Threadgill’s, 2020. Photo by Jason Mellard
Preservation Austin Talks:
Jason Mellard on “Austin Revolutions per Minute: Music History Sites in the Live Music Capital”
TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2026 | 7 PM - 8:30 PM
MCFARLAND-MCBEE HOUSE | 3805 RED RIVER
$5 FOR MEMBERS (Partner/$100 annual level and up) | $20 FOR OTHERS
Check-in opens at 7 PM; program begins at 7:30 PM. Pre-registration is required, and closes at 11:59 p.m. March 23. Registration fees are non-refundable, and support our nonprofit's work year-round.
Jason Mellard on “Austin Revolutions per Minute: Music History Sites in the Live Music Capital”
Author Michael Corcoran titled his last work Austin Music is a Scene Not a Sound, and any account of our “live music capital” understands that when we talk about Austin Music, we mean something more than notes on a page or sounds from a speaker. It is a way of remembering the dense relationships between people and place through culture and time. Let’s chronicle some of those sites in the Austin landscape, from legendary venues still a part of the city’s urban fabric to alleys, bars, and homes vanished long ago. In the process, we’ll get a sense of how history and public memory reverberate in an ever-changing city and think through our responsibilities as historic preservationists who are also music fans.
Jason Mellard is the Director of the Center for Texas Music History and Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of History at Texas State University. He edits the Journal of Texas Music History, presents This Week in Texas Music History on KUT/KUTX, and is the author of Progressive Country: How the 1970s Transformed the Texan in Popular Culture (University of Texas Press, 2013).
This event is part of Preservation Austin’s new series of regular talks to hosted at the McFarland-McBee House each summer, fall, and spring.
Event Details
This event takes place outdoors, in the McFarland-McBee House courtyard. In the event of inclement weather, it will be rescheduled for March 31. Check-in opens at 7 PM; program begins at 7:30 PM.
Guests are asked to find street parking in the neighborhood, typically available along 38th and 39th Streets on either side of the McFarland-McBee House. Please adhere to public right-of-way parking rules and be respectful of neighbors. Walking, biking, public transit, and ridesharing are always encouraged! The McFarland-McBee House has a bike rack available for use, as well as an ADA parking spot. Our small parking lot is otherwise reserved for staff, volunteers, and presenters.
