The "capital" of the Austin music scene: 6th street

Short video clip of SXSW Festival 2009 (Daytime is fairly mild - the night scene is rivalled only by New Orleans Mardi Gras).

6th Street is a historic street and entertainment district in Austin, Texas. East 6th Street is the center of the city's live music scene.

6th Street was formerly named Pecan Street under Austin's older naming convention, which had east-west streets named after trees and north-south streets named after Texas rivers (the latter convention remains in place). The area around nearby 4th Street and 6th Street is the heart of the Austin entertainment district. Many bars, clubs, music venues, and shopping destinations are located on E. 6th Street between Congress Avenue and Interstate 35 and many offer live music at one time or another during the week.

E. 6th Street plays host to a wide variety of events each year, ranging from music and film festivals (such as South by Southwest) to biker rallies (such as The Republic of Texas Biker Rally) and the Pecan Street Festival.

Traffic is generally blocked on E. 6th Street and most crossroads from I-35 to Brazos Street on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings (depending on pedestrian traffic), as well as holidays and special events to allow the crowds to walk unfettered to the many venues that line the street. On New Year's Eve,Mardi Gras, and Halloween nights tens of thousands of revelers can walk only one way depending on the side of the street they are on.


The area of 6th Street west of Lavaca is known as the West 6th Street District. It is roughly bound by 5th Street, 7th Street, Lavaca Street, and West Ave. Recently, there has been a growing movement to develop this area as an entertainment district of its own, geared toward the live music crowd.