The End Is Near For The Backyard
If you know anything at all about music in Austin, you know about the Backyard. The Backyard is an amazing outdoor venue with huge oaks, wooden decks with a capacity of around 5,000 people and there isn't a bad seat anywhere. The Backyard has seen acts like BB King, Eric Johnson, David Bowie, bob Dylan, Jimmie Buffet, Sheryl Crowe, Monte Montgomery, Branford Marsalis, the Black Crowes, Norah Jones and many more. The Gipsy Kings are playing August 28th and Willie Nelson will be there for the final performance at The Backyard.
What once was a really cool outdoor, easy to get to venue in Bee Cave has been surrounded by development. We used to be able to park right next door in a field and walk to the entrance in two minutes. With the Shops at the Galleria now surrounding The Backyard and the Hill Country Galleria Mall across the highway, the area just isn't a good fit any more. Visitors now have to park in a field and walk up a hill and through parking lots for around 10 minutes to get to The Backyard. The Shops and the Galleria will not allow people to park in their parking lots and the trek to this Hill Country music arena is kind of a headache.
The Backyard isn't closing from what I understand - it is moving. The new location sill be in Bee Cave pretty close to the existing Backyard location, but it will be larger and will have more parking. The owner, Tim O'Connor, is moving to a 37 acre location that will have plenty of parking and room for around 7,500 people.
I'm a bit sad to see The Backyard moving, but it was bound to happen. The place lots much of its charm when the Shops at the Galleria opened. The stage and all of the scaffolding around it that housed lights and curtains, which once dominated the landscape despite being below the road, was dwarfed by the new stores. The majestic oaks, some of which will be relocated to the new location, almost disappeared in a sea of concrete walls.
But hey, the show will go on. The Backyard enjoyed a really good 16 year run and is bound to have a lot more very successful and memorable years ahead.
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