The Daily Swarm

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November 25, 2008

Austin struggles to keep the title of 'live music capital'...

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The pulsating music scene has helped give the state capital its enduring reputation as a youthfully hip, fun town. It was here, at the old Armadillo World Headquarters in the early 1970s, that Willie Nelson’s brand of outlaw country was born. Years later, at the famed Antone’s nightclub, blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan roared into the city’s musical conscience.

Since then, internationally acclaimed musical festivals like South By Southwest (SXSW) and Austin City Limits have lured thousands, and thriving venues — places like Antone’s, The Broken Spoke, Momo’s, the Continental Club, Stubbs, La Zona Rosa, The Hole in the Wall — continue to draw big acts and large crowds.

“Live music is a defining characteristic of Austin,” said Austin Mayor Will Wynn. “Many people consider it to be the heart and soul of what makes Austin such a desirable city in which to live, work and play.”

But members of the task force say the city’s rapid expansion, rising health care costs, expensive real estate — even the difficulty of finding a parking spot in the car-choked city center — have made Austin an increasingly tough place to make a living as a performer.