Live Music Capital

Business brought me to Austin, but I could not visit the home of Austin City Limits without seeing the city that made music its identity. Between meetings, I set out to find it.

The Capitol was a natural place to start, with its pink granite dome rising at the end of a tree-lined walk and monuments to Texas history spread across the grounds. From there I wandered downtown past old theater marquees and new towers, then crossed toward the water for a wide view of the skyline. Along the shore, Stevie Ray Vaughan stands in bronze, hat on, guitar in hand, looking out over the city that claimed him.

Austin calls itself the Live Music Capital of the World. Even in the daytime, with the stages quiet, you could feel why.