No serious poster enthusiast would question San Francisco’s supremacy as the Mecca and mother lode of rock & roll art. And as the psychedelic explosion in Haight Ashbury reverberated across the country and around the world, other cities began to produce posters in homage to the original Sixties esthetic that drove the poster renaissance in San Francisco. Yet arguably, after San Francisco, no city can boast as rich a music poster tradition as Austin, Texas, where from the mid-Sixties until today a fortuitous combination of factors has spawned a mind-boggling barrage of posters and handbills. It has been said that Austin has more live music venues per capita than any other city in the world; though this may or may not be true, it is undeniable that Austin’s energetic music community and cornucopia of small clubs and honky-tonks has generated an imposing abundance of music art.

This article should provide a brief introduction to some of the major personalities and institutions involved in producing Austin music posters over the last quarter century. The Vulcan Gas Company, the Armadillo World Headquarters, Castle Creek, Antone’s, Soap Creek Saloon, the Continental Club, the Austin Opry/Opera House, Raul’s, Club Foot, Liberty Lunch, the Cannibal Club, the Ritz, and countless other clubs and concert halls have served as benefactors in the proliferation of Austin poster art. Part One of this article will focus on the two most prominent of the venues – The Vulcan Gas Company and the Armadillo World Headquarters.