Metropolis Technologies Expands Award-Winning “Park & Play” Discounted Parking Program to Austin Musicians
AUSTIN, TX, Oct. 20, 2026—Metropolis Technologies today announced that it is bringing its “Park & Play” program to Austin, offering local musicians significantly discounted parking. As rising costs make it harder for musicians to live, work, and perform in Austin, Metropolis’ Park & Play helps remove an everyday financial barrier so musicians can stay connected to the venues and audiences that sustain the city’s live music culture.
The program will be available at select downtown Austin parking garages, offering local musicians a flat $5 fee fee of $5 for the entire duration of their gigs.
"Metropolis and our local partners believe in supporting the people who give communities their character, like the musicians who make Austin the Live Music Capital of the World," said Andrew White, VP of Operations at Metropolis. "Being a musician comes with real challenges, from irregular income to the simple cost of getting to a gig. Discounted parking is one small but meaningful barrier we can ease."
Austin is only the second city to welcome Metropolis’ Park & Play program, which launched in Nashville at a limited number of locations and has since expanded to 25 facilities across the city. In its first year, the program helped thousands of more than 1,000 musicians save nearly $1 million in parking costs.
"Parking is available for the employees of some of Austin’s most popular tourist attractions, including the Texas Capitol, Zilker Park, Barton Springs,” said Kevin Russell, front man for the Austin-based band Shinyribs. “Even the bats under the Ann Richards Bridge get free ‘parking’. It only stands to reason that Austin’s musicians should have access to affordable parking downtown as well.”
Park & Play Austin was designed in collaboration with the City of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment (ACME); the Austin Federation of Musicians; Austin Texas Musicians (ATXM); Music Venue Alliance Austin; and the Red River Cultural District. The first phase of the program includes initial venues in the first phase of the program include Antone’s, Barbarella, Cheer Up Charlies, Elephant Room, Flamingo Cantina, Hotel Vegas, Kingdom Nightclub, Mohawk, Nica on 4th, Parker Jazz Club, Swan Dive, and 13th Floor.
"Parking is one of those costs that doesn't show up until you add up a month of it," said Benjamin Triesch, local musician and Secretary-Treasurer of the Austin Federation of Musicians, AFM Local 433. "I know musicians who turn down gigs because after parking, the night wasn't worth playing. Cutting that cost means more musicians can say yes to the work."
Participating garages at launch include:
Frost Bank Tower - 171 E 4th Street, Austin, TX, 78701
Lavaca Plaza - 504 Lavaca Street, Austin, TX, 78701
Alto - 924 E 7th Street, Austin, TX, 78702
Hotel Indigo Austin - 505 Ash St., Austin, TX, 78701 (select music venues only)
Starting November 2, musicians will access the special rate using QR codes provided by the venue manager. More information about the program is available on the program can be found on the Austin Park & Play website.
Metropolis operates 70 locations across Austin, with nearly 5 million members across Texas – over 25% of all licensed drivers in the state. Metropolis is the largest operator of connected parking in the United States, with more than 30 million registered members and 4,500 locations in 400 cities.
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About Metropolis Technologies
Metropolis is the leader in applied AI. Each year, its technology interacts with more than 50 million customers and processes over $5 billion in payments. One of the fastest-growing technology companies in the United States, Metropolis adds more than 1 million new Members each month.
Metropolis is defining the Recognition Economy, a new age of personalized intelligence where presence replaces devices and credentials as the foundation for a more intuitive, connected, and human world. Its computer vision platform eliminates friction from daily life, enables checkout-free payments, and unlocks seamless, predictive, and personalized experiences across the real world.
Metropolis is a two-time CNBC Disruptor 50 winner (2025, 2026) and was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies in 2026. Today, Metropolis’ proprietary AI powers the largest parking network in the United States, spanning more than 4,500 locations across 40 countries. To learn more, please visit www.metropolis.io.
About Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment
Austin Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment (ACME) is committed to fostering a vibrant, inclusive creative ecosystem that celebrates and supports Austin's artists, musicians, entertainment venues, and cultural institutions. ACME is a central hub that offers resources, funding opportunities, and strategic programs to centralized hub offering resources, funding opportunities, and strategic programs that promote local talent and drive economic growth.
About Music Venue Alliance Austin
Music Venue Alliance Austin (MVAA) advocates for Austin’s independent music venues and the essential role they play in the city’s cultural and economic life. MVAA works with community, civic, business, and arts partners to support a sustainable music ecosystem and ensure Austin’s live music community can keep thriving collaboratively with community, civic, business, and arts partners to support a sustainable music ecosystem and ensure that Austin’s live music community can continue to thrive. Visit www.musicvenueallianceaustin.com for more information.
About Austin Texas Musicians
Founded in 2019, Austin Texas Musicians Fund (ATXM) is a community-supported 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advocacy, education, and economic development for working musicians across Central Texas. Representing a community of more than 8,000 musicians, ATXM amplifies artists’ voices in local, state and federal policy, provides free music business education, and creates paid performance and professional development opportunities. Through partnerships with civic leaders, educational institutions, venues and fellow nonprofits, ATXM helps musicians build sustainable careers while strengthening the region’s creative economy and preserving Austin’s legacy as the Live Music Capital of the World. Learn more at www.austintexasmusicians.org.
About The Austin Federation of Musicians
The Austin Federation of Musicians is the local chapter of the American Federation of Musicians of the U.S. and Canada. The Austin Local was founded in 1907 and since then has organized local musicians to improve wages, working conditions and other issues relating to employment.
About Red River Cultural District
The Red River Cultural District (RRCD) is a worldwide cultural tourism destination and entertainment district found in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas. The RRCD is managed by the Red River Merchants’ Association, a coalition of over forty local small businesses found within the District, which include not only live music venues, restaurants, hotels, retail shops, and other small businesses, but also the Austin Symphony Orchestra, First Baptist Church, German-Texan Heritage Society, and Waterloo Greenway, among others.
In an ever-changing Austin, our nonprofit seeks to preserve and grow Red River's unique heritage and culture while strengthening ties with the downtown venues, businesses, and communities that contribute so much to make Austin the special place that we call home.
Each year, the RRCD presents two annual district-wide live music festivals – Free Week and Hot Summer Nights – that provide additional revenue to musicians, venue owners and service industry staff during slow seasons. Although each event offers paid gigs for local musicians, these events remain admission-free for fans through the generous contributions of corporate sponsors and individual donors.
For more information and to make a donation, please visit www.RedRiverCulturalDistrict.org. As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, all donations to the RRCD are tax-deductible and accepted year-round.
