than 130 bands on eight stages. In fact,
because of the festival’s incredible popularity each year, organizers added a second
weekend with different headliners and
artists, starting in 2013. Thanks to ACL, and
to the many musicians who live, work and
make music here, Austin more than lives up
to its musical nickname.
Music clubs line both the popular Sixth
Street entertainment district and the Fourth
Street Warehouse District, and are spread
throughout the rest of the city. There’s an
opportunity to hear live music any time of
day here – from the local musicians who
welcome visitors with daily concerts at
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to
the weekday lunchtime concerts in front of
City Hall and the bars, restaurants, dance
clubs and other entertainment options along
and near Sixth Street and Congress Avenue,
and the thriving Second Street District.
The city is also a center for filmmaking and
television, nurturing local talents like now
nationally known directors such as Richard
Linklater, Robert Rodriguez and Mike
Judge, and filmmaker Terence Malick. The
variety of scenery and diverse natural environments in the area have made Austin the
location for such Hollywood productions as
the critically acclaimed opus from Richard
Linklater, 2014’s Boyhood, and Jon Favreau’s
2014 food truck comedy-drama, Chef. Not
to mention such perennial favorites as Miss
Congeniality, Courage Under Fire, The Alamo,
Hope Floats, Michael, all of Rodriguez’ Spy
Kids films, as well as the award-winning television series Friday Night Lights.
AUSTIN, TEXAS: A GREAT
PLACE FOR BUSINESS
Besides fun, recreation, music and great
food, Austin also has a reputation as a
thriving and vibrant business community.
Companies here offer a virtual cornucopia
of business and industry, with key industries that include advanced technology
and manufacturing (software, hardware,
semiconductor, and more); government,
education, music, healthcare, and film
– plus many other support services and
industries.
While Austin, Texas, is probably most
known for its technology base and its
reputation as the “Silicon Hills,” thanks
to such major local employers as Dell,
Inc., IBM, AMD, Applied Materials,
National Instruments, Samsung Semiconductor, Apple Computer, and Freescale
Semiconductor, Inc., it’s also home to a
robust government and public employment sector.
Large government and public sector employers
rank among the area’s largest employers,
including the Internal Revenue Service,
which operates a regional office; the University of Texas at Austin; the State of Texas;
the City of Austin; the Austin Independent
School District; and the Round Rock Independent School District, among others. (See
specific large employer list in the Business and
Economy section for more information).
