Olivia, Peach, Teddie and Rachel are all fantastic bartenders. Live music all night, every night from what I've been told. Food was amazing. Wish I could have stayed longer read more

Meh.....this place feels like a frat party. Oh wait, I really only remember seeing greek letters on everyone's shirts when we were in this bar. I was in a sorority, so don't get me wrong, but once you graduate college, if you do actually grow up a little bit, then you don't really want to go to bars that manage to make 24 and 25 year olds feel old!!! But being here I either felt like an old fart or like i should be babysitting some of the kids here. The drinks are cheap, $2.50 long islands, and they definitely will take you to a long island, any island you can dream of if you have enough of these, and if you are like I am at all, you will need at least one of these to help you loosen up a bit in a crowd that feels as young as this one, and to get over a floor as sticky as this one....like I said it feels like a frat party in more ways than one...... read more

Gawddammit, I come all the way to Austin and the only place playing live blues on a consistent basis is Friends. Bless them for doing so! Drinks are strong and music is what I wanted. Thanks Friends!!! read more

A good place to go on sixth street if you are looking for some rock and roll/blues live music. Eric Tessmer always puts on a good show here. JT Coldfire is really good at playing mostly covers for the tourists. Erin James sounds very similar to LouAnn Barton if you need a LouAnn fix. I've never seen a band there that was not good but sometimes they can lean too heavily on covers. Their business plan definitely includes making tourists a priority. The beer/drinks can be pricey but they don't charge a cover. No food. Overall, Friend's is probably the best place to go on sixth street if you are looking for rock and roll/blues music and you don't know anything about who is playing. They usually have a happy hour show and a later show. They use DJs late at night on the weekends when the kids take over sixth street. PS: Saw the band Swamp Sauce and they were really good. They had most people with a pulse on the dance floor! Sam Pace and the Gilded Grit are very good also. Saw them recently and more than half of the songs were originals. Sam is a mean guitar player and has a good voice. read more

Made the mistake of leaving Gibson to check out dirty 6 last night. - I guess I'll have to learn to ask exactly how much drinks cost on 6th these days because 3 drinks at friends (2 shiners and a titos) ran $15. After paying $20 for a few rounds at Gibson, Friends can suck it and I definitely won't be back, ever. Way overpriced. read more

This is a great place for live music! They generally seem to have pretty solid bands. I've been here many times and been introduced to some incredible bands that I now follow. read more

6th Street in Austin. Lots of music choices and lots of different bars. Large selection too. Of beers are on tap. Many different beers are in cabs also. Of course, tequila is served here. read more

Friends Bar - Music Venues Near Me - Austin, Texas

I was visiting a buddy of mine and this is one of his go to spots. It was getting late so we didn't stay long, but the music was good. The drinks were fine, but when we ordered a shot, we saw a thing on the wall about getting them free for liking the Facebook page. We did so and regretted it, they were these terrible green kamikaze shots and they tasted awful. That, aside, we had a pretty good time. The fish tank is cool, but it looks like one of those fish might need a new home... he's a little large. read more

Friends has a great vibe if you're looking to dance and I've had some good times in there. Mainly because the dance floor is open and well-ventilated (key during the hot Texas summers). This keeps the air flowing and people from passing out. The DJs will actually play songs you request, rather than just saying they will. Also, if you get bored you can watch the jumbotron. They put classic movies like National Lampoon and various cartoons up, and then run them with the captions on. It's great for multi-tasking. Drinks are relatively cheap and there's usually not too long of a wait at the bar. Seating is fairly liberal, even when it is busy. read more

I checked this place out with my good friend while I was on a recent business trip to Austin. This was my first time to Austin and what I loved about the city is there is so much variety in food and live music. This was our last stop of the night after we had already seen country/folk music and also hit up a jazz bar. The blues at Friends that night was awesome. A lot of SRV and Texas blues. read more

Friends Bar - Live blues - Music Venues Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Don't close your doors to customers at 1:45 am. There's still time for last call!

I hopped to a few places the night I spent on 6th street and Friends was the one we spent the least amount of time in. Why? Bad music Expensive drinks No other people there except us When we left there was a line to get in, why I don't know. read more

Ok, so maybe you wanna be 'where everybody knows your name.' It happens. It's good to have your name known. That said, regulars knowing your name is much more likely to happen twenty years ago on a popular television show or in a fictitious Beantown bar than it is on 6th street in this place, where a pack of friends and I wandered in on a bachelor party pub crawl this pre-Halloween weekend. There was a cast of characters present, but not necessarily the usual ones: some slutty 'police officers,' festive beer girls, a smattering of patrons and dance music turned up to about fourteen. And while at one point a regularly mild-mannered dad shook his hind quarters into the pack of (now horrified) pseudo-cops, for the most part this place was pretty tame, even during a Halloween / bachelor party celebration, nothing like what you might think. And for that matter, no closer to Garry's Old Towne Tavern. read more

So much fun! We stopped in on Saturday and got to watch "gasoline boots". They were a fun band and had people dancing and singing. The drinks were really good and strong. Try the Cinnamon Toast Crunch if you get a chance-you won't regret it! read more

Brad Stivers. Awesome band. Sweetie and I had a great time. Electronic guitar, drummer, and bass was on point.

This is Austin..... the Live Music Capital of the World! Live music drew me in. Live music made me leave. I abandoned my 3/4 full drink. (And I never leave a fallen solider behind!) Drinks here are boring. staff here is boring. Even the patrons were boring. This place belongs in a mall or better yet, Beaumont. Dude, at least hire some stupid hot bartenders? the only reason they got 2 stars is because I was amused by the intoxicated homeless chick outside dancing to a crappy Eagles rendition of Hotel California... one of the bartenders even held up a lighter... ummm... the 80's called... they want their concert reference back. read more

Food was so delicious. The salsa and chips were fresh and homemade. It was a salsa verde, which was unexpected but pleasantly yum. The live music was enjoyable and not too loud. They lost a star due to the woman's toilets not being secured to the ground. read more

The band wasn't extraordinary, but it was fun and we enjoyed their vibe. The beer was cheap and there was no cover. I was kind of annoyed by the waitress who went around and tried to get you to do vials of flourescent shots, but even more annoyed by the douches who actually did them. read more

Friends Bar - Music Venues Near Me - Austin, Texas

My lasting impression from FRIENDS, when I was there a couple days ago (during sxsw) was that it smelled like a porta-John. I mean, not all poopy, but exactly like the too-strong citrus(?) deoderant they spray in them. It was really strong smelling and kinda grossed me out. There was a band setting up I was interested in watching a little, but since the scent was creepy to me (and tainting my drinking pleasure), I just wanted to finish my drink and leave. I'd give it a second chance, but found it unappealing at this point. read more

Best place to go for great live music nearly any day of the week. The bar is your average bar, and drinks are your average drinks, nothing to brag about. It's an older crowd, which I prefer. A good break from a lot of the madness you see on 6th street. Highlight really is the great live music though. read more

Austin's finest. We've been here third night in a row over the memorial weekend. Didn't disappoint on any of them. What we hoped for when we decided to visit Austin. read more

Best pub in Austin. In the middle of the always hectic 6th St, capital of the live music, Friends offer

We had a great time here watching a great band. Like other reviewers have mentioned, the bathrooms are kinda gross and don't have locks on the doors. The service was friendly but they did not circulate to the tables. Prices were moderate. Drinks were standard. I would return if the music was good but wouldn't hang out here for drinks otherwise. read more

Friends was the first bar I hit during my visit to Austin, TX. The bartender was really friendly and let me try his experimental White Russian (too sweet and milky for my taste, but kudos to homeboy for being daring). The crowd: a young, attractive and friendly mix. No cover upon entry. The bar plays mainstream hip-hop and has a windowed platform near the front, for dancing. The dance area features large-screen televisions on two or three sides of you. One television, the nearest to the bar itself, screened captioned episodes of Family Guy (I loved that!). The other televisions played music videos for whatever songs were on the spin. If you come on the weekdays, the vibe is more rock/alternative, with a slightly older crowd. read more

Live band is what attracted my coworkers and I in here. They also announced that they do not get paid, to play in the bar, but lives off tips. That's so sad. Couples were also swing dancing in the back and front, putting on a show. I don't know if the band and the dancers were together?! They also had specials $2 vodka shots an $3 beer! Crazy cheap!! read more

Theres a lot competing for attention. This little place is like your fave pair of jeans. Friendly wait staff, which isn't always a given in Austin. Cool live local music on a tiny stage. If you fall into a badass local act then you're going to get a great, intimate experience. Will definitely be back next time in austin. read more

So glad we stumbled upon this place! We were just looking for some good music. The first band we heard was Sam Pace--I can't even describe his voice, because it changes. Great start to our evening. Then Will Travis and the County came on--he was amazing, too. The staff was incredible! Thanks to Sarah, Peaches, Casey and Olivia. Your great service and smiles contributed to our fun evening. Just what we were looking for in Austin. read more

Cheap drinks and actual live music here at Friends! So much better than all the DJ's playing at neighboring bars.

Loved the bar, live music, no cover on a Saturday night, and reasonable drink prices. I would return. I would second the comment about the bartenders being slow, however. read more

This place is good enough. Walked in and it was half full... Mostly with older (We are 28 & 33 & they were older than us) Crowd. The music was good. Kinda blues/rock if that makes sense. Anyways, we liked it and I'm really picky about live bands. decent beer selection but not the best. I also feel that the bar tenders were noteworthy. They were all attentive. We ordered drinks from almost all of them, and they were all pleasant. They earned the 4th star. read more

I visited Austin a few weeks ago for work, and a group of us went a few days early to experience the weekend. We went back to 6th street twice and both times we visited Friends Bar. The bartenders were great, the place is a lot of fun, and they played some of the best live music we heard in Austin! 6th street is VERY commercial and many of these places are a little overdone, but we loved Friends Bar. Even on a weeknight when everywhere else was a little less lively, the bands brought in the crowd and fun. The drinks are cheap and good, I would definitely revisit for a fun night out! read more

My favorite music bar in austin. Great entertainment every time I've been there. Very nice servers until closing time. Then they become bouncers. Har har. read more

Friends Bar - Mitch hedberg playing bass. Hope to hear jokes later. - Music Venues Near Me - Austin, Texas

On a rainy Austin Sunday, we popped in when we heard love music. The cocktails were great and reasonably priced. The atmosphere was super chill (including a fish tank!) and the music was AWESOME! Nothing terribly special about the bar itself, but we had a good time! read more

Friends Bar - Cocktails and blues music :) - Music Venues Near Me - Austin, Texas

Very nice place and all the musicians that we listened to here were all a little different but ALL good!! But whatever you do, you MUST order the chips and queso dip!! read more

Four stars on the bar and five stars for the band Swamp Sauce. The band plays up front right were you walk in. The bartenders are friendly and there is a fair choice of drinks. Most people enjoyed the band and stayed within their own groups. No one got up to dance while we were there, but the crowd was enthusiastic. It is definitely worth stopping in. read more

Cool spot for live music. But, I think the bar staff has got a little too comfortable here. Not real friendly except with people they know. Seemed like the had an agenda-their own personal party. Blonde bartender taking shots with band member who shouldnt have been drinking anymore (passed out in the corner after his show). Things just seemed to fall apart after 10:30pm. I'd hate to be the owner of this bar because they have a great place but their young bartenders forgot they're working!!! read more

Asked for martini olives. Been buying drinks all night. Guy told me it's not a snack bar. Every other bar will give em. Fuck that guy.

This place sucks now. Got kicked out for the second time for absolutely no reason. Minding my own business, spending money on drinks. Too bad. They still owe me for a drink from last time. read more

Great music Never a Cover and Shiner Bock. Awesome! Thanks Austin

My first live music experience on 6th street in Austin. Was in town for 4 days for a work conference and stopped here every night. The bands were amazing and the drink prices are cheap. A little touristy - but I was one so it made sense. Can't wait to go back! read more