Bill and I attended the first day of the 2023 Austin City Limits Music Festival. The weather was warm with mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the high 80s. We were hoping for more clouds, but the weather wasn’t bad for early October.
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Confusion reigns in the Texas State Capitol in more ways than one: Austin now has three different event venues named “Moody.”
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The Austin Music Awards took place as scheduled on Wednesday, March 11th, at the ACL/Moody Theater. This annual show recognizes the achievements of our local musicians. Bill and I made a late-minute decision to attend after SXSW was canceled and balcony seats became available. We had an entire row to ourselves up there. This was one of the last big music events before COVID-19 restrictions were implemented in Austin.
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This month Bill and I attended the Voices for Justice concert at the ACL Moody Theater. The concert was part of a fundraising event for Proclaim Justice, a non-profit organization that focuses on freeing wrongly convicted inmates, especially those facing life in prison or the death penalty. This organization is based in Austin, but considers cases throughout the US.
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HAAM – Health Alliance for Austin Musicians – is a non-profit organization that helps local musicians gain access to affordable healthcare services. Last week over 200 performances were held all around town to raise funds and promote HAAM. Many local businesses donated 5% of their day’s sales as well.
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This weekend was the annual HONK!TX festival of community street bands. Almost 30 bands participated this year. Many were from Austin, but ten other U.S. cities and two countries (Brazil and El Salvador) were represented. I was able to attend two days: Friday evening at Mueller Lake Park and Saturday afternoon at Hemphill Park. Friday’s picture-perfect weather contributed to big crowds at Mueller. After a mid-morning cold front arrived, Saturday audiences seemed a little smaller than usual. It’s hard to pick from the 19 bands that I heard, but I think my three favorites were Extraordinary Rendition Band, Big Blitz, and Minor Mishap Marching Band.
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February 2018 turned out to be quite a month for classic rock ‘n roll in Austin. I’m sure we missed a few events—there’s always a lot happening here—but here’s what Bill and I saw…
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Last week Bill and I attended a benefit concert for People’s Community Clinic, a non-profit which provides affordable health care for Central Texans. The concert featured three well-known and extremely talented musicians with Austin roots: Monte Montgomery, Eric Johnson, and Christopher Cross. The concert was held at the historic Paramount Theatre.
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This year’s Zilker Summer Musical is a lesser-known show called All Shook Up. This show features Elvis Presley music, lots of dancing, and even some motorcycle riding. The plot is loosely based on a Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night, and includes misunderstandings, a disguise, and unrequited love.
I recently attended one of the two performances of Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers at The Long Center. This musical theater work was composed by Leonard Bernstein. Peter Bay, conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, was the driving force behind this ambitious production in honor of the centenial anniversary of Bernstein’s birth.