Austin: Live Music Capital of the World, Deep in the Heart of Texas (1800s to 2002)

Abstract

Austin’s music scene is researched in disciplines, such as journalism studies, social history, musicology, and political economy, laced with recent qualitative data of its music scene. With Texas’s independence from Mexico in 1836, Austin was a revolutionary melting pot for music, based on a Tex-Mex, gospel and folk scene, to the blues, ragtime and jazz inspired by African-American slaves. Despite being the home to the Federal parliament, as a college town, Austin’s urban sociability is linked to the fact that it is a progressive democratic city in the Republican Lone Star state of Texas. The chapter argues that these factors led to the rise of music superstars, Janis Joplin and Willie Nelson, iconic music venues, such as the Armadillo World Headquarters, global festivals like SXSW Inc., to Austin’s branding as the Live Music Capital of the World.