One of Austin's oldest clubs is doubling its tenure in town with a 50-year lease. Antone's Nightclub, which is wrapping up its 50-year anniversary celebrations in 2025, will stay open at 305 E. 5th St. until at least 2075, when it will celebrate its 100th anniversary.
The business announced the lease extension on social media. It attributed the extension to a grant by real estate nonprofit Rally Austin, formerly the Austin Economic Development Corporation, and the building's owner. Rally Austin steps in to preserve properties it considers important to the community, centering "purpose instead of profit," according to its website.
In addition to insulating the venue from real estate changes over the next five decades, the grant will help the venue open Antone’s World Famous Museum of the Blues in the upstairs space that was formerly used for events. The venue announced this vision along with its other 50th anniversary initiatives early this year, sharing that it was a lifelong dream for founder Clifford Antone, and the collection is already being built. It should be on display in 2027.
The post also included an invitation to become a Founding Donor, which would mean supporting the venue in its coming years and getting the donor's name displayed on a bronze wall in the foyer.
"See y’all in Downtown Austin for the next 50 years," the post concludes. "We’re so honored to call this place home."
Antone's superfans had plenty of opportunities to celebrate the 50th anniversary this year, culminating in an archival box set with five vinyl records, a photo book, and a book of liner notes and venue history. The venue also opened a new location at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and a stage collaboration at Still Austin Whiskey this year.
Even outside of its 50th anniversary, Antone's is known for staying true to its original purpose, giving blues artists a place to build a legacy and tapping into its founder's Gulf Coast heritage and love of the Louisiana sound.
