Once Upon a Time in Austin

Once Upon a Time in Austin…

By June 1970 here in River City the groundbreaking music club the Vulcan Gas Company was closed after an almost 3-year run.  Several people, including artist Jim Franklin, knew there had to be a continuation of that energy and cultural creativity.  Enter Shiva’s Headband and their manager at the time, Eddie Wilson.  There’s a vast amount of lore and mythology about how events unfolded but in essence, due to Eddie’s dogged perseverance, Shiva’s record deal money and a lucky outside urination event, the location of this new venture was found.  Thus, began the Armadillo World Headquarters, the music venue that changed Austin culture forever.  

Holding the Grand Opening on August 7, 1970 with bands Shiva’s Headband and the Hub City Movers, Jim Franklin created a now iconic image for the Grand Opening event poster. His unique style helped further the mystique of the venue and was the catalyst for the style of poster art for which Austin became famous.    

Located in an old armory at 525 ½ Barton Springs Road, it was a big old building with no air conditioning or amenities but it held much promise for the group of dedicated founders.  They learned about running a venue as they went along and mainly did learn from mistakes made.  Fortunately for the city, state and nation the staff never stopped taking chances on the bands booked to perform…they consciously booked acts that were wonderful but weren’t going to sell a lot of tickets.  

So many musicians supported the club but folks like Freddie King helped the club stay afloat with frequent gigs at the club.  Local bands that made many appearances included Greezy Wheels, Shiva’s Headband, Alvin Crow, Balcones Fault, Steam Heat and Too Smooth.  

In 1972, Willie Nelson made his first appearance at the ‘Dillo in what was a career changing gig.  Friend Waylon Jennings followed and the AWHQ became known for being a place where the rednecks and the hippies gathered and put their differences aside because of the mutual love of music.  

Many landmark events followed over the years, along with accompanying financial troubles but the club did persevere; survived a Chapter 11 bankruptcy and ended the 10-year run making a profit.  Nothing lasts forever but the impact of this club on Austin and its culture has continued to this day.

AusPop was very proud to hold an exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Armadillo World Headquarters on Aug. 7-9, 2020. These events were all virtually hosted due to the COVID pandemic:

On August 7th, Freddie Krc and Leea Mechling hosted a Zoom event with musicians joining in remotely.  Freddie and Leea showed off the assorted posters that covered the walls of the museum and talked about some of the shows these posters advertised.  Hundreds of photographs have been digitized and were available for viewing in display books, with an assortment shared on AusPop’s website.

On August 8th, Freddie and Leea discussed the staff who worked at the club.  Over 10 years, a special group of people worked there and some brilliant minds were involved- some for a short time and some for the duration of the club. 

On August 9th, Freddie and Leea talked about the bands who performed there and shared quotes sent to AusPop by musicians like Chris Hillman and George Frayne (a/k/a Commander Cody). They discussed the live recordings made there and experiences associated with those events. Yes, they talked about the times Bruce Springsteen appeared…

The exhibit ran from August 7th until Threadgill’s North was sold... You can view the exhibit below, as we slowly get it compiled for you all to enjoy. We are currently working with the Austin Public Library to display the exhibition, but you can view a slimmed down version of the online exhibition here. When the world recovers from COVID and we can gather in spaces together again, we are planning on a physical exhibition, so check back for more details!

For more information, please contact staff at info@southpop.org or by telephone (512) 440-8318