Austin calls itself the live music capital of the world, and the Continental Club on South Congress is the room that makes the claim stick. It has been going since 1955, it is small and dark and red, and there is music seven nights a week, usually two or three acts, usually some mix of rockabilly, honky-tonk, blues and whatever the house band feels like.
The trick is that you do not need to know who is playing. Turn up, pay the cover at the door, which is usually modest, get a drink from the long bar and find a spot near the stage. The early shows around 6:30pm on weekdays are free or close to it and are where locals go after work. The Continental Gallery upstairs is a smaller room with jazz and quieter acts if the main room is too loud.
South Congress itself is the rest of the evening. Walk the strip before the show for the shops and food trucks, and afterwards there are bars in both directions.
It is a fifteen-minute drive or rideshare from our West Campus homes across the river. On big weekends, the two festival months of March and October especially, get there early or expect to be turned away at the door. It is 21 and over after 9pm.
