Music
At least three bands perform each day on the Armadillo’s famed intimate stage. See Austin’s hottest new groups and longtime favorites, from singer-songwriters, rock n' rollers, western swingers and folkies to gospel/soul harmonizers, salsa orchestra, bayou boogier and country music outlaw. Below is a listing of our 2011 line up. Performance times are listed on our Calendar along with information about other exciting events!
Click here for the 2011 printable program.
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What a time it has been for young, Texas country artist and songwriter Kyle Park — a time of firsts, scores of dates across the Lone Star State and beyond, and buzz surrounding his latest full-length album, MAKE OR BREAK ME. As always, Park’s originals are built on smart, soulful and personal lyrics and a melodic style that features fresh, powerful lead guitar.
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Briane Keane is winning over audiences everywhere with his new collection of no-bull, straight from the heart songs with subjects ranging from being broke, to being broke and in love, to his well-worn experience in dive bars. Combine that with a sharp wit on -stage, a lyrical gift beyond his years, and a badass band, and you have a true artist about to make some huge waves.
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The guys in the band are fond of saying they became a unit by accident. But that’s like saying the Big Bang was an accident. Unplanned, maybe, but hardly random. Judging by thier success one might argue that a kind of destiny was involved. First formed in 1984, we hope they are here for a long time.
- What started out as a weekly get together as a way to play music and hang out on their night off, has evolved into Austin’s very own The Drakes. Comprised of mostly sidemen, they’ve been playing together since the fall of 2006. Their original songs run the gamut from swampy Louisiana R&B to Texas soul to Okie rock.
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"For a band with such a morbid-sounding name, Deadman's stately melodies (think recent Springsteen ballads) glisten with a life-affirming grace. The moonlight-crisp pedal steel and lush keyboard touches will raise--if not the dead--at least a few goosebumps." - Paste Magazine
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Twenty five years after their T-Bone Burnett produced debut Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams led them to win a Rolling Stone reader's poll as "Best New American Band," The BoDeans are still rocking and harmonizing gracefully. The new album, Indigo Dreams, is a salute to the working man: his dreams, his desires, his love, his responsibilities, his ethos.
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Hailing from the Hill Country of Wimberley, Texas, just outside of Austin, Sahara Smith is a stunning, young singer-songwriter who started performing at age 12. We can hardly believe she's been wowing us for a decade already and can't wait to see what she does next with her soft sultry voice and smooth Americana sound.
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Their voices are clear and heartful. Their music is honest and gentle. And their presence on stage is simply compelling. Father-daughter duo Hank & Shaidri Alrich form this acoustic Americana duet with remarkable instrumental cohesion and engaging vocals - that “blood harmony” born of related voices.
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Del Castillo began as a CD project for family back in the winter of 2000 and has become a symbol of the cross-cultural power of music with their eclectic blend of Flamenco, Rock, Latin, Blues, and World music. Del Castillo has performed with such diverse acts as Styx, Los Lonely Boys, Ozomatli, Don Henley, Los Lobos, and the legendary Willie Nelson.
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A classically trained vocalist and deft multi-instrumentalist (guitar, mandolin and harmonica), Terri Hendrix is a firm believer in the theory that “life’s too short for one genre,” dodging musical pigeonholes by weaving folk, pop, country, blues and swinging jazz into an eclectic style all her own that plays like a lovingly compiled mix-cd.
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Austin's LA born Eliza Gilkyson has recorded and played her unique blend of folk, country, and other genres since the late 1970s. She is the daughter of the late Terry Gilkyson, a talented songwriter. Eliza has built a reputation as one of the most loved, original and influential folk artists of our time.
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Although he has lived in Austin for over 20 years, many people still think of Jimmy LaFave as being from Oklahoma, because of what he often refers to as its “red dirt music.” It was in this landscape that he began to define his sound and soak up a combination of his experiences among authentic songwriters from the tradition of Woody Guthrie.
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From a delicate bossa nova reading of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven," to a backbeat-laden interpretation of Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things," Kat Edmonson’s voice highlights the Great American Songbook, and also gives a nod to modern artists that have made an impact both on Edmonson herself, and on the world's musical landscape.
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Winner of the 2010 Blues Music Award for Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year, Ruthie Foster is truly a blues queen. A relentless touring powerhouse, performing both nationally and internationally, it is always a pleasure to welcome Ruthie to our stage.
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Son of acclaimed author Larry McMurtry, The Village Voice has called James McMurtry "a poet of the people." Never one to rest on his laurels, he continues to tour constantly, and consistently puts on a "must-see" performance.
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Using music education as a gateway, The Biscuit Brothers offer children an opportunity to build and explore interpersonal and community values, and to think critically about the world around them. They use music as an entry point to give children everywhere a head-start on all aspects of learning and exploration.
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A small town Texas girl who had dreams of a music career, Robyn Ludwick instead turned to a career in Engineering to provide a stable life for her family. When was laid-off in the early 2000's her inner songwriter was re-awoken. The rest is music history.
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The Eggmen originally formed in 1992 in Austin, Texas. Not just a Beatles cover band, they play authentic instruments, including amps by Vox; guitars by Rickenbacker/Gretsch Epiphone/Hofner etc.; drums by Ludwig (vintage mid-sixties). Their "Liverpudlian" accents and vocal abilities are without equal
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Kalu says, "Music is a journal for me. It's a way for me to express and chronicle my days. Some people have diaries. I have music. Instead of defining myself by putting my music in a box called a 'genre,' I consider it 'feel' music. I want to connect to people by letting them know how I feel. Maybe they feel that way, too, and it creates a link between us."
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Christine Albert and Chris Gage are well respected, seasoned music business veterans, but the joy they experience making music together is fresh and infectious. They can rock, boogie, swing, trot down country roads and stride down sophisticated boulevards and make it all sound as it should: like parts of a unified whole rather than a mishmash of different styles.
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Marcia Ball is a woman with a reputation. The Texas-born, Louisiana-raised pianist/vocalist/songwriter is famed worldwide for igniting a full-scale roadhouse rhythm and blues party every time she strolls on stage. Ball's groove-laden New Orleans boogie and rollicking Gulf Coast blues have made her a one-of-a-kind favorite with music fans all over the world.
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The four principal members of Austin’s The Trishas would have you believe that they’re not blood related. But a DNA test might be in order. True, their individual bios support their claims of having had separate lives before meeting each other; but to hear them sing together, you’d swear they were harmonizing from the womb.
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Austin native Suzanna Choffel gave the songs on her new album, Steady Eye Shaky Bow, time to mature and build character, like fine wine, before she stepped into the studio to record. It's a form she likes to call indie-soul-pop. To paint an even more specific picture, she’ll go with, “Smoky-voiced female lead singing pop songs with a little bit of an urban feel.”
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A super group made up of the best of country and rockabilly. Dallas Wayne, star of Sirius Radio's Willie's Place and booming voiced baritone singer joins ex-Merle Haggard virtuoso guitarist and singer Redd Volkaert, plus Armadillo World Headquarters veteran, guitarist and vocalist Bill Kirchen. They have toured the world and now are proud to call Austin their home.
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Now comes the Hot Club of Cowtown: a trio in Austin, Texas, that specializes in Western swing. Its members have been musical ambassadors for the U.S. State Department, played Lincoln Center and been inducted into the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame.
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Warren, 25, is the son of the late Champ Hood, a guitar and fiddle player who left his mark as one of the most valuable hired guns this town has seen. Warren inherited a last name with lofty expectations, but he hasn’t flinched once. Instead, he has flourished as a songwriter and performer, forging his own path without spending too much time looking backward.
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Ray Wylie Hubbard writes the kind of songs that make you want to ride along no matter where he’s going. His sense of wonder is tempered by a wisdom and knowledge that comes with experience that has elevated him into the Wylie Lama of Texas Music. Ray Wilie is a long time Austin and Texas favorite.
- Trends and styles change in music, but there are some things that are timeless; like ear-catching melodies and rich harmony vocals. Sons of Fathers, a band with a soaring, original sound that belies their young age, have been compared to the Avett Brothers and The Byrds, albeit with an infusion of Texas grease.
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The music of Shelley King draws from and blends a spectrum of roots music styles, but one word succinctly describes it: soulful. Be it R&B, folk, blues, country, bluegrass or rock — or combinations of and variations on those themes — she delivers the goods straight from the heart with a voice that’s splendidly rich and warm and as big as all outdoors.
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This year’s bounty comes baring the admittedly foreboding title of Everything You Love Will be Taken Away, but fans of the Austin-based singer-songwriter needn’t fear: Everything you love about the man’s singular voice and music is still very much.
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Austin's Cienfuegos plays an array of latin genres with a focus on traditional Cuban styles, Son, Bolero, Guajira, and Cha-Cha. Depending on the venue and event the band varies in size from a duo to an 11 piece salsa orchestra. The band plays their own original music as well as your favorite latin standards.
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Imagine this: Jerry Garcia and Count Basie meet up in a dark alley, somewhere in Paris in the 1930s. Danceable Jazz music!
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The Dames developed their Texas roots style in the legendary Supernatural Family Band that recorded seven albums and toured the South and Southwest for 15 years. The band played the last Saturday show at the Armadillo World Headquarters, and in 1988 the Dames struck out on their own.
