Austin, TX

The Armadillo World Headquarters Is Being Reborn — on Austin FC's New Kit

Published

2 years ago

February 16, 2024

The Armadillo World Headquarters Is Being Reborn — on Austin FC's New Kit

Eddie Wilson could tell stories about the Armadillo World Headquarters, the storied Austin music venue he founded in 1970, for hours. He’ll tell you about how “nowhere else in the world” had ever treated Charlie Daniels so good, or the “phonebook thick” contract ZZ Top made him sign, or maybe the times that names like Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, and Stevie Ray Vaughan performed there in the Seventies.

“We got one wonderful picture of Frank Zappa bending over a table with a razor blade,” Wilson recounts in his Texas twang. “‘He must’ve been doing coke.’ And I say, ‘No, look at the rest of the picture there.’ And sure enough, he got the razor blade because he’s cutting the sleeves off a T-shirt we’d just given him!”

The Armadillo was a place of convergence for the city in those days. And though it closed down in 1981, its mark on the Texas city is part of why Austin calls itself the “live music capital of the world.”

“It was a smoky little joint that had discovered what hippie music could do for beer sales,” read a Rolling Stone piece about the venue from 1971. “Hippies and rednecks were forced into the same bar: the hippies because the music was there, and the rednecks because the beer was there.”

Half a century later, a different entertainment form is celebrating the venue’s legacy: Austin FC, the city’s soccer club. On Thursday, the MLS team unveils the ‘Dillo Kit, a beige jersey with the team’s signature verde on its sleeve to honor the “creative and vibrant spirit” Armadillo World HQ left in the city.

“As a beneficiary of what was built at the Armadillo, it’s an honor to show our respect for the venue, the people who built it, and the musicians who played there,” Austin FC President Andy Loughnane tells Rolling Stone. “The spirit of camaraderie and community that came to life at Armadillo World Headquarters is very much on display today in Austin and you see it come to life at Q2 Stadium on an Austin FC matchday.”

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In many ways, Austin FC is carrying on the legacy Wilson’s venue built of bringing people from all walks of life together under one roof. One particular fan by the name of Matthew McConaughey calls it the “Come as you are” rule. McConaughey wasn’t around to see the city in the ‘Dillo days but says his older brother Pat would always tell him stories about the Austin he loves.

Austin FC midfielder Daniel Pereira #6 celebrates with Matthew McConaughey after the match against DC United at Q2 Stadium in Austin in 2023.

Jacob Gonzalez/Austin FC

“You walk into a bar and there’s a hippie to your left, a sheriff to your right, a Native American on the other side of the hippie, and a guy with blue hair on the other side of the sheriff,” McConaughey, one of Austin FC’s investors, tells Rolling Stone. “Everyone’s having a drink together. And that is really the DNA of Austin: Come as you are. And that’s what happened with Armadillo World HQ.”

“AC/DC played their first American show there. Did you know that?” he adds, referring to the band’s first performance in the States, opening for Moxy in 1977. “To be laying down some elbow grease with Angus Young and the boys. At the Armadillo? That would have been an absolute neckbanger.”

Mix McConaughey’s love for the soccer team (he’s often spotted in the stands banging a massive drum) and his affinity for music (he starred in a Zach Bryan music video earlier this month), and he’s all in.

He tells the story of how he discovered one of his favorite artists in Austin. He was walking down Sixth Street with a friend during the Pecan Street Festival, live music vibrating from every corner. “Through all the muffled sounds, there was one bit of music that was cutting through all that,” McConaughey remembers. “I go up a block, I take a right, I take a left down a gravel alley past three Dumpsters, and then behind this brick wall and there was a guy on this little stage with about 32 people in front of it. James McMurtry. This guy’s a wordsmith. I grabbed his album, paid my five bucks for it, and have bought all his albums since.”

“What you can do in Austin is follow your ears,” he adds. “Follow your ears, and you’re usually going to like what you see.”

Nearly 50 years later, Austin FC — with its drumbeat-shaken stands and soccer stars like Argentine Sebastián Driussi and Finnish player Alexander Ring on the pitch — now takes on the role of converger in the city, thanks to both the growing excitement of the sport nationally ahead of the 2026 World Cup, and Austin’s position as the fastest-growing metro area in Texas, featuring a drastically different demographic than the ‘Dillo in its years. Latinos made up only 14 percent of the city then. Now, 40 percent of ATX is Latino.

Jimmie Vaughan poses in the 2024 Secondary Kit at Photogroup Studios in Austin.
Jacob Gonzalez/Austin FC

“Austin has become a place where many people from all over the world live. And what’s the international game? Football,” McConaughey says. “If you take a snapshot of the south end of our stadium on any given night, the light and smoke, banging the drums, there’s a community where everyone is welcome. That’s a mirror image in a lot of what Armadillo was in the Seventies.”

Wilson is also expected to attend. He’ll be there with his gray bushy goatee, smiling, surrounded by some of the venue’s original posters and some of the people he employed there. The armadillo-emblazoned kit is a full-circle moment for him. Ask how he feels about the recognition and his answer is simple. “Well,” he says with a smoky chuckle, “I’m glad somebody, by God, noticed.”

To celebrate the ‘Dillo kit launch, Austin FC is hosting a party Thursday at a venue recreating what the ‘Dillo looked like in its heyday, featuring food and specialty drinks common at the venue. There’s a slated performance from the last act to ever play there: Ray Benson and his Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel. They also decorated the walls with photographs of Austinite musicians Jimmie Vaughan (Stevie Ray’s brother) and Latine, queer singer Gina Chavez in the new kit.

Austin FC kicks off its 2024 season, which airs on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass, against Minnesota United FC on Feb. 24.

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Austin, TX

Austin activists hold anti-ICE protests following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis

Published

52 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Austin activists hold anti-ICE protests following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis

Chants of “shame” and “ICE out of Texas” rang through the street as Austin-area activists joined thousands across the nation in protesting the killing of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis.

The protest was held in front of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Pflugerville.

Good, 37, was shot in her SUV while attempting to drive away from several ICE officers who ordered her to exit her vehicle.

Scarleth Lopez with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the organization that led the protest, said the videos of the shooting in Minneapolis were “sickening.”

“Trump has lied and and said that Renee was a terrorist. She was a mother. She was an innocent bystander,” Lopez said. “We must organize to stop these people from kidnapping and murdering.”

Lorianne Willett

KUT News

Spray painted messages appeared outside of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Pflugerville

Elizabeth Bope, a retired Pflugerville ISD teacher, said the claims from federal and state lawmakers that Good was attempting to strike the ICE agent with her vehicle inspired her to attend the protest.

Such claims were posted online by Vice President J.D. Vance and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Attorney General Ken Paxton reposted a statement from DHS on X, formerly known as Twitter, that said the ICE agent “relied on his training and saved his own life.”

“It’s beyond really any words that they killed this woman for no reason, but also that they’re lying about it,” Bope said. “I’m not even a radical left person, I’m just a regular old Democrat.”

Other key Texas leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have not commented on the shooting.

A group of protesters holding yellow signs reading "ICE Out of our Communities" gather during a night time protest. — Protesters gathered and held signs during a protest against ICE.

Doug Tickner, who said he works for a home building company in Austin, said he felt it was important to show up in person for Good.

“I don’t really think of Minneapolis as being that far from here, and it’s not like what happened in Minneapolis was some sort of one off unique event,” Tickner said. “This is part of a pattern, and I feel folks better wake up and realize that this is becoming more and more serious.”

The news that federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in Portland, Oregon, broke hours before the protest.

The gathering in Pflugerville is among the first of four anti-ICE demonstrations planned across the Austin area over the next few days.

Earlier on Thursday, protesters gathered at the intersection of 45th Street and Lamar Boulevard during rush hour. A protest on Friday will be held at the Capitol and another will be held Saturday at City Hall.

Protesters bang on the outside of a building built of metal. — Protesters bang on the outside of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Pflugerville.

State and federal leaders are now sparring over who should conduct an investigation into the Minneapolis shooting, according to NPR.

Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which was originally asked to conduct a joint investigation with the FBI, said in a statement it was later told the investigation would be led solely by federal authorities.

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Austin, TX

Flesh-eating screwworm may be moving closer to Texas on its own, ag commissioner says

Published

13 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Flesh-eating screwworm may be moving closer to Texas on its own, ag commissioner says

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AUSTIN, Texas – A Texas agency is concerned that the flesh-eating New World screwworm could be getting closer to Texas without commercial livestock movement.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is sounding the alarm again for livestock owners to remain vigilant in watching for signs of the parasite in their animals.

Screwworm sighting near Texas

The latest:

Miller said in a Thursday release that a screwworm had been detected in a cow in González, Tamaulipas, a little more than 200 miles from the southern Texas border.

According to the commissioner, the cow had no reported history of movement outside Tamaulipas, and is the third active case reported there.

Officials in Mexico have not reported a known population of the worm in Tamaulipas. They’re working with U.S. authorities to investigate further into the new case.

What they’re saying:

“The screwworm now may be moving closer on its own, with no apparent link to commercial animal movement,” Commissioner Miller said. “Texas producers must act now—stay informed, stay vigilant, and prepare immediately. We cannot drop our guard for even a moment.”

Inspect livestock for screwworm

What you can do:

Miller urged immediate action from ranchers along the Texas border.

“Inspect your animals daily,” Miller said. “Check every open wound. If anything looks suspicious, report it right away. Better a false alarm than a delayed response—early detection and rapid reporting are our strongest defenses against this devastating pest.”

U.S. plan to fight screwworm in Texas

Big picture view:

The threat to cattle has been deemed so potentially devastating to the U.S. food supply that the federal government is committing $850 million to fight it.

Most of that money will be spent on building a sterile male fly production facility near the border.

The facility will produce 300 million sterile male flies a week to be dropped into target areas where the screwworm is now. Those male flies help to reduce the population size through mating without reproducing.

A much smaller portion of the funding will be used for screwworm detection technology.

In addition, the federal government has already spent $21 million on a sterile fly production facility in Mexico.

What are New World screwworms?

Dig deeper:

The insect gets its name because it’s only found in the Americas.

It lays its eggs in the open wounds of animals, and its larvae become parasites, threatening livestock, domestic animals, and even people.

The screwworm was mostly eradicated in Texas and the rest of the United States in the 60s. But now, it’s moving north up from Panama and has a known presence a little over 300 miles south of the Texas-Mexico border.

The Source: Information in this article comes from Sid Miller.

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Austin, TX

LD Systems expands Texas Footprint with Austin Location and welcomes ILIOS Productions — TPi

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

LD Systems expands Texas Footprint with Austin Location and welcomes ILIOS Productions — TPi

For over two decades, ILIOS Productions has been a key part of the live events community in Austin, TX, transforming spaces and audience experiences with a vast range of lighting and video design, as well as event production services across a diverse client portfolio. Now, with the backing of parent company Clair Global, LD Systems, a Houston-based premier provider of audio, video, and lighting for event production and installed technology solutions, is welcoming ILIOS Productions to the team, marking the group’s fourth location in Texas. ILIOS Productions will now operate under the LD Systems brand.

LD Systems will further resource ILIOS’ existing Austin operation to include additional services such as audio and rigging for live events, as well as integration solutions and services. This addition helps round out LD Systems’ ability to locally serve major metropolitan areas across Texas, including Houston, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Austin and reflects Clair Global’s continued focus on offering global resources while maintaining strong local-market expertise and responsiveness.

ILIOS Productions’ experience spans the concert and festival sector, corporate and activations, and high-end private, philanthropic and charitable events. The company’s commitment to critical event delivery has established trust with major brands including Lollapalooza, SXSW, Austin City Limits, Google, YouTube, the University of Texas System and many more.

Founder, President & Sr Ops Manager of ILIOS Productions, Bryan Azar, said: “After many years of working alongside LD Systems in Austin and beyond, we are delighted to be joining their world-class organisation. This is an exciting new chapter for a bolder future together.”

Zach Boswell, General Manager, ILIOS Productions, added: “We are passionate about the work we do, and the community and business culture found at LD Systems is the ideal next step for our dedicated employees to progress as a united workforce.“

LD Systems co-founder and President, Rob McKinley commented: “We are delighted to amplify our service offerings in Austin with the addition of Bryan and his exceptional team of technology professionals. They have made a significant difference to many Texans with the work they undertake, and LD Systems is proud to welcome both their talent and ethos to the company.”

Building on this momentum, LD Systems also announced plans to expand its San Antonio facility into a new location in January 2026. Together with the addition of ILIOS Productions in Austin, this investment reinforces the organisation’s long-term investment in Texas and its dedication to meeting growing client demand with enhanced capacity and infrastructure.

www.ldsystems.com

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