Facing ALS, This Beloved Blues Legend Is Still Austin’s Heart and Soul

More than two hours into a sold-out concert at Austin’s Paramount Theatre last week, a tall, graceful woman strolled onto center stage, sat down at the piano, and received a thunderous, standing ovation. She got no introduction—although this was a star-studded night, she was the only person on the lineup who simply didn’t need one.If an attendee was asked to distill Marcia Ball’s relationship with the city of Austin into a single word that late January evening, it would have been “beloved.” Ball, who was born in Orange but raised just across the Texas-Louisiana border in Vinton, was headed for California to chase a music career in 1970 when her car broke down in Austin. Then a 21-year-old singer and pianist, she loved the city…

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