This Just In: Austin Press Releases

Budget Travel recently completed its 2010 Readers’ Choice Awards, the magazine’s first-annual celebration of readers’ favorite companies and destinations. Austin earned the most votes as the city with readers’ favorite local music scene, with Athens (GA), Memphis, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago following close behind.  (more)

Austin is a 24-hour town populated by an upstart mix of musicians, tech experts, film pros, athletes and foodies – and our yearly events calendar shows it. The Austin Marathon draws 11,000 runners from around the world. The inaugural Austin Food + Wine Festival is slated to welcome visitors from across the nation and showcase the best innovative cuisine. Fun Fun Fun Fest is known as the nation’s best underground punk and alternative music festival; and Fantastic Fest, which features sci-fi, horror, fantasy and other genre films, has become a favorite of film buffs and celebrities alike. SXSW expands this year with StyleX, an affiliated fashion segment, and the Austin City Limits Music Festival will once again welcome 70,000 fans per day to Zilker Park for performances by more than 100 bands. For more information, contact the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau at 866-GO-AUSTIN or www.austintexas.org. All listed events are subject to change.  (more)

The Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL Festival) celebrates its 10th anniversary, Sept. 16-18, 2011. According to a study conducted by Angelou Economics, the ACL Festival generates $73 million in visitor spending and total economic impact for Austin.  (more)

The familiar sounds of Austin’s guitars and soulful singers give way to the revving of motorcycle engines, June 9-12. Over the four days, some 50,000 motorcycle enthusiasts will attend the 17th annual Republic of Texas Biker Rally in downtown Austin and at the Travis County Expo Center. Visitor spending associated with the event is approximately $36 million.  (more)

The Austin Music Office, a division of the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau (Austin CVB), is partnering with DoubleStereo to launch a customized microsite within AustinTexas.org for visitors to search, listen to, and buy Austin music and a new line of official Live Music Capital of the World® merchandise. www.austintexas.org/musicstore/  (more)

Further diversifying Austin's music landscape, the 2010 Guitar Foundation of America International Convention & Competition makes its way to the Long Center for the Performing Arts on June 22-27. The event includes what is widely recognized as the world's most prestigious international classical guitar competition. Hosted this year by the Austin Classical Guitar Society, this unique festival vision draws together 12 collaborating artistic partners ranging from the Austin Symphony and Austin Lyric Opera, to Zach Scott Theater, the Alamo Drafthouse, Austin Children's Museum and many more.  (more)