[citation needed] The four-day event is held on the first, second, or third Thursday-through-Sunday after Memorial Day at the Travis County Exposition Center on the east edge of Austin.

The City of Austin blocks off the downtown area for a massive biker street party on Congress Avenue on Friday night.

It constitutes one of the largest annual tourist events in Central Texas, with an estimated economic impact of 30–35,000,000 dollars per year.

City officials have estimated that the Friday night street party downtown draws as many as 200,000 spectators thus making it one of the largest motorcycle rallies of any kind in the country.

Musical entertainers who have appeared at the rally include: Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Jeff Walker, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Daniels, George Thoroughgood, Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr, Brett Michaels, Ted Nugent, Joan Jett, Grand Funk Railroad, The Guess Who, Edgar Winter, Steppenwolf, the Georgia Satellites, Joe Ely, David Allan Coe, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Asleep At The Wheel, Mitch Ryder, and many more.