The Cactus Café is a

live music A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...

venue and bar on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. Located in Austin, Texas, a city frequently referred to as "the live music capital of the world," a number of well-known artists have played in the Cactus, and '' Billboard Magazine'' named it as one of fifteen "solidly respected, savvy clubs" in the United States, "from which careers can be cut, that work with proven names and new faces."

Overview

The Cactus Café, which opened in 1979, is located in the Union Building, a

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

-era building constructed using

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

funds. The Café is a fairly intimate venue, known for its

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

. In 2010, the university announced that the Cactus Café would be closing. The decision was met with widespread shock and opposition in the Austin community, from musicians, and among

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

s.Plohetski, T.; Corcoran, M. 30 January 2010
"UT to close Cactus Cafe, end informal classes."
''Austin American-Statesman''

Artists

A wide array of well-known artists played at the Cactus Café, many earlier in their careers. Lyle Lovett told the ''Austin Chronicle'', "For a long time, the Cactus Café was the only place I played in Austin."Caligiuri, J. 6 February 2009
Blood on the Tracks: The ballad of Griff Luneburg and the Cactus Café
''Austin Chronicle'' Notable Texans that have played at the Cafe include: * Singer/songwriters ** Danny Barnes ** Guy Clark ** Hayes Carll **

Joe Ely Joe Ely (born February 9, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose music touches on honky-tonk, Texas Country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll. He has had a genre-crossing career, performing with Bruce Springsteen, Uncle Tupelo ...

** Alejandro Escovedo **

Jimmie Dale Gilmore Jimmie Dale Gilmore (born May 6, 1945) is an American country singer, songwriter, actor, recording artist and producer, currently living in Austin, Texas. Life and career Gilmore is a native of the Texas Panhandle, having been born in Amarillo ...

** Butch Hancock ** Robert Earl Keen **

Bob Schneider Bob Schneider (born October 12, 1965) is an Austin, Texas–based musician and former lead singer of the rock band Ugly Americans. He has released around a dozen albums, mostly on his own Shockorama label. ''Lonelyland'' (2001) was license ...

** Townes Van Zandt ** Jerry Jeff Walker ** Don Walser ** T-Bone Burnett ** Darden Smith * Bands ** Asylum Street Spankers ** Bad Livers ** Dixie Chicks ** The Flatlanders ** Okkervil River ** Shearwater Notable national and international artists that have played at the Cafe include: * Singer/songwriters **

Brandi Carlile Brandi Marie Carlile ( ; born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and producer whose music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock. , Carlile has released seven studio albums. She has ...

** Peter Case **

Ani DiFranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influe ...

** Kristin Hersh ** Paul Kelly ** Alison Krauss ** Bob Mould ** Jason Mraz ** Sharon Shannon ** Todd Snider ** Loudon Wainwright III ** Ron Sexsmith **

Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich; sr-Latn, Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; russian: Милица Богдановна Йовович; uk, Милиця Богданoвна Йовович ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovo ...

* Bands ** Battlefield Band ** Black Crowes ** Nickel Creek ** Everything But the Girl

Threatened closing and controversy

In a press release on 30 January 2009, the university announced that the Cactus Café would be closing, and cited student leaders on the Texas Union Board as the decision-makers. Members of the Austin community formed a non-profit, Friends of the Cactus Café, to attempt to save the venue. An arrangement was eventually made to keep the venue open under the auspices and management of the University of Texas operated public radio station

KUT Kūt ( ar, ٱلْكُوت, al-Kūt), officially Al-Kut, also spelled Kutulamare or Kut al-Imara, is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 389,400 people. It ...

References

External links

Cactus Café Bar
The Texas Union official page for the bar.
Cactus Café Music
Calendar and Ticketing managed by KUT – University of Texas.
Cactus Café (Facebook Account; Information on recent and future events).
{{Coord, 30.286109, -97.741365, display=title Music venues in Austin, Texas University of Texas at Austin campus