And these days, the iconic “Keep Austin Weird” tie-dye is a darkly comedic plea in a city where luxury high-rises supplant the record shops and food trucks that earned the capital of Texas its reputation in the first place.īut if you find yourself on Dirty Sixth Street (every visitor will, and even we locals end up there occasionally, despite our better judgment), make your way through the cacophony of dollar-shot offers and into one of those tacky tourist shops for the one T-shirt that accurately sums up the city. In Austin, “Live Music Capital of the World” shirts warrant eye rolls from local musicians who are all too familiar with the increasingly strict noise ordinances that have sobered the city’s soundscape. As a general rule, tourist shop T-shirt slogans aren’t peddling the most sage of wisdom.
