Austin
Shows : https://www.emosaustin.com/events-calendar