The Best Country Music Bars in Austin
Austin is known as the Live Music Capital of the world. True to its word, there is live music at every turn. As far as country music goes, Texas Country or Red Dirt Country as they call it, sounds a little tangier, has a more recognizable beat (perfect for two-steppers) and has it's own unique outlaw genre and fans. A lot of the big Texas names are not well known in other states, but names like Wade Bowen Josh Abbot Band and Pat Green draw sold out crowds in Texas.
In most restaurants and bars you can find a cool outdoor eating area and a stage. Musicians here are almost always playing their own songs which makes the experience more authentic. These are a few of my favorite places to see bands, dance, drink and enjoy the Austin vibe.
The first is the Broken Spoke. You might recognize it when you pull up because it was recently featured on George Strait’s album cover. It is a real Texas HonkeyTonk, and the patrons that visit this bar know how to dance. It is unique, quirky, and fits in perfectly as the Austin Country Honky Tonk hub.
The Continental Club is a small, dark, musty, blues feeling bar located in the heart of South Congress. At this bar, you can bet on live music, and a jam-packed bar full of very good two-steppers. It is hard to get a seat, and even if you do, you will probably be dancing before long. Worth checking out.
One of my favorites bars, which you need to check out on a Sunday, is the Little Longhorn Saloon. It is home to Chicken S#@ Bingo on Sundays and live bands from open to close. It is a little hole in the wall bar with immense character. If you are coming to play bingo, be sure and get there early and try and get a picnic table. The bar picks a random picnic table to start each round of buying squares, and it is your best shot of getting a square. They do sell out. The squares are ten dollars each, and the bar overflows into the parking lot.
When I first came here several years ago, the bingo was inside, now it has moved outside to fit the enormous crowds that it draws. Expect chicken chants, number chants and people going wild. It is a spectacle worth seeing!
No matter where you go, make sure to try and eat and do something you couldn’t do at home. Austin prides itself on being weird, so it wouldn’t be a trip without doing something out of the box!
