Jim Stringer, the country songwriter and guitarist who spent his Austin career playing beloved residencies and accompanying fellow roots giants T. Jarrod Bonta and Roger Wallace, passed away on Dec. 16 at age 77 after an ongoing struggle with cancer. The Kansas native made Austin his home for over three decades, founding the AM Band and playing in country, roots, and rockabilly groups across the city. He led a Sunday night country jam at Carousel Lounge and recorded independently and with friends until his last days. “It was a joy to see him smiling at the end of every tune. I speak for so many when I say I’m really gonna miss that guy,” wrote singer-songwriter Rosie Flores on Instagram. “He changed my life for the better and I’m a better person for knowing him.”
ACL Live at the Moody Theater will celebrate its 15th birthday this year with a $750,000 tuneup. In early March 2026, the venue will break ground on a renovation project to spruce up the musicians’ green rooms. Springtime concerts, including Melissa Etheridge, Maren Morris, Hayley Williams, and Mac DeMarco, are still scheduled to take place throughout the renovation, which the venue hopes to wrap up by July 1. The update is the venue’s first since 2024’s extensive $40 million renovation focused on the entrance and other public spaces.
Moody Center was named the highest-grossing music venue of its size by Billboard for the second year in a row. The 15,000-capacity space brought in $89.8 million from 94 shows, bringing music to 854,000 audience members from October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025. “This milestone is a testament to the incredible music fans who continue to show up in record numbers,” Jeff Nickler, Moody Center general manager and president of booking outfit Oak View Group Austin, wrote in the press release. Alongside the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth and the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona, Moody was the only American venue to make the list.
Parley, a new cocktail bar from the Irish mixologist duo behind Here Nor There, opened Dec. 19 on East Cesar Chavez. With $10-16 cocktails, cold pints, and a classic pub snacks food menu, the upscale spot emphasizes a Dublin-inspired neighborhood feel. “We grew up in places where the pub wasn’t just where you drank, it was where you gathered,” says co-owner Terance Robson. “That energy of catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, and just enjoying good company is exactly what we’re bringing to Parley.”
Austin Public Library welcomed a new director on Dec. 15. Hannah Terrell, who had been serving as interim director since Roosevelt Weeks vacated the position in September 2024, now officially holds the title. As director, Terrell will put her two decades of public library executive service experience to use overseeing operations, programs, facilities, and staff of the Austin Public Library, which is celebrating its centennial in 2026. “It has been an honor to lead the Austin Public Library as Interim Director, and I am deeply grateful to now be stepping into the permanent role of Director,” Terrell wrote in a press release. “I look forward to continuing this work alongside the brilliant staff at APL as we move confidently together into APL’s second century of service.”
This article appears in January 2 • 2026.