Explore Austin’s Live Music Scene With This New Guide to Artists, Venues, and Hidden Gems

Austin has long been known as the Live Music Capital of the World, but until now there wasn’t a guidebook to help people easily access and understand its contemporary music scene. “Austin Music Scene: Your Guide to the City’s Most Iconic Artists & Venues,” a 224-page book from Thunderhouse Media Group, fills that gap with profiles of more than 160 musicians, guides to iconic venues and hidden gems and hand-drawn maps to plan live-music experiences — all while giving back to the artists through the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.

The vision came from Mitch Baranowski, founder and editor-in-chief of Thunderhouse Media Group. Baranowski recognized the need for a book that could capture the breadth of Austin’s sound in a format that feels both collectible and practical.

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“Austin’s Music Scene” guidebook. (Photo courtesy of Thunderhouse Media Group)

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A map from “Austin’s Music Scene” shows readers where to find live music across Austin. (Photo courtesy of Thunderhouse Media Group)

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A HAAM Day spread from “Austin’s Music Scene.” (Photo courtesy of Thunderhouse Media Group)

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Artist Hayes Carll featured in “Austin’s Music Scene.” (Photo courtesy of Thunderhouse Media Group)

A Guide to Austin’s Rhythm

Baranowski said the book aims to give readers a cross-section of the broad and deep talent pool of Austin’s music scene, and that the vision was to create a hybrid coffee-table book and field guide that is both collectible and practical.

“It’s very photo-driven, and it’s full of profiles, lists and bits of behind the scenes, and maps,” Baranowski said. “It’s the kind of book you can pick up and put down and discover something every day. It’s really easy to dip in and dip out.”

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Hip-hop and R&B artists featured in “Austin’s Music Scene.” (Photo courtesy of Thunderhouse Media Group)

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A venue spread from “Austin’s Music Scene” highlights some of the city’s most iconic stages. (Photo courtesy of Thunderhouse Media Group)

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A spread from “Austin’s Music Scene.” (Photo courtesy of Thunderhouse Media Group)

“What makes the Austin soundscape beautiful is that there’s no singular scene — whether it be goth, rock, jazz or blues — and the book celebrates how these scenes coexist,” Baranowski said. He hopes readers will discover a new artist or venue after reading.

“Someone already emailed me and said they (knew) Jeron Marshall plays keys in the black Pumas, but (found out through the book that) he also has his own jazz act,” Baranowski said. “They immediately went to check out his music after reading his story. That’s the kind of thing I hope happens.”

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A night of music, stories and celebration for “Austin’s Music Scene.” (Photos by Sam Ehrnstein)

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A panel discussion with local artists and founders at the “Austin’s Music Scene” book launch. (Photos by Sam Ehrnstein)

Giving Back Through HAAM

Baranowski noted that at the heart of the book is its community-driven purpose. Half the proceeds benefit HAAM, an organization that “provides access to affordable health care for Austin’s low-income, working musicians with a focus on prevention and wellness.” Many of the musicians profiled have been HAAM members themselves, including Melat, who described the organization as one of the unique and amazing aspects of working in Austin as a musician.

“Sometimes it’s hard to make ends meet, and HAAM is one of those things that helps you bridge the gap between not having health insurance and having health insurance. There are a lot of people out here who have had life-saving surgeries and all these things because of HAAM,” Melat said. “If I’m unhealthy, then I can’t perform.”

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Guests gather for the launch of “Austin’s Music Scene” at the Austin Visitor Center. (Photos by Sam Ehrnstein)

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Readers flipping through “Austin’s Music Scene” during the launch party. (Photos by Sam Ehrnstein)

Chronicling a Creative Capital

Baranowski acknowledged that assembling the book was a daunting, imperfect process that required consultation with experts across Austin. No single volume can capture every artist shaping the city’s sound, so the contributors narrowed their focus to creating a book that represents the range of Austin music across seven genres.

“We admit in the book that genres are perfectly imperfect. Artists resist categorization. In fact, they don’t like marketing handles. But as a collector, as a fan and as a reader, it helps nudge discovery if you know where someone principally sits,” Baranowski said. “We’ll see what folks think. This, hopefully, is not the last edition, just the first edition. We’ll be open to feedback, making changes and expanding.”

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