Popular Music and Culture in Austin, Texas. Talking with the Blues Books uri icon

place of publication

  • Cham

country

  • SUIZA

publication date

  • 2025

isbn

  • 978-3-031-88656-0

series title / series number

  • Palgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures and Popular Music

abstract

  • This book explores the blues tradition through a collective dialogue with significant musicians and producers of the Austin blues scene. Based on an ethnography in the singular capital of Texas, the self-proclaimed live music capital of the world, it explores the local blues scene through in-depth interviews that reveal intimate bonds between popular music, culture, identity, race, politics, the city and the music industry. Through the voices and experiences of 15 protagonists, readers are introduced to multiple aspects of blues lives, including music-making, style, identity, and the changing landscape of the Austin scene. While this oral history informs about particular biographies, it also delves into larger processes around popular music, culture and race, such as Jim Crow segregation, the Civil Rights era, international touring and gentrification.

subjects

  • History
  • Information Science
  • Music

keywords

  • austin music scene; east austin; texas blues; austin blues scene; intercultural history; black popular culture; white blues; the historic victory grill; dialtone records; texan jazz; soul music; chitlin' circuit