1/12/07, 5:45 pm EST

Assignment One Finalist: Jennifer Nalewicki on Austin, Texas

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Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

by Jennifer Nalewicki
Age: 26
There’s no doubt about it, Austin is the “Live Music Capital of the World.” Don’t believe me? Consider this: On any given night, music venues throughout this college town deep in the heart of Texas are throbbing with the sounds of funkadelic jazz, head-thrashing rock ‘n’ roll, and—since we are in Texas after all—good old-fashioned country music.

It’s only a couple of hours after the final work bell has rung, and already Matt the Electrician, the tousle-haired singer-songwriter, who used to repair circuit breakers for a living (hence the name), is deep into his set of muted melodies. But don’t get too comfy, there’s a lot more to see and hear. Across town, at Huston-Tillotson College, Les and the Funk Mob, a R&B group to the max, and Grupo Fantasma, a Latin pop group that fuses cumbia, rap, and salsa into the whole enchilada, are rallying up the crowd as part of a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration. Over at Artz Rib House, the spit-fired chickens and baby-back pork rib plates aren’t the only things that this barbecue joint has going for itself. Sarah Elizabeth Campbell and the Banned are playing their usual set of heartfelt songs that will bring tears to even the least melancholy person’s eyes.

Back downtown, in the Warehouse District, Brandon Rhyder is playing a free show of back-roads country tunes at Antone’s, an Austin musical intuition. Down on Sixth Street, a multi-block span of nightclubs, bars, and tattoo parlors, Marc Devine is tickling the ivories at Reed’s Jazz and Supper Club. Even the Austin Bergstrom International Airport gets in on the musical action, hosting a variety of local musicians to perform daily at the airport. Just got off United 1238 from Denver? Prepare to be serenaded as you make your way toward the baggage claim. Think you’ve heard enough? This is just what’s happening in Austin on a Monday night.