AUSTIN, TEXAS: THE CITY WHERE MUSIC POURS FROM DOORWAYS

Drawn into Austin by the lure of classic blues, we began in the city where guitar players wander off the stage and into the road, the pavements where students Snapchat alongside families and blocks upon blocks of bars showcase local talent. Austin Texas, the self-proclaimed ‘live music capital of the world’.

2 US states, 3 cities, 800 miles of driving + 1 internal flight, a serious amount of Texan BBQ, a swamp tour on a Louisiana bayou with gators and raccoons, music pouring from doorways, a small red car christened Bonnie (just because we could), 7 hotels (definitely a record for us, we like to make a single central base) and a few gallons of craft ale. That was our two-week road trip through Texas and Louisiana.

But, back to Austin Texas its self. Death metal with screaming soloists, big band blues with grooving horn players who feel the rhythm through their whole being, classical guitarists who sit in a spotlit room playing their hearts. Groups wandering through the streets improvising a groove on a plastic bucket, guitar soloists who hand their instrument over to a grinning member of the crowd before wandering back on stage to finish his cigarette and ripping out Jimi Hendrix gold.

This is Austin.

This is the Austin we found. This is the Austin we had hoped for.

Architecturally, it’s a very industrial city, combining an unusual mix of gleaming skyscrapers trying to keep up with demand, extensive green parks and further out suburban family homes that keep pygmy goats tethered in the yard.

Evenings are when the city begins to jive, no matter the weather. 6th Street is best known for a stretch of bars that spill out into the cordoned-off roads (to keep bar-hopping drinkers safe), but there seemed to be music on every single corner, not to mention in the perpendicular roads.

And it wasn’t even the time of Austin City Limits or South by SouthWest, the big music festivals that put this city on the international music map.

Skynyrd is played as often as Stevie Ray Vaughan. Monday nights are busier than Picadilly Circus – wandering along on a Sunday night feels like a rave, and ginormous pizza slices are nibbled by everyone. We wandered into bars, drawn to the amazing music, and stayed for the chatty bar staff.

And this was only just the beginning of our epic roadie…