
Hole In The Wall
Serving PhD students, rock legends, and slackers since 1973 under the motto "Live Women, Cheap Music, and Fast Drinks", the dimly-lit, deceptively large, pool & shuffleboard-abetted dive has added a wondrous new item to its menu: a sandwich stuffed with fried bologna, though in that condition, it might not even remember its first name.
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Look out for: small bands before they get big.
If The Hole in the Wall’s walls could talk, you’d hear an endless array of stories that truly encapsulate what made Austin what it is in the first place. Located just off campus, the club is legendary, and former regulars include Austin legends like Stevie Ray Vaughn and Townes Van Zandt. More recent Austin-bred artists like Gary Clark Jr. and Spoon also played the Hole in the Wall, so you never know if you’re seeing an act that’s primed to take off.
In the past, Hole in the Wall’s sign boasted “Cheap Music, Fast Drinks, Live Women,” a mantra that has held fast for the campus club’s 40-plus years of existence. Its history goes deep. Spoon, Sterling Morrison, David Byrne, St. Vincent, Lucinda Williams, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, and Leonard Cohen have all left their mark on this venue’s stage in some way. And, that’s not to mention the marks left by its loyal patrons—in the form of colorful bathroom graffiti. Hole in the Wall remains an old-school holdout, a home for UT students looking for cheap drinks and regulars holding court at the pool table. Duck in for a cold beer (and a shot) and warm conversation.