Why it matters
Armadillo World Headquarters opened in a converted Austin armory in August 1970. Its mixed blues, rock, folk, jazz and country programming helped bring different audiences into the same room and made it a centre of the city's progressive-country movement. Concert-poster artists were an important part of the venue's identity. Financial pressures and development ended the original hall's run with a New Year's Eve event in 1980. The building is gone; the historical venue should be distinguished from later uses of the Armadillo brand.
