AUSTIN BLUES MECCA CELEBRATES 50

Antone's, on Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, has long been a sanctuary for the blues. Its 50-year mission to further the genre will be celebrated with a host of anniversary releases and events in 2025.

They will include a boxed set, issued with New West Records, of live recordings spanning Antone's half-century in operation, out-of-print music from the Antone's Records imprint and new tracks by acts associated with the club, plus extended and updated editions of the 2005 documentary Antone's: Home of the Blues and the 1985 photo book Picture the Blues.

Antone's will also be the subject of a panel during South by Southwest (3/7-15), followed by a party and 50th anniversary showcase at the club, and the annual Austin Blues Festival (4/26-27) will likewise toast the venue via all-star jams.

Travelers traversing Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, meanwhile, will be able to enjoy live music at a satellite Antone's stocked with club artifacts, while a permanent blues museum will open on the upstairs level of the primary location with memorabilia donated by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Willie Dixon and Clifton Chenier.

Antone's 50th birthday will be feted officially on 7/15. Other special events will transpire throughout the month.

The club will even make its presence felt in New York, participating in Lincoln Center's Summer for the City series in June.

In the meantime, HITS will be happy to perform a middling rendition of the Stevie Ray Vaughan song of your choice (by request only).