AEG To Open New Venue At Current Emo’s Austin Location, With First Show In Early 2027

AEG Presents, already behind a 4,000-capacity indoor venue to open in early 2027 as part of a $4 billion multi-use development, is quickly expanding on its Austin footprint by taking over the lease at venerable club Emo’s, just two blocks away, which will close for renovations in December and reopen as a new venue in early 2027.

“The original Emo’s is one of the reasons that I wanted to do concerts,” says Robin Phillips, Vice President, Southwest Region for AEG Presents. Phillips is based in Dallas and spent considerable time in Austin, which she says was the place to be during her formative years as a music fan. “I completely embrace and understand the importance of Emo’s as a brand.”

The 1,500-capacity club has been operated by C3 Presents since 2013 and in its current location since 2011, at  2015 E. Riverside Drive just southeast of downtown, hosting regular concerts including June shows with Wolfmother, Corbyn Besson, Mike Shern, Big K.R.I.T., Buckethead, YEBBA, Thievery Corporation, “Tiny Desk Contest On The Road,” Earlybirds Club and Jinjer. 

“Officially we’re going to remodel, we’ll probably start having shows there in February,” says Phillips, who also books venues including the Bomb Factory in Dallas and Texas Trust CU Theatre at Grand Prairie. 

The current Emo’s has a full slate of shows continuing into December, after which Emo’s will move to a new location and continue to be operated by Live Nation.

“We’re grateful for all of the fans and artists who’ve shaped Emo’s to what it is today: a community of like-minded people who love live music,” an Emo’s representative told Pollstar via email, adding that the relocation plans have been in the works for a while. “We have a vision for our future and will be moving into a new building downtown that celebrates our punk rock roots with the new amenities that fans are looking for from a venue. We’ll continue to share updates on the next chapter for Emo’s on social media.” Updates will continue via social media, the representative added.

Notable artists to have graced the Emo’s stage over the years include Johnny Cash (1994), Diplo, Devo, Butthole Surfers, early shows by Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, pop-up underplays and countless dozens of others. It started in in the ’80s in Houston before coming to Austin in 1992, with its previous location being on 6th Street.

The opening of the new AEG booked and operated club will come just weeks away — and a couple blocks down the street — from the opening of a new, 4,000-capacity venue anchoring the $4 billion River Park development, also operated and booked by AEG Presents. 

The idea is to give each venue its own grand opening.

“Emo’s size is a perfect stepping stone to our very large investment a couple of blocks down the road,” says Phillips. “My vision is to represent Austin, i’d love to have more dance, electronic music, and about 37% of Austin’s population is Latino so I’d love to see that represented in both rooms.”

The addition of both venues gives AEG Presents a stronger presence in Austin, which Phillips says continues to grow and evolve.

“Austin is growing heavily and we need to be there for that,” she says. “My thing has always been that we need more indoor rooms in Austin.”

A larger, 4,000-capacity venue – and an indoor, air conditioned one with all the bells and whistles of a modern music-first venue— will go a long way toward that, she says, with construction nearing the final stages. While the new larger venue has some of the hallmarks of other similar-capacity AEG-related builds — the Mission Ballroom in Denver and The Pinnacle in Nashville come to mind —  the as-yet-named Austin venue will bring something different to the market.

“It’s kind of a combo of the best things from those venues,” Phillips says, “but it’s nuanced for Austin and doesn’t look like those rooms. It is a similar layout, there’s a balcony, there’s a lot of configurations in this room, which I think is going to make it the most interesting. We can do 4,000-capacity GA and 2,100 fully seated, it’s really exciting and just so versatile. Everyone’s going to want to be at this room, it is that beautiful.”