Austin Music

From Texas Standard:

On September 26, in the stately Thomas Jefferson building of the Library of Congress, a Texan from Beaumont will receive one of the highest honors awarded to folk and traditional artists, a national heritage fellowship award from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

But "folk and traditional artist" does not come to mind when you see Barbara Lynn doing her thing on stage.  She slings a Fender Stratocaster, left-handed, playing blues-infused Gulf Coast soul with the presence of a pop star. She's had hit records, been invited to perform on American Bandstand, and her songs have been covered and sampled by the likes of the Rolling Stones, Lil Wayne and Moby. But she never cultivated the whole celebrity thing.  Indeed, Barbara Lynn has never been much for playing by the rules.

From Texas Standard.

Actor and musician Kevin Bacon is busy touring the Lone Star State with his brother Michael. The two are promoting their self-titled album “The Bacon Brothers,” their seventh studio record. Many Hollywood stars juggle various side projects with their careers, but Kevin Bacon insists his fraternal musical endeavor is serious business. He says it’s typically a challenge for actors to be taken seriously as musicians.

From Texas Standard.

Just as thousands of musicians are descending upon Austin in hopes of getting that big break at South by Southwest, one of the city’s most beloved performers has packed his bags for Tennessee. Texas honky-tonk legend Dale Watson is putting down new roots in Memphis, in a house just a mile from Graceland.

All this week, KUTX will profile the Ones To Watch: seven must-see artists at SXSW 2018. 

Mélat is an Austin-based artist who’s influenced by a little bit of everything: Ella Fitzgerald, Mariah Carey, even the Ethiopian music she heard around the house growing up. It makes for an interesting mix on her latest album Move Me II: The Present.

From Texas Standard.

It might sound a little different than you remember, but there’s a new version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” going around online. With 2 million views online, it was finally taken down for copyright reasons.

The Parish nightclub on Sixth Street in downtown Austin is going up for auction Friday – on eBay, no less. The company ATX Brands is selling the lease, the audio-visual equipment and the Parish brand, with a starting bid of $1.

ATX Brands CEO Doug Guller spoke to KUT about the sale and his plans after the Parish.

Musician Chris Thile made his first appearance on "A Prairie Home Companion" just over 20 years ago when he was 15. Performing live was not new for him; he had been playing the mandolin for about 10 years already.

Long story short: He took over from "Prairie Home" host Garrison Keillor in October last year.

What's in a name? Well, a lot – at least for those in Austin’s vibrant restaurant, live music and condiment scenes.

Earlier this month, Stubb's Austin Restaurant Co. settled a trademark dispute with McCormick and Co., and its subsidiary One World Foods, so that McCormick will be the only company that can use the name Stubb's.

Texas Standard interview by Jody Denberg.

Bill Collings dropped out of college to start making guitars.

Little did he know that his passion for exquisite craftsmanship would earn him the respect of musical talents who would help set a new standard for the quality of acoustic sound, and earn him a place in the Texas music scene for the Collings guitar.

Austin City Council members have delayed a vote on the so-called “agent of change” proposal, which would establish rules aimed at easing tensions between neighbors and music venues over amplified sound. An early version of the rules asked both new businesses and established venues to commit to “build accordingly to accommodate for sound.”

From Texas Standard:

Steve Earle. Beyonce. Buddy Holly. Geto Boys. Ornette Coleman. Ernest Tubb. Bun B. Selena. Van Cliburn. Johnny Mathis. Stevie Ray Vaughan. Did I mention Willie? If ever there were a no-brainer for Texas tourism, surely a museum of Texas music history would fit that description.

From Texas Standard:

Ten years ago, Joe Lewis – a 20-something from the Austin suburbs –  first tried to storm the stage. By day, he was delivering fish for a local seafood restaurant; by night, he was putting his unique spin on the blues that Austin was best known for. With a sound that evokes Stax and Muscle Shoals more than the cosmic cowboys, Lewis stands out in Austin.

The holidays are a time of coming together, but they’re also a time when we think of those who are absent. Thoughts turn to loved ones distant or departed,  to the spirits of jolly old elves and to melting frosty snowmen. On Sunday at the Cheatham Street Warehouse, they will turn to a narcissistic country singer who never shows up. 

The hit Netflix series “Stranger Things” is a supernatural thriller set in the 1980s peppered with nostalgic pop culture references and scored with a synth-heavy soundtrack by the Austin band Survive.

The Austin synthesizer band Survive composed the music for the hit Netflix thriller "Stranger Things," and now they’re riding a wave of success. We spoke to them for a story on Austin’s synthesizer music scene. Here’s part of that interview.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler wants to strengthen the city’s music scene. Earlier this year he introduced a series of proposals designed to do just that. Now, the city is letting the music industry weigh in on what changes they’d like to see at a series of genre-specific public meetings.

The Austin City Council voted Thursday to investigate a long list of ideas drafted by Mayor Steve Adler to support Austin’s ailing music industry — one study says Austin saw a loss in 1,200 local jobs over four years, while another says a fifth of musicians live below the poverty line.

Adler's list of proposals, which could also benefit the creative economy as a whole, passed with near-unanimous approval at the council's meeting last night. 

Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced Friday morning a series of proposals he believes will strengthen the city’s music industry and help musicians keep making their art.

While the music tourism industry is enjoying a boom in Austin’s city limits, the economic impact of the local music industry — the live music supported by locals during the stretches of the year that aren’t festivals — is on the decline, according to a study just released by Austin Music People. 

On any given night here in Austin you can find dozens of live music shows to attend.  But, according to the Austin Music Census, you're most likely to be watching a male performer on stage. Male performers outnumbered their female counterparts in the survey four to one – though women are doing a more equitable share of work behind the scenes.

Still, man or woman, musicians and the venues themselves are having a hard time grappling with Austin’s ever-rising cost of living.

Austin music leaders are suggesting changes the city could make to protect and enliven its live music industry. On Wednesday, they presented their recommendations at Holy Mountain, a downtown venue closing its doors later this year – partly because of rising rent.

The recommendations are aimed at five issues advocates say are plaguing Austin’s music scene, including affordability of commercial space, stagnant event revenues, venue preservation, permitting and code enforcement complications and a gap in community engagement.