17 Best Performing Arts Venues in Austin, Texas

Downtown's premier live entertainment venue, the 2,750-seat Moody Theater in the heart of the Second Street District plays host to some of the best chart-topping acts in the world, including Willie Nelson whose statue stands proudly at the front entrance. The amphitheater is also home to the Austin City Limits TV show, the longest running televised music series in American history. If you can snag tickets to a live taping, whether it's Kacey Musgraves or Black Pumas, don't miss the chance. Next door to the theater's main ticket office, there is a more intimate sister-space, ACL Live at 3Ten, that offers a different lineup in a much smaller surrounding.

As much as Austinites love music, they love being outdoors even more. The result is this flagship six-day music festival spanning two weekends in October; it's Austin's unofficial farewell-to-summer shindig that takes over Zilker Park. Seventy thousand fans from around the world flock to hear more than 100 international, national, and local acts on nine stages. Featured headliners have included the likes of Bob Dylan, Dua Lipa, Björk, Phish, Willie Nelson, and Billie Eilish.

The biggest musical acts in the world, from Bad Bunny to Madonna, and stadium stand-ups, like Gabriel Iglesias and Sebastian Maniscalco, come through this world-class 15,000-seat venue when visiting Austin. This impressive multipurpose arena replaced the nearly 50-year-old Frank Erwin Center in 2022 and is now the new home of the Texas Longhorns basketball teams. Home games are electric at this state-of-the-art facility, as are the diverse range of special acts hosted throughout the year, from WWE and monster truck jams to professional bull rider events.

Housed in a restored downtown vaudeville house and movie palace on Congress Avenue, this gorgeous 1915 theater is a go-to favorite for local performance arts lovers of all shapes and sizes. Every year, the Paramount's calendar of events ranges widely, from live stand-up comedy specials and short film festival series to touring author Q&As and podcast tapings. The cool respite of their annual Summer Classic Film Series is beloved by all ages. It's also an important flagship venue for annual fests like SXSW and the Moontower Just For Laughs Comedy Festival.

The original Drafthouse location in downtown Austin may have permanently closed, but the locally grown cult movie theater–turned–national chain still operates other locations around town that remain must-visits for movie lovers. A Drafthouse movie is always an experience, whether you pregame with some karaoke at the attached Highball bar and lounge or attend a themed sing-a-long screening in full costume with friends. Expect new releases, cult classics, and loads of seasonal and special event screenings, all paired with a full food and drink menu served in-theater.

Austin's first professional opera company has been putting on multiple mainstage productions a year for 35 seasons and counting. Voted “Opera Company of the Year” for 2020 in a national BroadwayWorld.com poll, the company combines international stars with extraordinary local talents. Performances are hosted at the Long Center.

Eight classical concerts, four pops concerts, a holiday-favorite performance, a children's Halloween presentation, and many free events are performed by the Austin Symphony, Austin's oldest performing arts organization, throughout the year. Performances are held at the Long Center.

On the western outskirts of town, The Backyard offers a modern stage setting beneath the starlit sky featuring a similar line up of classic rock bands, singer-songwriters, country musicians and more during the spring, summer and fall. (Open from March through October.) Each season opens with an annual performance from the Hill Country's adopted son, Willie Nelson.

Located in a state-of-the-art downtown center, Ballet Austin has risen in prominence since its founding in 1956 as the city's preeminent dance company. Part performance company and part dance academy, with classes available to the general public, Ballet Austin puts on a regular lineup of ballet productions at the Long Center throughout the year, including an extremely popular annual rendition of the classic The Nutcracker each holiday season. The performance season runs from September through May, and the downtown studio offers a diverse schedule of dance, Pilates, and other fitness classes throughout the year.

The flagship theater of the Texas Performing Arts is the largest of its kind in Austin and attracts visitors from near and far for exclusive symphony, orchestra, choral, ensemble, and concert band performances. The 2,900-seat auditorium is world-class in every way. Also inside, the smaller, more intimate Bates Recital Hall features performances by both students and faculty of the University of Texas as well as professional visiting musicians.

Designed quite literally to be for the city, this performing arts venue supports the work of Austin-based directors, designers, and performers committed to stage performance. In addition to offering a seasonal lineup of productions that range from Shakespeare to musicals to edgy comedies, the theatre also fosters theatrical educational through community outreach.

Along the banks of Lady Bird Lake, this cultural arts center is a celebration of latino heritage that blends a variety of theater, music, dance, literature, and culinary traditions into workshops, live performances, and educational classes to help foster a cultural foundation throughout Austin. On the last Tuesday of every month, there is a free screening of films from the Golden Era of Mexico's cinema in its main auditorium. The building houses two art galleries with free admission (closed Sunday).

The performing arts scene is alive and well in Austin thanks in part to this expansive venue along the shores of Lady Bird Lake. The Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts (to use it's full name—it's generally shortened to the Long Center), plays host to a wide variety of performing arts groups and touring national and international acts like the Vienna Boys Choir, Burt Bacharach, and Blue Man Group. It also serves as the permanent home to Austin Lyric Opera, and the Austin Symphony Orchestra. In addition, the center houses a wing for community arts education programs.

You’ll want to visit the Long Center as much for what’s happening inside as for its ultramodern exterior and unbeatable views of the downtown skyline. The lakefront performance venue and community gathering place is home to a range of live performances throughout the year, including lyric operas, ballets, rock concerts, and many of Austin’s prime foodie and outdoor festival events, from the Austin Food + Wine Festival to SXSW. Food trucks, pop-up art installations, and a wide variety of free special events are also hosted on the city terrace.

This intimate, 400-seat proscenium theater is not only the performance space for UT's excellent orchestra, dance, drama, and lyric opera productions. It also brings a wide range of professional musicians to the stage, including chamber music and solo recitals. In addition to classical music, you can catch a show during the annual Summer Stock series, when headlining performers and Broadway musicals—such as Wicked and Annie—come to town. The theater is located in the same building as Bass Concert Hall.

One of the city's most vibrant and innovative theaters, this expansive multistage complex hosts a number of theatrical performances, intimate celebrity talks, and special events year-round. An integral part of the Austin community for more than 90 years, ZACH also serves the local arts community with a year-round season of shows, theater camps, and educational activities.

Bring a blanket and picnic basket to this natural amphitheater and enjoy a Broadway-inspired musical under the warm Texas sky. Right in the heart of the Zilker Park complex, this locally run outdoor theater production company has been performing family-friendly musical theater on the hillsides just across from Barton Springs for almost 70 years. The shows run through summers only; check the events calendar for updated showtimes and information.