Home to the South by Southwest festivals, a thriving tech industry and art galleries galore, free-spirited Downtown Austin offers music and culture in spades.
Austin’s reputation as the “live music capital of the world” was cemented with festivals like South by Southwest and Austin City Limits, but it stems back to one neighborhood’s love affair with beer gardens. The distinctly German downtown area lit up the craze in the 1800s with open-air restaurants welcoming social clubs and sing-alongs, as musicians armed with instruments flooded in looking for stages under this wide-open Texas sky.
Nashville may be the seat of the country music industry. And yes, Detroit might be known as the birthplace of rock. But don’t overlook Austin.
Austin has all the elements that give the city its well-earned reputation for delivering a laid-back good time: food trucks, live music, epic BBQ.
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