From rock to opera, Austin live music scene plays on during pandemic

As a dirty, disheveled punk rocker fresh to Austin in 1978, Jon Dee Graham’s hippie roommates had bad news for him: “Dude, you just missed it.”

What was “it”? A weird, fun Austin that didn’t exist anymore. That’s the axiom that new arrivals have been hearing for decades. But it’s also a myth, says Mr. Graham.

On any given night pre-COVID-19 there could be over 100 shows happening in Austin, including rock, opera, and everything in between. That environment helped Mr. Graham craft a decadeslong, genre-spanning career that was so influential the Austin Chronicle declared it “too [darned] complicated” to place him exactly within the city’s family tree. He’s opened for The Clash and the Ramones. He’s a three-time inductee into the Austin Music Hall of Fame. He’s seen local acts like Spoon and Gary Clark Jr. hit the big time.

He doesn’t feel like he’s missed anything. Until now…

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