Austin Music Timeline (1900's-present)

From Threadgills to The Armadillo World Headquarters there was something about Austin that hit a magical note. A city rich with culture and diversity, A city that attracted artists and hippies alike. A place where one can hear live music in the air from all corners of the city every night of the week. A place that attracts tourists from all corners of the globe.To experience it. To live it.

I came to Austin at the ripe age of 15 in 1989 and I experienced and learned much about the people, the music and the legends. Austin was a magical city to me, full of talented people with a unique counterculture that opened my eyes to a whole other world. I had the pleasure in seeing greats such as Stevie Ray Vaughn at the Austin Aqua Fest, Joe Rock Head (headed by local icon, Bob Snieder) at Steamboat, Storyville at Antones, Ian Moore at Stubbs and The Arc Angels at the Backyard. Not to mention traveling tours that came through to play at legendary venues like Liberty Lunch, Southpark Meadows outdoor venue, Black Cat Lounge, White Rabbit and Emos . All were a part of my musical upbringing in Austin and the experience would change me forever.

Here is a timeline that represents a little history of Austin's Music and some of the people that helped make it the "Live Music Capital of the World."

1900's

(1903-1996) Roosevelt Thomas "The Grey Ghost"

• Founding Father of blues in Austin
• 1988 Texas Music Hall of Fame winner
• Known for his "Barrel House Blues"

(1910-1986) Teddy Wilson

• Born in Austin and became noted as the most influential jazz pianist of all time.
• Played with Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald.

1920's

(1929) The Ritz opens

• Opens as a segregated movie theater with a back entrance reserved for people of color and later closed in 1964.
• Opens its doors shortly again in October of 1974 to 1975 as a music venue and movie theater.
• In 1981, managed under Carrie Underwood, opened its doors as a Punk Rock venue housing many national talents in the hardcore/punk scene such as Black Flag, The Misfits, Husker Du, The Circle Jerks, Dead Kennedys and Minor Threat. This introduced a whole new wave in the punk scene growing in Austin.
• Closed again in 1982 and has since been a pool hall, bar and music venue until 2007, when local company and theater, The Alamo Drafthouse, took over the lease and brought it back to its roots.

1930's

(1933) Threadgills opens

• First opens as a service station and local hang out for traveling musicians
• Had nightly jam sessions including legendary Jimmie Rodgers
• Later became a favorite local hang out to Janis Joplin

1940's

(1940-1999) Liberty Lunch opens its doors

• Opened as an eatery in 1940 and later evolved into a live music venue in the 70's featuring all genres of music from Rock, Ska, Punk and Country. Sadly, it was forced to shut its doors in 1999 due to Austin's Downtown redevelopment of the late 1990's.

(1948) Rev. Albert Lavada Durst becomes first African American disc jockey on KVET, Austin's own radio station.

• After joining forces with KVET owner, Jim Connally in the mid 1940's opened the station to African American and Mexican American broadcasts.
• Known as the jive talking 'Hep Cat' on his radio show entitled the Rosewood Ramble, he became popular with college students introducing them to Jazz and Rhythm and Blues.
• In 1978, Warner Brothers trade magazine recognized him as the inventor of Rock and Roll radio.

(1945) Victory Grill opens

• Noted as the 'Juke Joint' that became a noted venue along the "Chitlin Circuit"
• Hosted musicians such as B.B King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Big Joe Williams and a host of local greats such as Blues Boy Hubbard, T.D. Bell and Erbie Bowser.
• Artists like Billie Holiday and later Janis Joplin made the grill a regular stop when in the city, as it was a gathering place for musicians of all walks of life.

(1949) Nash Hernandez Orchestra Band was formed

• Began with all Hispanic band members
• Nash Hernandez, who became a local charitable icon was named Ambassador of Goodwill in 1975 and later was inducted in the Austin Music Hall of Fame in 1999.

1950's

(1957) Continental Club Opens

• Opens as a swank private supper club entertaining guests and with touring groups such as Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller.
• Today, it is known as one of Austin's oldest standing venues still hosting local and touring greats.

1960's

(1964) Broken Spoke opens

• Opens as a Country music dance hall and by 1966 was booking headliners such as legendary Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff, Hank Thompson, Tex Ritter, Ray Price, Kitty Wells, Grandpa Jones, George Strait and Willie Nelson.

(1965) Roky Erickson founded 13th Floor Elevators

• Austin's first local Psychedelic Rock band to get national attention.
• Roky Erickson is known as one of the pioneers of Psychedelic Rock.

(1967-1970) Vulcan Gas Company Opens

• Became first successful psychedelic music venue in Austin
• local bands such as legendary Shiva's Headband and 13th Floor Elevators were notably frequent gigs.

1970's

(1970-1980) Armadillo World Headquarters opens its doors

• Followed the legacy of The Vulcan Gas Company, put Austin back on the map as a renowned musical city.
• The blend of Country and Rock music that played began an 'Austin sound' that booked headliners such as Frank Zappa, ZZ TOP, Bruce Springsteen and AC/DC.

(1975) Antones opens its doors

• Founded by legendary promoter, Clifford Antone who helped launch the careers of Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Ian Moore, Los Lonely Boys, Arc Angels and more.
• Also, hosted legendary Blues greats such as Pinetop Perkins, James Cotton and B.B King

(1976) Austin City Limits TV show airs

• Becomes longest running music show in history
• The studio becomes a landmark inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009

(1977) The Frank Erwin Center opens

• Becomes Austin's largest venue

(1977) Steamboat opens on 6th Street

• Becomes a hot local venue for popular local musicians in the 80's and 90's such as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Pushmonkey, Steamroller, Soulhat, Vallejo and Joe Rock Head.

(1978) Austin's Punk/Alternative scene emerges.

• Club Foot opens its Doors on the corner of Brazos and 4th serving up an emerging punk scene.
• Raul's became a local hangout, hosting local emerging favorites such as The Skunks with the legendary Austin's godfather of punk, Jesse Sublett and the Violators who consisted of later GO-GO's bassist Kathy Valentine.

1980's

(1982) Waterloo Records opens

• Awarded "Best Record Store" in the Austin Chronicle's 'Best of Austin' awards nearly every year since it opened.
• listed as an iconic music store and one of the best music stores in the United States.

(1984-2002) The Black Cat Lounge opens

• Legendary Rockabilly and Blues dive hosted greats such as Austin's own Flame Trick Subs and all the $2 Lone Star and Pabst Blue Ribbon you could drink.

(1984) The Texas Music Museum opens

• Houses exhibits from Texas' rich and diverse music scene

(1987) First annual SXSW Music Conference begins in Austin

1990's

(1990) Stevie Ray Vaughn a local musician wins Grammy for "Best Contemporary Blues Recording"

• Tragically that same year, dies in a helicopter accident leaving for the next venue on the "In Step" tour in East Troy Wisconsin.

(1990) The Austin Music Commission is formed

• Serves as am advisory board for the city council on music development issues.

(1991) Austin is named the "Live Music Capital of the World "

(1992) Emos opens

• Starts as a local punk club
• Now an Austin iconic venue hosting bands of many genres including Indie, Alternative, Rock and Hip Hop.

(1994-2005) The Austin Music Network Airs

• Becomes first non-profit independent music channel
• Documented live performances and played uninterrupted videos from local and Texas musicians.

(1994) Stevie Ray Vaughn Memorial is erected on Town Lake

(1999) Music becomes regular form of entertainment for arriving guests at Austin Bergstrom international Airport and continues with performances eleven times a week.

2000's

(2002) First annual Austin City Limits Music Festival

• Brings in national bands from all over the country

(2006) Austin is named Gibson "Guitar Town"

• 15 guitar sculptures were created by notable musicians and artists
• Are displayed throughout downtown, at Austin Bergstrom International Airport and city hall.

(2008) The Texas Music Memorial is opened on 'City Terrace' at the Long Center of Performing Arts

• Honors individuals every year who have made important contributions to the development of the music scene in the Austin community.

(2011) The new ACL live studio at Moody Theater opens its doors seating 2,750.

• Serving as the new location for the Austin City Limits live taping and as a music venue.

These are just some historical facts about what makes Austin what it is today and there are countless others who made this town the iconic music epicenter that it is but, that would write a novel in itself. To Austin, its music and to the people who make it all happen....Viva La Musica!!!!