Business
BY SARAH HERNANDEZ
Arlyn Studios celebrates 40 years of contributions to Austin’s music scene Tucked o of South Congress Avenue is a recording studio deeply rooted in Austin’s live music scene. The backstory Arlyn Studios was once the site of the Austin Opera House, a live music venue from Willie Nelson and Tim O’Connor in the mid-1970s. In 1984, Nelson’s nephew Freddy Fletcher built Arlyn in the space attached to the venue, which closed in the mid-’90s. What’s special about it? Today, the studio’s walls are lined with records and artist photos such as Sublime and David Crosby. Lisa Fletcher, Freddy Fletcher’s wife and managing partner, said part of what makes the studio special is the community they have built that keeps the “magic” of “old Austin” alive. “South Congress doesn’t even look like the same street that it did even ve years ago, but I think overall, the new and the old are blending together nicely, and I still think Austin is really special,” Lisa Fletcher said. In 2024, they hosted the studio’s 40th anniver- sary, with live performances from artists including Los Lonely Boys, Reckless Kelly, Riders Against the Storm and more. “It really is a community,” Lisa Fletcher said. “We support each other, and I think that grows stronger and stronger as this city gets bigger.”
Local musician Calder Allen (left) and singer-songwriter Charlie Sexton perform to a private audience inside Arlyn Studios at its 40th birthday party.
COURTESY GARYMILLERSHOOTS
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200 Academy Drive, Ste. 140, Austin www.arlynstudios.com
Pianist Bobbie Nelson, Willie Nelson’s sister and the mother of Arlyn Studios founder Freddy Fletcher, records at Arlyn Studios.
ARCHIVE PHOTO COURTESY JOSHUA BLACK WILKINS ARLYN STUDIOS
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