Direct Events and Backyard owner Tim O'Connor has announced the live oak amphitheater's final season, calling it quits after sixteen seasons in the hill country. ...

Classic Rock, Classic Country: As per usual, Willie Nelson will play two nights at The Backyard for both locals avoiding SXSW and tourists willing to skip one night of showcases to see Austin's most enduring music legend. Willie's shows are tentatively scheduled for 3/14 and 3/15, and will go on sale sometime in February. In another move designed to access some tourist dollars, Direct Events has announced a relatively intimate show with Van Morrison at the Austin Music Hall on Tuesday, March 11. Van the Man apparently hasn't heard about the looming recession, as tickets are priced from $102 to a whopping $257. ...

101X FM’s No Control along with C3 Presents and Direct Events bring a full onslaught of metal to La Zona Rosa on Tuesday evening. An early tip-off with doors at 6:30 p.m. and rock show an hour later should accommodate your younger sister’s boyfriend’s curfew and also allow you to nurture your aggression if you're so inclined. As I Lay Dying (the band, not the book) formed in 2001 and have since released four full-lengths, including three for Metal Blade Records. Their most recent release, An Ocean Between Us debuted at #8 on The Billboard 200 while “Nothing Left” off the record was recently nominated for a Grammy. Check them out on us by following the jump to the contest form!...

Along a similar vein as last month's Mohawk Residency Series, the good folks at Do512 and Direct Events have teamed up to host a bi-weekly artist spotlight and competition. Dubbed Locals @ La Zona, the three-round showcase series features a trio of Austin indie bands competing each night to see who can bring out the most supporters. The winners from each evening will move on to Round 2, where they'll compete to win an opening......

Back in July 2006, local event production company Direct Events, in collaboration with Novare Group Holdings LLC and Andrews Urban LLC (the developers of the new 360 Condos at 3rd & Nueces), unveiled a plan to "preserve, renovate and expand" the Austin Music Hall, one of Austin's larger live music venues. The venue is located at 208 Nueces Street, just down the way from the 360 Condos development. The plan calls for an expansion of......

THURSDAY [19] benefit/music • Do512 and Direct Events co-host a benefit for Groundwork Music with Tammany Hall, The Boxing Lesson at La Zona Rosa (RSVP for Free Entry, $5 Cover Otherwise) books • "The Art of Travel and Travel Writing" with Lonely Planet writer Alex Hershey and Stephanie Elizondo Griest at Intellectual Property (5:00pm) books • The Texas Monthly Author Series presents Ian Rankin at BookPeople (7:00pm) film • Movies in the Park: "Talladega......

Festivals: ACL 3-day passes are all gone. Oh, snap! Don't despair, though - day passes go on sale tomorrow for $50 plus $8 in service charges through Frontgate Tickets. For those with tickets already in hand, note that the official ACL Fest schedule grid will also be released any minute now. Get out your highlighters. Venues: After a couple of years of limited bookings, the Austin Music Hall is getting a facelift this fall.......

After completing their three-year contract at year’s end, Direct Events management will be relinquishing booking duties back to club founder Clifford Antone, who will also be responsible for lead management. Direct Events helped stabilize the club after Antone endured some legal troubles. But the club will back in the rightful hands of the owner, who opened the live music venue in 1975. Antone is obviously excited to be back in charge and expressed his......