Red River Cultural District

About this audio guide

This guide to Austin's Red River Cultural District follows Jennifer Houlihan, hired in twenty twelve to do something nobody thought possible: unite the rival club owners along this stretch of Red River Street. It reaches back to the block's rougher years, when locals called it Crack Alley, and the cheap rent that let venues like Emo's and Stubb's take root in the nineteen nineties. You'll hear about two owners who ran clubs blocks apart for decades without exchanging a full sentence. Listen for the barbecue smoke and the bass leaking from open doors as you walk the block.