via Pitchfork Media:

Billboard reports that famed Austin venue Emo’s is closing after nearly 20 years of operation. Owner Frank Hendrix told Billboard that the reason for shuttering had to do with local competition: “We were going the way of CBGB’s. When Moody Theatre moved downtown, it raised the bar for everybody.” There are several shows planned in December to give the venue a proper sendoff, with the final show taking place on December 24.

In the meantime, Emo’s as a brand isn’t exactly dead: sister venue Emo’s East recently opened in Austin’s Riverside area. Hendrix told Billboard that there’s also plans to open another venue “within walking distance” of Emo’s: “What makes a venue a venue is not four walls, it’s the people and the community that support it. We haven’t lost our spirit. We’re still Emo’s.”