THE CONTINENTAL CLUB

The Continental Club opened its doors at 1315 South Congress in 1955 and has not stopped since, making it one of the oldest continuously running music venues in Austin. The place started as a swanky supper club, became the city's first burlesque venue, spent time as a working-class bar that opened at seven in the morning, and eventually evolved into the roots rock and blues institution it is today. The building is a historical landmark now, and the original 1950s murals still hang on the walls from a restoration done in 1987. The list of artists who have played this stage reads like a Texas music hall of fame. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Joe Ely, Junior Brown, Dale Watson, James McMurtry, Alejandro Escovedo, Wanda Jackson, Robert Plant, and Link Wray have all come through. Roosevelt Williams kicked things off on New Year's Eve 1987, and some of the happy hour regulars have been playing here for three decades straight. The room is narrow and dark, with the stage right there in your face. It holds maybe two hundred people when it is packed, and it is frequently packed. The Continental books seven nights a week, with happy hour sets that are just as good as the late-night headliners. If you live in Austin and care about music, you will end up here eventually. If you are visiting and want to understand what people mean when they talk about Austin's live music legacy, this is where you start.