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| Around Town |
 Stevie Ray Vaughan statue
Auditorium Shores
920 West Riverside Dr.
On the south shore of Lady Bird Lake stands a monument to the most towering figure in Austin music. Cast in bronze, guitar by his side, his back to the water, blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan gazes out serenely over the riverside jogging trails, his eyes watching over the thousands of runners, walkers, cyclists and dogs that frequent these parts every day. Clad in his trademark poncho and cowboy hat, he is the daily recipient of flowers, notes and even the occasional joint, always tucked covertly away in his left hand.
Despite being perhaps the most singularly overused icon of Austin’s live music scene, the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue remains an essential pilgrimage for anyone who’s ever strummed a guitar and wondered why a sound like “Crossfire” wasn’t coming out of it. – Patrick Caldwell
 Enchanted Forest
1412 W Oltorf St.
The bands of pierced, tatted, inviting free spirits that inhabit one of the most evolving constants in Central Texas call it “the forest.”
Many live on site and make honest livings during daytime hours. Unless it’s hosting an art exhibit or the like, the Forest and its dwellers are fairly amiable, soft and subdued in the sunshine. The family owned plot of land is bordered by busy train tracks and an Office Depot.
But to borrow from the prophet Whodini, the freaks come out at night.
Years of odd job experience and good deeds facilitate the lavish, adventurous, enchanted ventures. They know people – sound guys, electricians, carpenters, vegan vendors, international artists.
As you’d expect, the community loves a good dance party – complete with lasers, neon pyramids, floors custom built that morning, oak trees, impressionist paintings, bon fires, belly dancers, livestock and moon light. -- Ramon Ramirez
Texas Music Museum
1009 E 11th St.
Given its subject, you’d expect the Texas Music Museum to be a multi-million dollar venture, funded by wealthy philanthropists, with a massive building and a sweet location downtown and all the other accoutrements of a major cultural institution. Instead, it’s a tiny labor of love tucked away in an obscure location on Austin’s East Side.
But that just makes this hidden treasure, with its carefully programmed exhibits on Texas blues, Native American music, Janis Joplin and others all the more impressive and lovable. Admission is free and crowds are usually thin, making the Texas Music Museum a wonderful way to sink an afternoon for those with a curiosity about the roots that make Austin what it is today. – Patrick Caldwell
 Festivals
Pick your poison.
Austin is a holy pantheon for themed events. Hollywood loves it here, and years of filming have led to hoards of seasonal, inclusive film festivals brimming with exclusive screenings as droves of the famous (Tarantino, Romero) and marginally famous (Harry Knowles, the nerdy kid from “Dodgeball”) frequent about.
Most of the above gatherings, (Fantastic Fest, Spike & Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation, Butt-Numbathon), are spearheaded by the influential, beloved Alamo Drafthouse chain-gang of theaters. Because you order full-plated, themed dinners and have access to a full bar, even a Sunday night showing of “Smart People” sells out.
Alamo also had a hand in getting the Fun Fun Fun Fest off the ground. The early winter gala of punk, electronica, indie and hip-hop’s leading underground voices now annually swarms Waterloo Park on three stages and always boasts insane reunion sets from retired legends.
Enjoy suffocating interstate traffic that’s bestowed upon clueless commuters because the city likes to pretend the Texas Relays, an unofficial black holiday of good times on par with All-Star Weekend, doesn’t exist? Come in April to catch shiny 22s hugging corners on an old deuce and a quarter, and other assorted classic GM makes and models donned in candy paint. Glitzy rappers and Vince Young always show up and host enormous parties for the grown and sexy.
There’s never a shortage of radio dates sponsored by big beer, all counteracted by next-level visual and performance art shows, the most high profile of which is the week-long Art Outside Festival held in March. The biggest biker rally in Texas annually caravans here for one big, confrontational weekend, as does the homely but lavish Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo.
Mainly the yearly calendar is book-ended with South by Southwest in March, an industry conference that serves to exhaustingly converge every artist on the planet for one-hour showcases their fans can never infiltrate, and the Austin City Limits Festival, a 3-day melanoma-soaking at summer’s end wherein you can take your parents to enjoy aged legends like Tom Petty and Van Morrison.
For most, the fun in both happenings lays with the smorgasbord of after-hours one-offs and free booty; exploitative private profit and road closures. But if you know where to look, the possibilities for countless intimate moments with trendy, huge bands come from all angles. -Ramon Ramirez
Fun Fun Fun Fest
Novembers, Waterloo Park (15th and Trinity St.)
Two days
If you grew up a punk rock fan in Austin, odds are that Randy "Biscuit" Turner was a bit of a hero to you. For five years in the early ‘80s, Biscuit and his band, the Big Boys, packed grungy, grimy punk rock clubs across Austin and delivered energetic, screaming tirades against The Man.
“Fun fun fun, that’s what we say/ Fun fun fun, that’s what we play," went the refrain of the Big Boys' most beloved song, delivered with blistering sincerity by Biscuit. "Fun fun fun, no matter what they think/ Fun fun fun, who asked ‘em anyway?”
So naturally, when Emo's head honcho Graham Williams and Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League got together and decided to throw a music festival for the rest of us -- no $100 tickets, no 50,000-person strong crowds, and a lineup for people who truly loved music and took it seriously -- they decided to crib its name from the Big Boys song that embodied the very same ethos. The result was the Fun Fun Fun Fest -- held annually in the fall at downtown's Waterloo Park, it draws its participants from the best up-and-coming acts on both the local and national stage, incorporating beloved locals like garage rockers White Denim with proven phenomenons like the New Pornographers. Forget sweltering heat and watching bands from half a mile away -- the FFF Fest gives Austin a whole other breed of outdoor festival, where the beer is cheap, the vibe friendly and the music wall-to-wall solid. Though Biscuit may not be with us any longer -- he passed away from complications from Hepatitis C in 2005, one year before the inaugural FFF Fest -- his spirit lives on. –Patrick Caldwell
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This section's contents are produced entirely by student journalists, brought to Billboard.com by UWIRE, the leading provider of student-generated content. UWIRE aims to identify and promote the brightest young content creators and deliver their work to a larger audience via professional media partners such as Billboard.com. Visit UWIRE.com to learn more. |
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University of Texas, Austin
This town profile was produced entirely by student journalists from The Daily Texan, the leading news source for the University of Texas community. You can learn more about the individual student contributors by visiting their profiles on UWIRE.com:
Text: Patrick Caldwell, Cass Luskin, Ramon Ramirez
Photos:Patrick Caldwell, Kim Espinosa, Eliot Myers, Callie Richmond
Video: Callie Richmond, Vikram Swaruup, Ranjana Thomas
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