Antone’s, the legendary music venue located in Austin, TX, kicked off its 50th year celebrations with a new five-disc, 41-track box set Antone’s: 50 Years of the Blues, which was released on August 22 on the label New West Records.
The collection pays tribute to “one of the most storied music venues in Austin,” according to the Associated Press, with newly recorded material, long-lost label cuts, rare live performances, an updated photographic and written history of the club and more.
According to the club’s website, Clifford Antone was 28 years old when he opened his jazz club, Antone’s, on July 15, 1975, and it was first located on Sixth Street in downtown Austin.
During opening weekend, zydeco musician Clifton Chenier and his Red Hot Louisiana Band opened the club, while Angela Strehli and several other people there “made sure things worked and that the music was presented with the respect it deserved,” the website added.
Since then, the jazz club has been opened in several locations across the state, and it has become a place for well-known musicians including Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
As part of the celebration, the box set includes The Last Real Texas Blues Album, an 18-track double LP featuring newly-recorded material from artists integral to Antone’s history, including Jimmie Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Derek O’Brien, C.J. Chenier, and John Primer, as well as its next generation leaders including Kam Franklin, Eve Monsees, and McKinley James.
The double album is also available as a standalone release. Tell Me One More Time, is a collection of long-lost cuts from Antone’s Records, the club’s in-house label and perhaps the leading promoter of female-fronted blues. Artists with this label include Lou Ann Barton, Angela Strehli, Lavelle White, Sue Foley, and Barbara Lynn, in record business history, with commentary from Clifford Antone.
In addition, We Went Live in ’75, features rare live recordings from throughout the club’s history, ranging from Buddy Guy and Otis Rush to a 20-year-old unsigned Gary Clark Jr.
Additionally, there is a tribute to Antone included, with a meticulously updated hardcover edition of Picture the Blues from Susan Antone, which includes rare and unseen photographs, and a new definitive Antone’s history written by revered Texas music historian Joe Nick Patoski.
Those interested can find all places to listen to the box set here: https://bio.to/JMzHEJ. They can also, if interested, purchase it here: https://newwestrecords.com/collections/antones-50th-anniversary/products/antone-s-50th-allstars-50-years-of-the-blues-box-set.
