The Austin Sun was instrumental in advancing the careers of many musical artists, including Stevie Ray Vaughan,[2] Joe Ely, Marcia Ball, and Butch Hancock.
[citation needed] It also covered the first American performances of Elvis Costello, at the Armadillo World Headquarters; and the Sex Pistols, in San Antonio.
[4] Nightbyrd established the paper with Michael Eakin,[a] a former editor at The Daily Texan, the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin.
[3] Unlike underground newspapers (and despite being so categorized by the Library of Congress),[1] which published much counterculture social and political commentary by volunteer contributors, the Austin Sun was intended to be a commercially viable enterprise, with formal advertising programs and paid staff positions.
Founding Sun writers Bill Bentley, James BigBoy Medlin, and Michael Ventura were contributors to the new site, along with original art directors Dan Hubig and Carlene Brady.