Welcome to the very first edition of The Austin Eras Listening Room.

Some of you found us through the podcast, some through our happy hours over the last few months, and some because you’ve been part of the conversations and community we’ve been lucky enough to build around Austin. Our goal with this newsletter is simple: create something genuinely worth opening every month — a thoughtful mix of Austin culture, music, conversations, recommendations, events, and the people shaping where the city is headed next.

What started as a podcast is quickly becoming something bigger: live recordings, community gatherings, local storytelling, and hopefully a media brand that captures a little bit of what makes Austin special in the first place. We’d genuinely love your feedback as we build this thing — reply anytime with ideas, recommendations, or thoughts on what you’d love to see more of. And if you enjoy what we’re creating, share it with a friend and help us grow the Listening Room a little more each month.

Thanks for being here early.

Along the way, we dive into downtown Austin’s evolution, the importance of historic spaces, and the stories that keep a city connected to its roots. It’s a push and pull that both longtime Austinites and newcomers wrestle with every day—how do you grow a city without losing the places that gave it its soul in the first place? Check out the newest episode below.

by Adam Flagg, Austin Eras Podcast Executive Producer and Host

There are very few cities where you can watch a four-time Grammy-winning artist who normally fills arenas decide to spend Monday nights playing for a few hundred people at a legendary local club.

That’s exactly what Gary Clark Jr. is doing this summer at Antone’s.

The show itself was incredible. No phones allowed, no distractions, just a packed room fully engaged in the music. Gary played nearly two hours alongside an outstanding band that included longtime John Mayer touring drummer J.J. Johnson, finishing the night with an extended version of “Bright Lights” that turned into a rotating showcase of solos and improvisation.

What stood out most was how transparent and human the performance felt. At one point Gary shifted directions mid-song, laughed, and steered the band somewhere completely different. Watching someone think and create in real time at that level is rare.

I first saw Gary Clark Jr. many years ago at the old Antone’s in a much smaller room. Even then, the talent was obvious. But watching him now, still growing, still experimenting, and still deeply connected to Austin, felt special in a different way.

Austin is one of the few places left where greatness still occasionally feels local.

As part-owner of Antone’s, Gary is helping preserve something important about this city. These shows feel personal. They feel local. And in an era where so much of life gets filtered through a screen, there was something refreshing about simply standing there and mentally trying to hold onto the moment because you couldn’t record it.

That may have been the best part.

There are still shows remaining throughout May, June, and July, though most are sold out and resale tickets may be your best bet. If you get the chance to go, take it.

Not just because Gary Clark Jr. is one of the best guitarists alive, but because experiences like this are what make Austin Austin.

And honestly, because we should all spend more time finding our legends while we still can.

Austin is impossible to separate from music. Some songs feel tied to seasons here, some become attached to memories, and others just quietly work their way into your life for a few weeks before you realize you’ve had them on repeat. Every month, we’ll share a few tracks we can’t stop coming back to — some local, some nostalgic, some completely unexpected.

Adam’s Pick :: Shakey Graves — “Tomorrow”
Live Performance Video

There’s something about the edge in Shakey Graves’ voice that feels unmistakably Austin. Alejandro Rose-Garcia has always lived somewhere between folk, country, rock, and something harder to define, but that tension is exactly what makes his music work. “Tomorrow” has been one of my favorite songs of his for years, especially watching the live performances where he somehow keeps rhythm with a kick drum, tambourine, guitar, and vocals all at the same time without ever losing control of the song. The musicianship is honestly mind-numbing when you step back and watch it closely. Austin has a lot of talented artists, but Shakey Graves feels like someone who’s spent years obsessively sharpening his craft, and you can hear it in every performance.

Mel’s Pick :: Urban Heat — “Have You Ever?”

Iliana’s Pick :: Shakey Graves — “Tomorrow”… again. Somehow our elder millennial host, Adam, and our Gen Z intern, Iliana, had the same thought :)

Adam’s Pick :: Sienna Spiro — “The Visitor”

Sienna Spiro is only 20 years old and already feels like an artist whose career is accelerating quickly. The English singer-songwriter will be at ACL Weekend Two this fall and also playing Lollapalooza, despite most of her tour dates still being overseas. “The Visitor” feels a little outside my usual alternative and rock-heavy rotation — almost like a more emotionally raw version of Adele mixed with the kind of cinematic soundtrack song that suddenly shows up at the end of a great summer rom-com. It’s the kind of track you throw on late at night, over dinner, or at the end of a long day when you want the room to slow down for a minute. Definitely an artist worth paying attention to before she fully breaks through here in the States.

Mel’s Pick :: Elderbrook — “Feels Like a Sunday”

Iliana’s Pick :: Pinegrove — “Old Friends”

Adam’s Pick :: The Strokes — “Selfless”

“The New Abnormal” came out at such a strange time during Covid that I think a lot of people missed just how good parts of that album actually were. “Selfless” has quietly worked its way back into rotation for me recently, especially with The Strokes expected to release new music later this year. There’s something emotionally disorienting in the best way about Julian Casablancas’ voice — like somebody dropped a half-lost Sinatra-style lounge singer into a modern garage rock band and somehow it completely works. And then there’s Albert Hammond Jr.’s guitar work, with that instantly recognizable fuzzed-out reverb that lets you hear just a few notes and immediately know it’s The Strokes. I saw them at ACL last fall, and while the performance itself felt a little unpredictable, the music still completely landed.

Mel’s Pick :: Smokey Robinson — “Cruisin’”

Iliana’s Pick :: Red Hot Chili Peppers — “Can’t Stop”

Adam’s Pick :: Gary Clark Jr. — “Bright Lights”

I recently saw Gary Clark Jr. close out a residency set at Antone’s with “Bright Lights,” and it reminded me how hard it is to fully capture his music through recordings alone. Some blues artists just have to be experienced live to understand the weight and emotion behind what they’re doing. There’s something about the riff in this song that feels like a train slowly building momentum down the tracks — dramatic, loud, restless, and unmistakably Austin. Gary Clark Jr. has become one of the city’s defining modern musicians not just because of technical skill, but because of the emotion he’s able to pull out of a guitar. “Bright Lights” may be one of his biggest songs, but hearing it live makes you understand why it connected so widely in the first place.

Mel’s Pick :: Genesis — “Invisible Touch”

Iliana’s Pick :: Roger Bart — “Go the Distance” from Hercules (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

These lists will GROW. We’ll continue to add tracks so be sure to save to your library to keep coming back!

Brought to you by the Austin History Center Association

One of Austin’s nicknames, The City of the Violet Crown, dates back generations and refers to the violet glow that settles over the Hill Country skyline at dusk. It’s one of the city’s oldest and most poetic identities — and a reminder that Austin has always inspired people to look a little closer.

Read more from KUT about the origins of Austin’s “Violet Crown” nickname: https://www.kut.org/2025-04-10/austin-tx-violet-crown-name-places