![[[Photograph of Harry Choates and Band]](https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth202217/m1/1/?q=%22harry%20choates%22), photograph, Date Unknown; accessed December 19, 2020, University of North Texas Libraries, [The Portal to Texas History](https://texashistory.unt.edu); crediting Museum of the Gulf Coast.](/images/blog/wild-side-of-life/WildSideofLife.jpg)
Local Memory is pleased to announce the opening of its second Digital Public History exhibit, “The Wild Side of Life: The Rise of the Honky Tonks, 1940-1950.” Documenting the ascent of the Western Swing scene in Austin during and after World War Two, it currently consists of four multi-media essays and an interview:
- Beyond the City Limits: The New Dance Halls
- The New Audiences: Demographics in Austin, 1930-1950
- Western Swing in Austin, Part I: 1940-1950
- Western Swing in Austin, Part II: Two Predecessors and a Context, 1930-1942
- The Nash Hernandez Orchestra: An Interview with Ruben Hernandez
Look out for new material! We will continue to add new narratives and oral histories to this exhibit.
This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.