There are a handful of places you have to experience if you live in Austin: Zilker Park, Lady Bird Lake, Magnolia Cafe, Waterloo Records, Threadgills, and so on and so forth. Antone's is definitely one of those places. In my opinion the best live music venue in Austin, which just so happens to be the Live Music Capital of the World.
When you walk into Antone's you see a timeline of blues history. All of the greats have played at Antone's: Albert Collins, B.B. King, Fats Domino, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Delbert McClinton, Jimmy Vaughn, and of course Stevie Ray Vaughn himself. Antone's history alone is reason enough to go.
Antone's isn't flashy, it's pretty much a bar, a empty floor, a stage, seating is scarce, and is relatively small. But when you walk in you feel the bluesy atmosphere instantaneously. And since it's small, it is easy to find a good spot.
Antone's was founded by the late Clifford Antone over thirty years ago. Antone moved to Austin in the late sixties to go to UT. Eventually he dropped out and started up a blues club, which was one of the first music venues around 6th street. One of Antone's accomplishments was helping launch the career of Stevie Ray Vaughn. Allowing Stevie to sit in with Albert King was a major factor in Stevie getting a recording deal.
Sadly Antone passed away in 2006. His wife is now running the club and still attracts big acts. Alejandro Escovedo, Jakob Dylan, Ben Kweller, and Bob Schneider are all playing this month.
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