Inside Arlyn Studios: The Heartbeat of Austin’s Music Legacy

Contrary to popular perception, Arlyn Studios isn’t just a South by Southwest thing. It’s certainly gained a reputation for its star-studded parties held during the annual festival, but it is first and foremost a recording studio. Whether you’re a casual or diehard music fan, you’ve assuredly heard the Arlyn sound. A miniscule slice of the pantheon of artists who’ve recorded there — Sublime, Merle Haggard, the Barenaked Ladies (who famously recorded actually naked), Gary Clark Jr., Robert Plant and, of course, Willie Nelson. 

Like many aspects of Austin’s music history, Arlyn’s roots trace back to the Red Headed Stranger and his tribe. Before Arlyn was constructed in 1984, the plot of land — unsuspectingly nestled in the neighborhood west of South Congress Avenue — was inhabited by the Austin Opera House, owned by Willie and frequented by outlaw country pioneers and other legendary musicians including James Brown, Tina Turner, Ray Charles and, alongside her brother, “Sister” Bobbie Nelson. Her son, Freddy Fletcher, built the studio — naming it after his father, Arlyn “Bud” Fletcher — and he still runs it with his wife, Lisa Fletcher. The couple and their crew are responsible for transforming Arlyn into the Austin fixture it is today — a world-class recording studio that feels like a home. 

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Kris Kristofferson at Arlyn Studios. (Photo courtesy of Arlyn Studios)

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(From left) Louis Messina, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, and George Strait perform at Arlyn Studios. (Photo courtesy of Arlyn Studios)

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Bobbie Nelson and Josha Black Wilkins at Arlyn Studios. (Photo courtesy of Arlyn Studios)

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Gary Clark Jr. and Willie Nelson perform at Arlyn Studios. (Photo courtesy of Arlyn Studios)

‘Old Austin’ spirit

“I lean into the idea of this as a place where you come in and I’m going to hug you, even if I’ve never met you,” says Lisa Fletcher. “Our clients… I don’t even like to call them clients. They really are our friends and our family.”

Arlyn celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024, and though it has implemented modern equipment, it retains a rustic feel. Much of the original building’s wood and brick are exposed, and each room within its sprawling maze is packed with plenty of quirky relics amidst the top-tier tech. Lisa lovingly describes it as “janky” — real and raw in its look and feel, and uncompromising in its values. 

Chief Engineer Jacob Sciba, who spearheaded the installation of key upgrades and has garnered four Grammys during his decade-plus stint at Arlyn, echoes that sentiment while emphasizing the necessity of adaptation.

“It’s like a soul food restaurant … comfortable, not stuffy. You don’t feel bad if you accidentally spill your beer, and there’s no weird dentist office art on the wall,” says Sciba. “On a technical level, it’s all there. Arlyn’s done very well at being ‘old Austin’ and trying to modernize the amount that it needs to. We have to take the spirit of that and evolve with it.”

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Arlyn Studios’ approach to recording

One of Arlyn’s younger acolytes, 22-year-old Calder Allen — grandson of Terry Allen, another mainstay over the decades — can speak to that experience firsthand. He had his first recording session at Arlyn when working on his debut album.

“A lot of younger musicians really like playing to pre-recorded things or electronic overdubs,” says Allen. “Arlyn is really still kind of old school in the sense of, ‘Okay, you want to run tape? Let’s run tape.’ There’s no ego behind it.”

The studio’s unique multi-room setup allows full bands to plug everything in at once and record as if they’re playing a show, resulting in a distinctly live sound. That’s only appropriate given Austin’s legacy as the Live Music Capital of the World, of which Arlyn, throughout the decades, has remained the axis. So says Charlie Sexton, who was already embedded in the neighborhood scene revolving around the storied Music Lane when the studio opened. At this point, he’s a veritable resident, recording and producing there regularly, and even has his own alcove off the main studio dubbed ‘Sexton Place,” marked by the matching inscription on an old street sign stolen by his ex-girlfriend.

Lasting legacy

“That whole area has always had a weird resonance to it,” says Sexton. “Whether you’re talking about Arlyn, that property, the Opera House next to it, the Continental Club, that whole block … there’s a strange pulse that exists. Freddy and Lisa keep that pulse going.”

Arlyn’s lease extends for at least another decade, so it isn’t going anywhere fast. To boot, within a few years, the Fletchers and their business partners, Antone’s owner Will Bridges and the family of producer T. Murphey, who passed away in 2017, plan to reopen a revamped Austin Opera House on its original site next door.

In an era where frequent closures of historic establishments proliferate a constant fear of the death of “old Austin,” Arlyn offers hope of its endurance — fitting given its essence ties back to the seemingly immortal patriarch that is Willie Nelson and his organically woven web of artists and music lovers alike. With that spirit firmly intact, Arlyn is at once a portal to Austin’s past, a vessel veering toward the future and, all the while, a safe harbor for a steadily-flourishing family.

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