Three-time Academy Award-nominated actor and Texan Woody Harrelson is producing a documentary on Austin’s beloved music venues, Armadillo World Headquarters, Deadline first reported last week. The feature length documentary is under development and is “set to chronicle the rise, cultural impact and enduring legacy” of the music venue, which had featured performances from Willie Nelson, Jerry Garcia, Bruce Springsteen and Linda Ronstadt.
The Live Music Capital of the World is noted for its per-capita plethora of music venues and local artistry, and has served as a hotbed for both storied and emerging artists from the Lone Star State and beyond. Years prior to the Texas capital earning that moniker, a watering hole served as a safe haven for some of the world’s most prolific musicians: Armadillo World Headquarters.
Armadillo World Headquarters opened in August 1970 as both a live music venue and beer garden, serving as a hotbed for artists traveling throughout the capital city. The inspiration behind the venue came courtesy the Vulcan Gas Company, the city’s premier rock music venue that shuttered after just three years in 1970.
Celebrating a variety of music genres, Armadillo housed artists from blues, jazz, folk, rock, punk and country music backgrounds. Despite its cultural influence, financial downfalls and downtown real estate interests led to the Armadillo’s lease expiring, spurring its closure following one last New Year’s Eve bash on December 31, 1980.
After its closure, the venue was demolished, replaced with the city’s One Texas Center that remains operational today.