ACL Live at the Moody Theater in downtown Austin is the 2,750-seat home of the Austin City Limits public TV taping, the country's longest-running music television show.
Tip: ACL tapings are free but allocated by lottery. Public shows ticket through ACL Live; balcony and pit both have great sightlines.
Address: 310 West Willie Nelson Boulevard, Austin, TX 78701
Antone's Nightclub on East 5th Street in Austin is the blues legend Clifford Antone opened in 1975, a 50-year lease extension in November 2025 keeping the room booking nightly blues acts.
Tip: Daily 12:00 to 00:00 with a music calendar at the door. The upstairs is being built out as the Antone's World Famous Museum of the Blues for 2027.
Mohawk on Red River Street in Austin runs an indoor stage plus a multi-tier outdoor patio, the Red River District anchor for indie, punk, hip-hop and experimental acts most nights.
Tip: Outdoor stage holds about 850, indoor about 200. Doors typically 19:00 with show at 21:00; tickets via the venue website.
Empire Control Room on East 7th Street in Austin is the indoor-outdoor venue with the Garage stage, Control Room and a large patio, booking electronic, indie and hip-hop most nights.
Tip: The outdoor Garage stage holds the bigger crowds; the indoor Control Room is the smaller dancefloor. Tickets via the venue site.
P6 on the sixth-floor rooftop of the LINE Hotel in Austin pours Mediterranean shared plates and cocktails over Lady Bird Lake, the city's Congress Avenue bat-bridge view at sunset.
Tip: Reservations open on OpenTable; weekend brunch runs Saturday and Sunday. The west-side deck is the better skyline seat at sunset.
Antone's Nightclub on East 5th Street in Austin is the blues legend Clifford Antone opened in 1975, a 50-year lease extension in November 2025 keeping the room booking nightly blues acts.
Tip: Daily 12:00 to 00:00 with a music calendar at the door. The upstairs is being built out as the Antone's World Famous Museum of the Blues for 2027.
Mohawk on Red River Street in Austin runs an indoor stage plus a multi-tier outdoor patio, the Red River District anchor for indie, punk, hip-hop and experimental acts most nights.
Tip: Outdoor stage holds about 850, indoor about 200. Doors typically 19:00 with show at 21:00; tickets via the venue website.
Empire Control Room on East 7th Street in Austin is the indoor-outdoor venue with the Garage stage, Control Room and a large patio, booking electronic, indie and hip-hop most nights.
Tip: The outdoor Garage stage holds the bigger crowds; the indoor Control Room is the smaller dancefloor. Tickets via the venue site.
Hotel Vegas on East 6th Street in Austin is the garage-punk and psych bar opened in 2011 in a 1949 building, two stages and a giant patio plus the sister Volstead Lounge next door.
Tip: Indoor and outdoor stages run different acts most nights. Cover is usually low; the patio gets busy from 21:00 on weekends.
Sahara Lounge on Webberville Road in East Austin is the funky world music room in the old TC's Lounge, with African, Afrobeat, blues and Brazilian bands plus a courtyard food trailer.
Tip: Saturday Africa Night is the long-running headline. Cover varies by act; the outdoor courtyard and stage open most warm weekends.
P6 on the sixth-floor rooftop of the LINE Hotel in Austin pours Mediterranean shared plates and cocktails over Lady Bird Lake, the city's Congress Avenue bat-bridge view at sunset.
Tip: Reservations open on OpenTable; weekend brunch runs Saturday and Sunday. The west-side deck is the better skyline seat at sunset.