Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and most populous city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 10th most populous city in the United States, the fourth most populous city in Texas, and the second most populous state capital city. It has been one of the fastest growing large cities in the United States since 2010. Downtown Austin and Downtown San Antonio are approximately 80 miles (129 km) apart, and both fall along the Interstate 35 corridor. This combined metropolitan region of San Antonio–Austin has approximately 5 million people. Austin is the southernmost state capital in the contiguous United States and is considered a Beta-level global city as categorized by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
Zilker Metropolitan Park is a recreational area in south Austin, Texas at the juncture of Barton Creek and the Colorado River that comprises over 350 acres (142 ha) of publicly owned land. It is named after its benefactor, Andrew Jackson Zilker, who donated the land to the city in 1917. The land was developed into a park during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Today the park serves as a hub for many recreational activities and the hike and bike trail around Lady Bird Lake, both of which run next to the park. The large size of the park makes it a capable venue for large-scale events such as the Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Zilker Park Kite Festival. The park was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Austin City Limits is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to receive the National Medal of Arts, which it was awarded in 2003. It also won a rare institutional Peabody Award in 2011 "for its more than three decades of presenting and preserving eclectic American musical genres". Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS under the Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council. The show was created in 1974 by Bill Arhos, Bruce Scafe, and Paul Bosner.
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, but several years later, Chicago became its permanent location. Music genres include alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock, hip hop, and electronic dance music. Lollapalooza has also featured visual arts, nonprofit organizations, and political organizations. The festival, held in Grant Park, hosts an estimated 400,000 people each July and sells out annually. Lollapalooza is one of the largest music festivals in the world and one of the longest-running in the United States.
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a 700-acre (280 ha) farm in Manchester, Tennessee. The festival typically starts on the second Thursday in June and lasts four days. It has been held every year except 2020 when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and 2021 when it was canceled due to excessive rain from Hurricane Ida flooding the campground. Main attractions of this festival are the multiple stages featuring live music with a diverse array of musical styles including indie rock, classic rock, world music, hip hop, jazz, Americana, bluegrass, country music, folk, gospel, reggae, pop, electronic, and other alternative music. Musical acts begin Wednesday evening for early arrivers, continued throughout the festival with performances starting each day around noon, and some stages entertaining festival goers until sunrise.
Austin's official motto is the "Live Music Capital of the World" due to the high volume of live music venues in the city. Austin is known internationally for the South by Southwest (SXSW) and the Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festivals which feature eclectic international lineups. The greatest concentrations of music venues in Austin are around 6th Street, Central East Austin, the Red River Cultural District, the Warehouse District, the University of Texas, South Congress, and South Lamar.
Zilker is a neighborhood in south central Austin, Texas. It extends south of Lady Bird Lake, approximately bounded by the Union Pacific Railway to the southeast/south, Barton Skyway to the south, Rabb Road and Azie Morton Road to the west and Lady Bird Lake to the north.
Ghostland Observatory is an American music duo based in Austin, Texas, United States. Their music has been described as a combination of electro, rock and funk by Allmusic, and "electro-dance soul rock" by Gothamist.
The culture of Texas is often considered one of the major cultures influencing the greater American culture. Texas is one of the most populous and heavily populated American states in its urban centers and has seen tremendous waves of migration out of the American North and West, in contrast to its eastern neighbors in the Deep South. But it retains the regionalisms and distinct cultural identities of German Texan, Tejanos, Cajuns, Irish, African American, and White Southern enclaves established before the republic era and admission to statehood.
C3 Presents is a concert promotion, event production and artist management company based in Austin, Texas. C3 also produces several multi-day festivals including Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin Texas, Two Step Inn Music Festival in Georgetown Texas, Voodoo Music + Arts Experience in New Orleans, and Lollapalooza in Chicago along with its six international editions.
Gary Lee Clark Jr. is an American blues guitarist and singer from Austin, Texas who fuses blues, rock and soul music with elements of hip hop. In 2011, Clark signed with Warner Bros Records and released The Bright Lights EP. It was followed by the albums Blak and Blu (2012) and The Story of Sonny Boy Slim (2015). Throughout his career, Clark has been a prolific live performer, documented by Gary Clark Jr. Live (2014) and Gary Clark Jr Live/North America (2017).
Randell Obrain Jones, known by his stage name Kydd, is an American rapper, producer, and singer from Austin, Texas.
Empires was an indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois. The band consisted of Tom Conrad, Sean Van Vleet, Max Steger, and Mike Robinson.
Sonic Highways World Tour was a concert tour by American rock band Foo Fighters, in support of their eighth studio album Sonic Highways. It began on December 10, 2014, in Cape Town, South Africa and continued through South America, Oceania, North America, Europe and Asia. The tour abruptly ended after the November 2015 Paris attacks which included the slaughter of fans and crew at a concert by fellow U.S. rock band Eagles of Death Metal. The band were playing in Bologna on the night of the attacks and had been due in Paris after leaving Italy.
The Nightowls are an American musical group from Austin, Texas, whose debut album Good As Gold was named Top 10 of the 2014 Austin Music Awards Albums of the Year. Their sound combines R&B, Funk and soul music. Lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Harkrider formed The Nightowls in 2011. His song "Nobody Ever Wants to Leave" was commissioned in 2009 by The Austin Convention and Visitor's Bureau as Austin's official theme song. The Nightowls have released three full-length albums and two EP's. Two of which were recorded at the iconic Soul/R&B studios - FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Badlands Tour was the first headlining concert tour by American singer-songwriter Halsey, launched in support of her debut album, Badlands (2015). The tour began on September 30, 2015, at the House of Blues in San Diego, California, and concluded on September 18, 2016, at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore.
The Lady Wood Tour was the second headlining concert tour by Swedish recording artist Tove Lo in support of her second major-label studio album Lady Wood (2016). The tour began on 6 February 2017, in Seattle, Washington, at the Showbox SoDo, and it concluded on 14 October 2017 at the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, Texas.
The I See You Tour was the third concert tour by English indie band the xx, in support of their third studio album I See You (2017). The European leg of the tour began in Sweden on 8 February 2017 and concluded on 17 March 2017. The North American leg began on 14 April 2017, as part of Coachella in Indio, California, and continued until 27 May 2017.
Reunion Tour was the second solo concert tour by American musician Phoebe Bridgers, in support of her second studio album Punisher. The tour began in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, on September 3, 2021, and concluded in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States, on April 26, 2023.
