Music Matters
Austin ain't the only Texas city with one of America's best music scenes
A new list touting America's best music scenes has been unleashed, and, predictably, Austin is near the top. It ranks No. 2, behind only Nashville, on Travel + Leisure's recent roundup, which was gleaned from reader surveys.
What makes Austin's scene so special? "This is a musicians' town," Caleb Campaigne, the official Insider at W Austin Hotel, tells T+L. "Musicians know that the audience is going to be appreciative — but also prepared. Even if you're a smaller band, folks are going to have done their research and know who you are."
But Austin isn't the only Texas city to be recognized for such things: Dallas sneaks in at No. 25. Notes T+L:
The neighborhood of Deep Ellum is proof that this city has an artsy side. Here you’ll find public murals, plenty of bars, and great rock-and-indie venues — like Dada, with its outdoor patio, Trees and the recently reopened Bomb Factory, whose building has been, over the past century, a Ford factory and a WWII munitions plant. Deep Ellum is even home to the Eight Track Museum, which is devoted to the much-maligned recording format and connected to the musically themed Orphic Gallery.
Another Lone Star locale, Houston, lands at No. 10, thanks to "its cosmopolitan combination of high-brow culture (like the acclaimed Houston Grand Opera) and crowd-pleasers." With those three, Texas has more on the list than any other state.
Read about the rest of America's best music scenes here.