The Cactus Café celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Thirty years ago this month an Austin legend was born on the campus of the University of Texas. In the southwest corner of the Texas Union building, to be exact. Originally a nondescript coffeehouse, the venerable Cactus Café has, in three decades, become a legendary live music venue that offers a uniquely intimate setting for some of the best performances Austin has to offer. “It hasn’t really changed a bit,” says general manager and artistic director Griff Luneburg.
He’s being modest, of course. When Luneburg took the helm at the Cactus 28 years ago, shortly after graduating from UT, the joint didn’t even have a stage or a PA for sound. But the place added more than a sound system and a full bar over the years. Luneburg’s vision for the Cactus, back then, came from reading biographies of his new favorite singer, Bob Dylan. “I said to myself, ‘I’d really like to run a singer-songwriter club like the ones where Dylan played before he was famous. I’d really like to discover the next Bob Dylan,’” Luneburg recalls.
And that’s pretty much what has happened. Careers have been launched there. Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett, Bruce Robison, and Eliza Gilkyson come to mind.
“The Cactus developed a reputation as a songwriters’ club,” Luneburg says. “The musicians would just call me up or I would just call them up for a booking. The audience was always receptive.”
Luneburg is the largely unaccredited maestro behind the Cactus legend. Though the 30th anniversary is bringing some attention, Luneburg still manages to remain somewhat anonymous. A feat he seems to enjoy, allowing him to dedicate his time to the music. For years, Luneburg has enjoyed a free hand in booking the Cactus. Since the venue is part of the UT student union (he calls it the school’s candy store) and isn’t under the control of a private owner or investors, it has been allowed to grow as a comfortable, smoke-free listening room with jazz-club seating.
In the daytime, students enjoy a beer or coffee in the room as they eat their lunch or work on their laptops (wireless nternet service is available). But it’s the evening shows that make the Cactus the Cactus. The room, which holds 150 people at maximum capacity, has played host to too many beloved musicians to name. But among them, including those mentioned above, are Alison Krauss, Joe Ely, Loudon Wainwright III, Bill Monroe, the Dixie Chicks, John Hiatt, Ralph Stanley, Gillian Welch, Patty Griffin, Doc Watson, and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
"I couldn't imagine Austin without the Cactus," says legendary Texas songwriter Joe Ely. "Something about it just felt like it had always been there."
Ely played the Cactus in its early days. Like many performers who have since way outgrown its small seating capacity, Ely continues to return to the Cactus stage, including a 2008 engagement with Joel Guzman caught on record and released as Live Cactus!
Ely says hearing a song "face-to-face" helps the hearer understand where the singer is coming from much more than hearing it on a recording or in a crowded venue. "The songs that I have written that were inspired by someone else were always inspired by someone I was face-to-face with," Ely explains. "And the songs I've recorded of other people…were always [after] I heard the song face-to-face.
"I love recorded music, but there's something about hearing it in the same room that gives it more power, that gives you kind of an understanding of it. You feel the emotion of the other person more, I believe."
A relative newcomer to the Cactus stage, Raina Rose, agrees: "If I had my way, I’d want to hear all of my heroes play at the Cactus. Seeing their facial expressions and hearing their music the way it's meant to be heard…Good thing they book some of my heroes."
Rose adds that the environment at the Cactus can make "any kind of music seem sexy and intimate, like the musician onstage is singing directly to you."
One of the Cactus’ most endearing traditions started back in the early days as a simple attempt to drum up business on Monday nights. Thus was born Austin’s most legendary open-mic night. “We called them hootenannies back then,” Luneburg says.
These days, 25-30 performers show up every week to do two songs each. The audience on Mondays is younger than at a typical Cactus show, but they’re just as welcoming to new faces as they are to the big stars. The open mic sign-up starts at 7pm and is done by lottery. At 7:30, six names are drawn for the first hour, then six names are drawn at the bottom of every hour thereafter. Drum kits aren’t allowed, but most other instruments are.
“The list is always full,” Luneburg says. “I really enjoy hearing new people,” he continues. “I’ve had a lot of people at the open mic who’ve gone on to become headliners.” Among them are Jimmy Lafave, Shawn Mullins, Bruce Robison, and Howie Day.
Adds Luneburg: “I’ve had a lot of people who actually travel from out of town to play the open mic. Some of them just want to play on the stage that the legends played on.”
Most big-name touring acts would consider a crowd of around 100 an embarrassment. At the Cactus, it’s perfect. Unlike at most venues, the bar is almost an afterthought. With just enough soft lighting to navigate between the tables and chairs, the red-curtained stage is definitely the main focus.
“The intimacy is unmistakable and, in my opinion, unmatched anywhere, not only in town but throughout the country,” says open mic host Graham Weber. “As a songwriter you can't ask for a better forum to display your work, and as a listener the sound is always great and there isn't a bad seat. It's my favorite place to both play and watch music.”
As part of the UT student union, the Cactus employs about a dozen students. Luneburg and bar manager Chris Lueck are the only full-time employees (Lueck’s been there 25 years).
“Generally I try to find students who enjoy music,” Luneburg says. And though they may not initially be familiar with some of the musicians on stage, “after a while they leave big fans of the singer-songwriters.”
To celebrate the legendary venue’s 30 years, February’s schedule features musicians whose careers are intertwined with the Cactus Café.
“All of the artists this month have been an important part of the Cactus history,” Luneburg says. They include Slaid Cleaves, Richard Thompson, Guy Clark, Alejandro Escoveo, Joe Ely, Tom Russell, and Ray Wylie Hubbard. The celebration actually started back in December, when Weber and fellow musician Matt the Electrician organized an open-mic alumni show that included Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Bruce Robison, David Garza, and Jon Dee Graham.
While the big names will continue to grace the Cactus stage, be sure to stay on top of the new names on the bills. After all, you never know which names will be the Lyle Lovetts and Eliza Gilkysons from this generation when we write the 50th anniversary story.
The Cactus Café is located in the Texas Union at the corner of 24th Street and Guadalupe. Paid parking is available in the garage behind the University Co-op on San Antonio Street between 23rd and 24th and a surface lot at Guadalupe and 25th.
