Someone once asked me why Toni Price, the reigning diva of South Austin, isn't famous. I replied that perhaps she is as famous as she wants to be. It's a hard argument to refute: Price's Tuesday-evening "Hippie Hour" shows at the Continental Club on South Congress have become an immutable fixture on many Austinites' calendars. Sitting regally on stage, flanked by some of the best musicians the city has to offer as she essays everything from country blues to Billie Holiday, Price is a diva in thrift shop raiment. She tours sparingly. Her entourage is what you might call sparse-no booking agent, no tour manager, no "personal assistant," no record company flunkies…Just her, a few friends and that marvelous voice keening away about better days and fondly-remembered places for an adoring hometown audience. Who needs more fame than that?
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