Music is one of the driving forces that propel the economy of the city of Austin. Annually, millions of dollars are earned from the countless music-related events held within the city. But, the question is: how did Austin earned the title of being “The Live Music Capital of the World”?

The musical heritage of this city dates back since the 1930s and the 1940s with the opening of music venues such as the Threadgill’s and the Victory Grill. Both venues hosted music greats with Janis Joplin performing at the Threadgill’s and legends B.B. King and Tina Turner performing at the Victory Grill. Since then the music scene in Austin area flourished with the opening of Vulcan Gas Company- Austin’s flagship rock music venue in the ‘60s, the birth of the Armadillo World Headquarters in the 70’s and the conception of Waterloo Records in the ‘80s. Through the years, these companies made Austin a big name in the music industry and made it an important stop for any musician, singer or band.

It was around 1990’s when the thought of promoting the local music in the city came into light. Lilian Standfield, a blues musician, saw the need to promote the city’s music via the use of a slogan. She proposed the idea of making Austin the “Music Capital of the USA” to the Music Commission. It was then that the city government conducted a research and found out that there were so many live music venues per capita in Austin as compared to other well-known music places like Nashville, Memphis and New York. The slogan “Live Music Capital of the Universe” was also considered but general consensus vetoed on making Austin the “Live Music Capital of the World”. This Council Resolution was passed on August 29, 1991 and ever since the city bore the famous slogan.