Television's longest-running music series built itself a house that Willie built. Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater, at 310 West Willie Nelson Boulevard in downtown Austin's Second Street District, opened on 10 February 2011 as the purpose-built home of the PBS institution that began in 1974 with a Willie Nelson taping in a cramped university studio. Nelson played the inaugural shows, the street was renamed for him just before opening, and his eight-foot bronze statue has watched the doors since 2012. The 40-million-dollar theatre - part of the Block 21 development, designed by Andersson-Wise with acoustics by Steven Durr - holds 2,750 across three levels, yet keeps the old studio's intimacy: the farthest seat sits 75 feet from the stage. KLRU's cameras still get their 45 rent-free days a year to tape Austin City Limits before capped 800-person audiences, while the other 300-plus nights run headline concerts and private events - Bob Dylan, Adele, Diana Ross, Dave Chappelle residencies, Widespread Panic multi-night runs and the annual ACL Hall of Fame inductions. Now owned by Opry Entertainment Group, the venue anchors a district that has grown into Austin's densest evening economy - the W Hotel shares the building, and Second Street's restaurants handle the pre-show hour. For artists an ACL Live date carries double weight: a marquee headline room by night, and the possibility of joining the taping archive that made Austin's reputation as the live music capital in the first place. The room's acoustic reputation is earned nightly: Durr's design keeps amplified shows articulate to the back row of the third level, and the taping-night configuration - cameras gliding through an 800-person crowd - preserves the television intimacy that made the franchise. The Moody Theater name honours the Moody Foundation's founding gift, the venue's 300-plus event nights make it one of the busiest theatres of its size in America, and the statue of Willie out front has become Austin's most photographed piece of public art after the bats.

Type: Theater / Concert Hall

Address: 310 West Willie Nelson Boulevard, Austin, TX, United States, 78701

Website: https://www.acllive.com

Capacity: 2750

Opening Date: 10/02/2011

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