A 1960s A-frame church became South Austin's best seat for a song. The 04 Center at 2701 South Lamar Boulevard - the name comes from the 78704 zip code Austinites wear like a badge - is a fully seated 370-capacity listening room carved out of the former Faith United Methodist Church, built in 1969. Austin New Church took the building over in January 2018, and the concert operation run alongside it earned a Best New Venue nomination from the Austin Chronicle in 2019. The A-frame bones do the acoustic work: a high timber ceiling, sight lines that hold from every one of the comfortable seats, and a room quiet enough that songwriters play to it the way they would to a studio. Roughly 280 seats fill the floor with another 70 on the balcony, split between VIP and general admission for most shows; a full bar serves the room, the venue runs cashless, and the parking - free and ample, a rarity on South Lamar - gets almost as much praise in reviews as the sound. Programming leans to the listening-room repertoire - touring singer-songwriters, Americana, folk and jazz, with speaking events and community gatherings between - and shows cluster Thursday through Saturday nights, doors typically at 7. Three CapMetro bus stops sit within easy walking distance, and the South Lamar strip's restaurants make the pre-show dinner easy. It is church by day, concert hall by night, and Austin has taken to the arrangement. The dual identity gives the operation its texture: Sunday mornings belong to the congregation, weekday afternoons to office hours, and the show nights to In-House Presents, the promoter that manages the concert calendar. Reviewers keep circling the same conclusion - comfortable seats, clean rooms, a bar with fair prices and not a bad sight line in the house - which for a city drowning in standing-room clubs makes the 04 Center feel like a deliberate act of mercy.

Type: Theater / Concert Hall

Address: 2701 South Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX, United States, 78704

Telephone: +1 512 333 0404

Website: https://www.04center.com

Capacity: 370

Serves Food

Accessible