Emo’s, a beloved live music outpost whose origins trace back to Austin’s punk rock scene in the early 1990s, announced on Tuesday, June 2, that its tenure at its current East Austin location would come to an end this December. Framing it as “one last season for Emo’s,” venue owners said more details about Emo’s next steps will be shared in the near future, adding, “a new stage is calling.”
Its impending relocation isn’t the first in the business’ history. For the first almost two decades of its existence, Emo’s was a mainstay along Red River Street near East Sixth Street before its eventual relocation to the current venue space along East Riverside Drive in 2011. AEG Presents, a Los Angeles-based live entertainment company, confirmed in its own announcement Tuesday that it will assume operations of the current Emo’s space at 2015 E. Riverside Drive, Austin, TX 78741 in January 2027.
That takeover will come with a “full rebrand” of the venue — including a new name, sound system enhancements and upgraded backstage and guest amenities — that is set to debut in early 2027, AEG Presents officials noted. It’s the second AEG Presents venue slated for both Austin at large and along the East Riverside corridor, with AEG linked to an upcoming 4,000-capacity venue at 4700 E. Riverside Drive, Austin, TX 78741.
Online, Austinites mourned the changes coming to Emo’s, with Instagram user @shoelesssergi writing, “hey so what the f***,” while @donny.pagee added: “take back red river emos ohmygod please.”
Others shared their memories of a bygone era in Austin and the live music scene that defined the Texas capital.
“Well. This sucks,” @wakenbakedspudz wrote. “As an artist who closed the EMOS on 6th Street during a resurgence of our Punk scene with a great tribute to Tony Offender, I will forever be sad about all of this!”
While many expressed sorrow surrounding the impending changes to the venue, others grieved the greater changes happening in live music venue ecosystems in and beyond Austin. With Live Nation taking over ownership of several venues in the Capital City, including Emo’s, some Austin subreddit users shared their frustrations with the corporatization of the live music scene.
“It seems all of these soulless Live Nation venues will spend an insane amount on the fanciest lights imaginable while putting absolutely nothing into the sound and using massive warehouses that don’t even reflect sound properly,” @parricc wrote. “They only care about packing in as many people as they can.”