AUSTIN, Texas — Antone’s in Austin celebrates 50 years of blues this year. To mark the momentous occasion for the legendary nightclub, a SXSW panel of icons in the club’s history took to the stage to discuss memories from the past half century that made the club what it is today.

“You heard about blues music, you heard about Antone’s, you just knew,” said Eve Monsees, guitarist and co-owner of Antone’s Record Shop. Monsees got her start at Antone’s at just 14 years old.

Monsees went to Austin High School with Gary Clark Jr., another Austin music legend. The two started as students of the club, learning from the greats that performed there, until they eventually went on to play their own shows.

Port Arthur, Texas, native Clifford Antone opened Antone’s in 1975. At a time when disco was in, Antone’s was a place to preserve the magic of blues music.

Common acts in the early years included Muddy Waters, BB King, Jimmy Reed and Buddy Guy, along with developing acts that later came along like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimmie Vaughan, Bob Schneider and Clark Jr.

Another legend from that time at the panel was Grammy-nominated musician John Primer, who was the guitarist for Muddy Waters. He and CJ Chenier both performed at Antone’s during the venue’s early days.

Chenier is the son of Grammy award-winning artist and zydeco legend Clifton Chenier, who was the club’s inaugural performer. CJ performed with the Red Hot Louisiana Band and recalls his first time at Antone’s falling on his 21st birthday.

“I had the best time of my life turning 21 at Antone’s on Sixth Street,” Chenier said.

As co-owner of the record shop, where she has worked since 2001, Monsees is able to show the younger generations what classic blues is all about.

When asked if there’s a future for blues, CJ responded confidently, “the blues will never die.”

Primer jumped in, adding: “Blues is always alive, it will never go away. It’s not asleep. And it’s not sad music. Blues tells a story — if something good happened to you or something bad, it’s all about life,” he said. “Don’t let nobody tell you that blues is dead.”

A celebration for the venue’s 50th anniversary takes place Friday. The day party is from noon to 5 p.m., and a showcase for SXSW badgeholders continues from 7 p.m. to past midnight.

See the full lineup here.

AUSTIN, Texas — Between July 11 and Nov. 4, 2024, the Texas athletics department admitted to NCAA violations concerning sports betting, per documents acquired by the Austin American-Statesman.

Although the identities of the five individuals implicated in the violations have been concealed, they encompass two football players, a non-student-athlete affiliated with the women’s tennis program, a student assistant and an athletic department employee whose role is unspecified.

The Statesman’s reporting found that the five people placed impermissible wagers totaling $14,885.76. The individuals wagered money on athletes’ statistics through PrizePicks, a daily fantasy sports site.

Sports betting is illegal in Texas; however, the app PrizePicks is legal.

NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes, coaches and athletics staff from betting on, or providing information that could influence betting on, any NCAA-sponsored sport.

According to Global Sports Advocates, the potential penalties for student athletes betting on NCAA events include:

• Influencing the game or tipping off sports bettors will likely result in the permanent loss of college sports eligibility.
• Wagering on your own sport at another institution results in mandatory sports wagering rules and prevention education for reinstatement and a potential 50% loss of eligibility for one season.
• Wagers between $201 and $500 mean you lose 10% of a season’s eligibility, and you’ll have to go through rules and prevention education.
• If you bet between $501 and $800, you’ll lose 20% of your playing season, and have to attend rules and prevention classes.
• Wagers of $800 or more lead to a 30% loss of a season’s eligibility, along with rules and prevention education.
• Wagers surpassing $800 may result in reinstatement staff reviewing the need for further or permanent ineligibility.

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Today was Texas Tech System Day at the State Capitol. Red Raiders showed up in Austin today to share the success story of the entire system.

The Texas Tech system includes the university here, the campuses in Amarillo, the Health Sciences Center in El Paso, Angelo State University in San Angelo and Midwestern State in Wichita Falls.

Lubbock Representative Carl Tepper recognized the system’s research and educational impact on the house floor this morning.

System leaders, including Chancellor Tedd Mitchell and the university presidents, have spent the day visiting individual lawmakers to push for more support this session.

Lubbock Senator Charles Perry shared his support for the system in the upper chamber. The Senate is honoring the system’s work, highlighting its impact on rural medicine and agriculture.

One of those new legislative priorities includes $20 million for a partnership between the vet school in Amarillo and the Health Sciences Center in Lubbock.

The Institute for One Health Innovation is intended to support research for both human and animal health.

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