Austin
Austin’s music scene is among the most storied in the country. More than 250 live music venues offer nonstop entertainment, and more than 2,000 recording artists work and play in the Texas music mecca.
“Most venues don’t cater to one specific genre,” said Shilpa Bakre, senior communications manager at the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau. “They might have a country show one night and R & B another. We also host numerous festivals that center on music. Our most well known is South by Southwest, featuring interactive film and music with different tracks.”
The Paramount Theatre, located in the heart of downtown, is home to many of Austin’s most prominent red-carpet film premieres, music release parties, local shows and touring acts. The theater also orchestrates April’s always-anticipated Moontower Comedy and Oddity Festival. More than 100 comedians — national headliners, up-and-comers and local performers — take the stage throughout the city performing stand-up, sketch, improv and musical comedy.
For an authentic night of musical entertainment in Austin, turn your travelers free to visit some of Austin’s great live music clubs. Since 1957, the Continental Club on South Congress has garnered a reputation as the quintessential Austin club. Located on the trendy east side of town, the White Horse has earned a reputation as the area’s only honky-tonk, playing live music seven days a week. One of the city’s largest venues, the 2,750-person Austin City Limits Live hosts 85 to 90 concerts annually, spanning every genre of music.
As the oldest continuously operating theater in Texas and one of 10 original resident theater companies in the nation, Austin’s Zach Theatre offers more than 500 performances year-round. Productions are created in-house, from conception and design to performance. The theater’s complex, completed within the last several years, includes three stages for students, local plays and national productions.
San Antonio
San Antonio’s downtown core boasts a concentration of theaters and museums located along or close to the River Walk. Unique to the city, the architectural style of each theater reflects some aspect of San Antonio’s history and people.
The Spanish-Mediterranean-style Majestic Theatre, built in 1929, deserves its designation as a National Historic Landmark. Inside, theatergoers feel as if they have been transported to a fantasy villa. Walls become towers with windows of colorful glass. A rare white peacock perches on a balcony railing, and grapevines creep along the walls. The vaulted “sky” comes to life as stars twinkle, and a machine projects clouds that drift across the ceiling.
The 2,264-seat theater is home to the San Antonio Symphony and the Broadway in San Antonio series, along with a variety of concerts and performing arts attractions. Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and a Willie Nelson concert are both slated for later this year.
The lovely Arneson River Theatre is bordered by cypress trees on a quiet stretch of the River Walk. Adjacent to the La Villita Historic Arts Village, one of San Antonio’s first neighborhoods, the Arneson offers special charm. La Villita was originally established by soldiers stationed at the Alamo and then built up by the city’s German and French immigrants. The theater’s stage sits on one side of the river, and seating in the stone amphitheater lies on the opposite bank. The theater is home to the world-famous Fiesta Noche del Rio, which performs every summer, along with the Ballet Folklorico.
“Groups that see a production at the Arneson are not only watching a performance but are immersed in the city’s culture,” said Sara Gruber, senior brand manager for marketing and public relations at the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Opening this fall on the Museum Reach of the River Walk, the Tobin Center for Performing Arts will celebrate with two weeks of all-star headliners, resident performances and open houses. The center will include a state-of-the-art 1,759-seat performance hall, a 250-seat studio theater and an outdoor performance plaza connected to the River Walk, plus a water taxi portal. Originally built as a stunning WWI memorial, towers flank the arched entry. The architecture is reminiscent of San Antonio’s missions. In early 2015, Itzhak Perlman and Lang Lang will perform at the Tobin.
