What to Eat, See and Hear in Austin

Conference set for 24-26 Sept. 2018 in Austin

PBM Staff Writer //PBM Staff Writer//March 14, 2018

Austin Music Scene

The 2018 NEXT Conference runs Monday, September 24, to Wednesday, September 26, in downtown Austin, where you’ll find hundreds of music venues, bars, and restaurants. We’ve highlighted some of our favorites here.

The conference venue, Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater, is an attraction itself and home to the PBS show of the same name. It’s located at Lavaca and 2nd Street (2nd was renamed Willie Nelson Boulevard in 2010).

Downtown Eats

Just a couple blocks from ACL is Second Bar + Kitchen, a modern, upscale restaurant featuring new American fare. Other nearby options include Manuel’s for regional Mexican (lunch and dinner), Truluck’s (seafood) and the Roaring Fork (Southwestern menu in a historic hotel).

You don’t have to leave downtown to get Texas BBQ. Check out Coopers or Iron Works (across the street from our conference hotel), or grab an Uber and head to La Barbecue and County Line on the Hill.

Music

You’ll find live music in Austin seven days a week if it doesn’t find you first. Music venues reach critical mass on East 6th Street, between Congress Avenue and Interstate 35.

Some of the better-known Austin venues include The Broken Spoke, for honky tonk (Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton performed here) and the Continental Club, which opened in 1955 and features rock, country, jazz and blues. The Elephant Room has jazz every night in a basement setting. If you’re interested in current local and touring acts The Mohawk is a good bet. And you can find current music listings in the Austin Chronicle here.

Get Outdoors

The Texas State Capitol, opened in 1888 and is within walking distance of the conference, as is the 10-mile Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail.

Also nearby is the Congress Avenue Bridge, home to one of the more unusual nightly traditions in the U.S. Every day, crowds gather to watch nearly 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats — the largest colony in North America — launch into the sky about 20 minutes before sundown. Here’s a guide to viewing the exodus, by boat, on the lawn, or in a cafe.

Across the river is Zilker Park, a 351-acre urban park with botanical gardens and recreational activities including a disc-golf course, miniature train (the Zilker Zephyr), bike/canoe rentals, and picnic sites.

If you want to get a better look around Austin, consider a SegCity Segway tour or boat cruise.

Rainey Street District

Attendees can get a special room rate by mentioning the NEXT conference — $239 per night, plus taxes — at the Hotel Van Zandt in Austin’s Rainey Street District. The area is known for its historic bungalows, which have been converted to bars and restaurants — along with an impressive selection of food trucks.

When you’re ready to roam on Rainey Street, consider these recommendations all within 2 blocks of our hotel: Javelina (casual drinks on the patio and delicious bar food), Banger’s (sausages, naturally, and a large beer garden with 100 beers on tap), and Lucille (if you like your drink with mini-golf, cornhole or in a hammock). And if you only feel like walking to the fourth floor, The Hotel Van Zandt houses Geraldine’s with gourmet, modern-southern fare and live music nightly. The hotel suggests this good listing of music venues in the Rainey District and 6th Street, and a listing of nearby bars.

Want to see more? Here’s a video to get a feel for the area.

For more information, please visit: https://next.pbmconferences.com/