EMPIRE CONTROL ROOM & GARAGE

Empire Control Room and Garage sits at 606 East 7th Street, right at the edge of the Red River Cultural District. The venue operates as two rooms in one, the Control Room and the Garage, which gives it flexibility that most Austin venues do not have. The Control Room is the larger of the two, a proper concert hall with elevated sound and lighting that can handle national touring acts. The Garage is smaller and grittier, better suited for local bands, comedy nights, and the kind of shows where the crowd is right on top of the stage. Between the two rooms, Empire can accommodate everything from a hundred-person show to a much larger event, and they frequently run shows in both spaces on the same night. The booking is genre-agnostic, covering rock, hip-hop, electronic, Latin, country, and everything in between. Empire positions itself as a music venue for all, and the calendar backs that up. The space also hosts private events, corporate functions, and SXSW showcases. The building has good bones, the kind of industrial-meets-modern look that photographs well but also sounds great when a band is actually playing. Multiple bars keep the lines moving, and the location puts you within walking distance of the rest of the Red River action. Empire fills an important niche in Austin's venue ecosystem, a mid-size room with real production value that does not price out emerging artists.