Austinites, new and old, often hear that the city is no longer the live music capital of the world, but that claim should be taken with a grain of salt. There are plenty of spots in ATX to hear free live music that’s good — as long as you know where to look.

The Capital City was first dubbed the “Live Music Capital of the World” in August 1991. According to Visit Austin, the title was justified by the number of music venues per capita in the city. ATXToday reports there are over 250 venues in Austin where live music is played, proving there’s no shortage of spots offering live entertainment.

However, not every venue allows residents and visitors to Austin to enjoy quality live music without some sort of cover charge. This is when it pays to know the Capital City like the back of your hand.

9 places in Austin to see free live music

While there are countless bars, coffee shops, restaurants and music venues in Austin offering free live music, not all of it passes as “good.”

What’s the point of hitting up a cover-free spot if the live entertainment is soul-crushingly bad?

Below are nine spots to see quality live music in Austin for free.

Reminder: If you’re enjoying free live music somewhere, show the artists some support! Most have tip jars and/or signs with their Venmo username near the stage.

Banger’s Sausage House and Beer Garden

Pros: Spacious beer garden with indoor and outdoor seating, covered outdoor stage for live entertainment, a stellar sound system that funnels live music inside (even in the bathrooms) quality local acts that get guests on their feet during Sunday brunch and beyond, attentive service and an expansive food and drink menu.

Address: 79 Rainey St., Austin, Texas.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

View Banger’s live music calendar here.

Mama Dearest

Pros: Backwoods-themed bar with eclectic and borderline eerie decor, decent sound system for listening to live music, indoor-outdoor seating, food truck, all of the vibes. Misting fans on outdoor patio in the summer, heaters in winter.

Address: 515 Pedernales St., Austin, Texas.

Hours: 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Friday; noon to 2 a.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Mama Dearest often will share its live music offerings on Instagram. Check the bar’s IG here.

Austin Beer Garden and Brewing Co.

Pros: Free live music on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, delicious pizza and sandwiches, various drink options (beer, wine, seltzer and more!), dog-friendly, children welcome.

Address: 1305 W. Oltorf St., Austin, Texas.

Hours: Closed Monday; 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; noon to midnight Saturday; noon to 10 p.m. Sunday.

View ABGB’s live music calendar here.

The Elephant Room

Pros: Centrally located venue offering live jazz music nightly, no cover charge on Sunday, Monday or before 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, intimate setting, attentive service.

Address: 315 Congress Ave., Austin, Texas.

Hours: 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Friday; 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday; 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday.

View the live music calendar here.

Armadillo Den

Pros: Spacious, casual friendly service, free live music, good sound system, numerous food trucks on-site. Kids are welcome until 6 p.m. Monday-Friday. Otherwise, the Armadillo Den is for those ages 21 and older.

Address: 10106 Menchaca Road, Austin, Texas.

Hours: 4 p.m. to midnight Monday-Wednesday; noon to 12:30 a.m. Thursday; noon to 2 a.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday; noon to midnight Sunday.

View Armadillo Den’s live entertainment calendar here.

Jester King Brewery

Pros: Live music on weekends at a brewery that doubles as a ranch where goats not only live but also thrive alongside their trusted canine companion. Jester King also has delicious bites and funky beers to choose from, forts for kids to climb on and ample space.

Address: 13187 Fitzhugh Road, Austin, Texas.

Hours: 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Browse Jester King’s live music calendar here.

Blind Pig Pub

Pros: Live music every day of the week in the heart of Dirty Sixth, indoor and outdoor stages, open-air rooftop patio. For a chiller experience on weekends, visit the Blind Pig before 9 p.m.

Address: 317 E. Sixth St., Austin, Texas.

Hours: 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Tuesday; 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday-Friday; 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday.

Austin Garden & Studio at Inn Cahoots

Pros: The Garden at Austin Garden & Studio often hosts live music on the outdoor stage. Musical genres vary, but the sound quality is superb. There also is a food truck on-site and yard games to play.

Address: 1209 E. Sixth St., Austin, Texas.

Hours: Doors open at 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Browse the December 2024 schedule here, and view the 2025 schedule here.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Icehouse

Pros: Located in the heart of West Sixth where bars and restaurants are plentiful, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot offers stellar sound quality, a covered bar and stage for chilly or rainy nights, strong drinks, fast service and more.

Address: 701 W. Sixth St., Austin, Texas.

Hours: 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Friday; 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, noon to 2 a.m. Sunday.

Check Whiskey Tango Foxtrot’s Facebook and Instagram pages for up-to-date information on live music offerings.

AUSTIN, Texas – Now that the Christmas holiday is over, many must be wondering what to do with their trees.

Below is information on where and how you can recycle your holiday tree.

City of Austin

The city of Austin has two options for recycling your Christmas tree: curbside collection or drop-off.

City curbside customers can recycle their trees starting on Thursday, Dec. 26. Residents should set out their trees by 5:30 a.m. on their composting collection day.

All Austinites can drop off their trees, wreaths and garlands for recycling at Zilker Park, even if they are not Austin Resource Recovery customers.

What to know:

Only natural trees will be accepted for recycling; However, trees sprayed with flocking or artificial snow will not be accepted.

Residents should remove all ornaments, decorations, tinsel, lights and tree stands. Wreaths and garlands should be removed from wire frames.

When recycling, do not place trees in bags. If recycling through curbside, all trees six feet or taller should be cut in half.

Drop off times:

If you choose to drop off your tree at Zilker Park, drop off is available between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the following:

• Saturday, Dec. 28
• Saturday, Jan. 4
• Sunday, Jan. 5

For more information on City of Austin tree recycling, click here.

Travis County

Travis County residents can drop off their holiday trees for free at four locations across the county from Thursday, Dec. 26 through Friday, Jan. 10.

Drop-off locations:

• West Service Center: 4501 FM 620, Austin, TX 78732
• Del Valle Adult Softball Complex: 3614 FM 973, Del Valle, TX 78617
• 1431 Collection Station: 2625 Woodall Dr, Leander, TX 78613
• East Service Center: 6011 Blue Bluff Austin, TX 78724

Only natural trees will be accepted. Residents must remove all ornaments, decorations, lights, tree stands, nails, staples and metal. Trees sprayed with flocking or artificial snow will not be accepted.

Residents should not place their tree in a “tree bag” or any plastic bag and trees taller than six feet must be cut in half.

Anyone looking to recycle holiday lights can drop them off at the Recycle and Reuse Drop-off Center located at 2514 Business Center Dr. Residents can also drop off holiday packaging there, including Styrofoam and cardboard.

Williamson County

County residents can dispose of their holiday trees for free at the Williamson County Landfill in Hutto from Thursday, Dec. 26 to Saturday, Jan. 4.

Residents must remove all lights and ornaments before taking their tree to the landfill. Flocked trees will not be accepted.

Holiday hours for recycling:

• Thursday, Dec. 26 and Friday, Dec. 27: 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 28: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Monday, Dec. 30 and Tuesday, Dec. 31: 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Wednesday, Jan 1: Closed
• Thursday, Jan. 2 and Friday, Jan. 3: 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Saturday, Jan. 4: 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, residents can call 512-759-8881.

A recent immigration surge brought newcomers to every state this year, helping to offset a continued drop in U.S. births while contributing to a national upswing of about 3.3 million new residents, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Texas and Florida continued to dominate state population growth, together adding more than 1 million people from mid-2023 to mid-2024 and making up almost a third of the nation’s population increase. The state numbers include births, deaths, immigrants and residents moving from other states.

Nationally, this year’s population growth was up from the 2.8 million increase in 2023 and the 1.9 million boost in 2022, according to state population estimates released Thursday.

The population jump — the largest single-year increase since 2001 — was buoyed by a 21% increase in net immigration.

Immigration has become a more significant factor in population changes, making up all or almost all the growth for 18 states in every part of the country this year, according to an analysis of the data by William Frey, a demographer for the Brookings Institution, a left-leaning think tank.

“This points up the importance of immigration, not just to a couple of big states but to a broad swath of our country,” Frey said. “It’s going to be very welcome in a lot of places that would not be gaining many people or [would be] losing people because of lower fertility and higher deaths.”

Immigration grew in every state, ranging from an increase of about 69,000 people in Florida and California and 57,000 in Texas, down to a few hundred in Montana and Wyoming. The growth in the immigrant population ranged from 19% in Alaska to 36% in Montana.

California and Illinois were among states that had lost residents earlier in the decade, and their growth over the past year could help both stem expected losses in congressional representation after the next nationwide census in 2030.

If the growth continues, it would trim California’s loss to three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives instead of four, and Illinois could lose one seat instead of two, said Kimball Brace, a Virginia-based redistricting expert.

Florida, where growth has slowed slightly, could gain one fewer congressional seat than predicted — three instead of four, he said.

“Clearly immigration is coming into play — a couple years ago you had people talking about California going off the deep end [with population loss] and now it doesn’t look so deep,” said Brace, president of political consulting firm Election Data Services Inc.

California ranked third in the number of new residents from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024, according to census estimates, with a gain of about 233,000, thanks to both immigration and people moving in from other states. The Golden State was followed by North Carolina (165,000) and New York (130,000). Illinois grew by about 68,000 and Louisiana by about 9,700.

Florida and Texas also were the leaders in percentage change, growing about 2% in that year, followed by Utah (1.8%), South Carolina and Nevada (both up 1.7%), and Idaho and North Carolina (both up 1.5%).

Only three states had population losses for the year, of a few hundred people each: West Virginia, Vermont and Mississippi.

In Texas, the cities of Houston, Austin and Dallas added the most new housing last year — almost 40,000 new units among them — and are likely to be the centers of new population growth, according to a state report in November. Collin County, a Dallas suburb, is also one of the state’s fastest growing areas, with more than 16,000 new housing units added last year and almost 64,000 since 2020, according to the report.

Florida’s recent growth was concentrated in Jacksonville, Port St. Lucie, Miami, Tampa and Orlando, according to a state report this year.

A surplus of births over deaths helped most in New York, California, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.

New York City has built more housing, which helped stem net losses from people moving away, said Jan Vink, a senior extension associate at Cornell University’s Program on Applied Demographics.

That’s encouraging news for the state’s future, Vink said. In November, the university estimated that New York’s population could shrink by as much as 2 million people over the next 25 years because of low fertility rates and aging, unless those losses are offset by new arrivals in the form of immigration or people moving from other states.

Texas, the Carolinas, Florida and Tennessee had the largest numbers of new residents moving in from other states, though the numbers were down in all those states from the previous year as high interest rates and housing prices led more people to postpone moves.

Stateline, a States Newsroom affiliate, produced this report.