City Cast Austin

With the end of SXSW comes the end of an era: The Austin Convention Center, as we know it, will never look the same. It’s set to be demolished soon, and a new center won’t reopen until 2029. With an average of 23 million domestic tourists visiting Austin every year — many drawn to our conventions and festivals — what will festivals look like these next few years? Can Austin hold onto its status as a tourist destination? Host Nikki DaVaughn is joined by Visit Austin’s Director of Communications, Wesley Lucas, to get into it all. If you enjoyed the interview with Rodeo Austin's Joel Anderson, learn more here!Learn more about the other sponsors of this March 17th episode: Tecovas Visit Port Aransas Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE 

Austin City Councilmember Natasha Harper-Madison, entrepreneur and hoops champion Fran Harris, and more Austinities have had a lot to say this SXSW, and we’ve been keeping our eyes on all of it. Plus, did you know the city is trying to hire laid-off federal workers in town? Host Nikki Davaughn is joined by executive producer Eva Ruth Moravec, and Hey Austin newsletter editor Kelsey Bradshaw to round up this week’s news — and share some recommendations for the weekend, the final one for SXSW. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 14th episode: Rodeo Austin Flyaustin Visit Port Aransas Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE 

According to South by Southwest, only about 18 percent of the performers in the music festival are from Austin. So, we wanted to know: How do local musicians feel about the behemoth SXSW? Nikki DaVaughn, a musician herself, hosts local musicians J. Summar of Tender Wolf and John Branch to get into it all. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 13th episode: Rodeo Austin Flyaustin Port Aransas Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE 

On March 19, Austin’s first women’s sports bar will open, just in time for the first round of NCAA’s Tournament, in which the Lady Longhorns are ranked No. 1. The 1972’s cofounder Debra Hallum joins Nikki DaVaughn in explaining why we need gender-based sports bars, why they’re opening even despite plans for a light rail to plow through their building, and just how many local women’s sports there are in town. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 12th episode: Rodeo Austin Flyaustin Port Aransas Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE 

Austin drivers have lots of reasons to despise our local toll road authority, TxTag, and the investigative team at KXAN knows all about it. Recently, reporters revealed that even after the dysfunctional authority admitted how bad it was and transferred authority to another agency, the problems continued. Host Nikki DaVaughn is joined by reporter Matt Grant, who found that more than half of TxTag’s accounts were not transferred to the new authority. Grant also shares the potential changes that state lawmakers could make while in session, plus, hear how host Nikki DaVaughn would charge for driving on toll roads if she ran a tolling authority.  Learn more about the sponsors of this March 11th episode: Rodeo Austin Flyaustin Port Aransas Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE.

An estimated one in seven of Austin’s short-term rentals is illegally operating, and City Council members are trying to change that. But those efforts have been underway for years, and have been largely unsuccessful, resulting in unfriendly legal rulings and bills filed at the Texas Capitol. Recently, council changed three regulations aimed to wrangle short-term rentals, but postponed enforcing two of the three changes until after the Texas Legislature leaves town. Sara Willa Ernst joins host Nikki DaVaughn in breaking down the changes, explaining how we got here, and digging into the actual problems. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 10th episode: Rodeo Austin Flyaustin Port Aransas Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE 

The Texas Legislature is moving bills along, our state agencies are changing under the Trump administration, and there’s a ton going on in town this weekend. TGIF, y’all, it’s time for the Friday News Round Up. Host Nikki DaVaughn, executive producer Eva Ruth Moravec, and Hey Austin newsletter editor Kelsey Bradshaw are getting into some of the biggest news in town this week. We discuss how Gov. Greg Abbott is “Trumpifying” Texas, by requiring state employees — of which there are nearly 70,000 in Austin — to return to the office, and fired an employee who refused to remove pronouns from his email signature. We also get into an update on some bills that are stuck, progressing, and upcoming at the Texas Legislature. Plus, how are you celebrating International Women’s Day? We’ve got some ideas. If you enjoyed the interview with Austin Bergstrom's International Airport Public Information Office Division Manager, Kimmie Hey, learn more here!Learn more about the sponsors of this March 7th episode: Port Aransas Rodeo Austin Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE 

Perhaps the most mysterious part of South by Southwest to many folks is the film and television portion — which gets underway this weekend. Did you know that local Austinites qualify for special discounts? Join host Nikki DaVaughn as she uncovers the mysteries of the SXSW Film and TV Festival with Eric Webb, a festival programming associate and film aficionado. With more than a decade of festivals under his belt, Webb shares all about Austinites-only discounts, the best way to get into screenings, and dishes on the celebrities that you can expect to see on the red carpet this year. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 6th episode: Port Aransas Rodeo Austin Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE 

Philanthropic giving in Austin has been flat for the past few years on Amplify Austin, a 24-hour period of giving that this year features 750 local nonprofits. But what donors do this year will be a bellwether, according to today’s guest, Piper Stege Nelson, executive director of I Live Here, I Give Here, which puts on Amplify Austin. Nelson joins host Nikki DaVaughn to discuss why giving is seemingly stagnant in Austin, how Austinites could do better, and the new category of organizations in need of amplification this year. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 5th episode: Port AransasRodeo AustinWant some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE

South by Southwest can be intimidating, overwhelming, and ridiculously expensive. But for today’s guest, Austinite Lisa Hernandez, if you’re shelling out for anything at SXSW, you’re doing it wrong. She joins host Nikki DaVaughn to chat about how to enjoy — and we mean truly enjoy — the festival for free, from the apps to download in preparation, to the accounts to follow, and all of our best tips and tricks. Anything is possible, and you never know what’s around the corner (or in the underground parking garage), as you’ll hear when they reminisce about their best free moments and do-not-miss traditions in a dozen-plus years of attendance.  Plus, if you enjoyed the interview with Rodeo Austin's Joel Anderson, learn more here!Learn more about the sponsor of this March 4th episode: Port Aransas Rodeo Austin Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE