What does 24 hours on Sixth Street sound like?
A team of audio producers from KUT spent a full day and night on the eight blocks of Sixth Street between Congress and I-35, trying to answer that question as part of the new podcast 24 Hours in Austin.
They went out on March 14, right in the middle of the South by Southwest music festival.
Here are some of the people they met:
Jorell, who moved to Austin from San Antonio and works the night shift at a nearby apartment building
“Just being in Austin, it's easier to just be yourself. You know, there's no judgments or anything about who you are, how you carry yourself or anything like that.”
Jesse, who helps keep Sixth Street clean as part of the Downtown Austin Alliance’s Ambassador program
“My job is to safety first and customer service and hospitality. I take pride in it because I love engaging with people, because I serve a God and a Lord Jesus Christ. And I have to hold that light that's in me to shine, because the world is dark and it needs the light. And that light is love.”
Shaun, a filmmaker, and Matt, a talent agent from Los Angeles
Matt said he was a fan of the movie Shaun showed at the festival, so they made plans to have coffee at the Driskill.
"I really love Matthew's perspective on art and film and the way he approaches projects. And so, yeah, it's actually like very, very cool meeting ... you know, it's like this is almost like When Harry Met Sally or something. ... I'm very, very happy to have met Matthew for sure."
Baby D, a rapper from St. Louis
“I had stage fright for a long time … but I kind of broke out of it, man, because once I started on the stage, I loved it too much. I had to keep going.”
“I'm hoping to find some life-changing opportunities. Like, I just hope the right people in the room hear me, you know, say, take me where I need to go.”
Thomas, a bartender entertaining himself by doing shaker tricks
“When I was a kid I was on a yo-yo team. We would travel around and do yo-yos. And then that turned into a thing called a kendama … it's like a cup attached to a ball with a string. So I'm wicked awesome at that. And then that kind of led to me being able to do shaker tricks really easily. … And then once I found out that people love when I do this ... I leaned into this hobby.”
“The girl I'm seeing, she's a fire spinner, so we'll do private events where we just entertain people, which is at the core of everything. … I don't like getting people drunk. I like entertaining people.”
Julian, who had brought his Burmese pythons to Sixth Street
“A lot of people get confused that pythons are boas because they're constrictors. Boas and pythons do the same action of constricting. The difference between pythons and boas [is] pythons lay eggs like chickens; boas give live birth like women.”
You can listen to the first episode of 24 Hours in Austin in the player above or wherever you get your podcasts. In upcoming episodes, the team spends a day at Bennu Coffee, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and 911 Emergency Services Mental Health Dispatch.
