Rolling Stone's venerable critic Ben Fong Torres dubbed Austin Willacy's music the "music of tomorrow." His "stunning choir boy vocals," described as a "tongue in your ear," are a visceral thrill, compelling the listener to return to the source, again and again. Austin's sensibility is simultaneously old school while entirely fresh, a graceful wallop that seduces with magnum force.

Raised on blues, soul, old school r&b and 70's era rock, Willacy fuses the genres unlike others before him.

Cleveland, Ohio, where Austin grew up, is a music town: Tracy Chapman, Joe Walsh and the O'Jays are from Cleveland. Austin first came to public notice as a member of the a cappella group The House Jacks, who were signed to Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records. This initial success and years of touring (opening for acts such Ray Charles, James Brown, The Temptations, The Gap Band, LL Cool J, Run DMC, Crosby, Stills and Nash and many more), whet Austin's appetite to develop and perform his solo material, leading to a deal with San Francisco independent label APG Records.

Austin is a San Francisco bay area singer/songwriter on the rise. He is continually touring locally, regionally and nationally and has recently joined the board of the Freight & Salvage. He has released two full-length CDs to date with a third to come in early 2005. Austin's music has been featured on MTV, in Jane Magazine and on NPR.org. He has shared the stage with other Active Music artists including Bonnie Raitt, Roy Rogers, Joe Satriani, Dan Hicks, Norton Buffalo, Jason Newsted and has been called “A REVELATION!” by KFOG DJ John Perry Barlow dubbed “an unbelievable talent” by Pat Simmons of the Doobie Brothers.