Coachella Producers AEG Presents to Open New Music Venue in Emo’s Location

Live entertainment company AEG Presents announced Tuesday that it will be taking over the venue space at 2015 E. Riverside, currently home to Emo’s.

The building is owned by Presidium, a real estate developer leading the charge on the upcoming 109-acre mixed-use development project River Park, which will include a 4,000 capacity venue – yet unnamed – also being opened by AEG Presents. 

“It just kind of organically came together with Presidium,” Robin Phillips, vice president of AEG Presents’ Southwest Region, says of the deal.

Phillips, who lived in Austin for a time, remembers Emo’s fondly, but says taking over the existing setup “was never really in the plan.” 

“The one on Sixth and Red River was super special to me. Some of the best shows I ever went to were there,” she says. “So, I do feel like it’s definitely an important part of Austin’s history.” Still, she adds, “I don’t think a name of a venue is all of Austin’s music legacy. My main goal is to support Austin, the music scene and artists.”

The Los Angeles-based company plans to make upgrades to the venue’s sound system, lighting, bars, and dressing rooms before reopening the space under a new name in February 2027.

A spokesperson for Emo’s, which is owned by C3 Presents and Live Nation, said the legacy Austin brand plans to move to a “new building downtown that celebrates our punk rock roots with the new amenities that fans are looking for from a venue.” They’ll close up shop on the Eastside location in December, making room for renovations at the 1,500 capacity venue. 

Emo’s, which was originally opened in 1992 by Eric “Emo” Hartman, was bought by local production company C3 Presents in 2013 and transitioned to partial ownership with Live Nation when the entertainment giant purchased a controlling stake in the outfit in 2014. 

A recent documentary by Greg Beets, Richard Whymark, and Chepo Peña tells the story of the Sixth Street stage that made Emo’s a household name for music-loving Austinites. Then-owner Frank Hendrix sold the building in 2011, thus initiating the music venue’s second – some would say more corporate – life on the Eastside. 

Both venues say they will keep audiences updated on opening information via social media.

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