Music Friendly Texas Notes From the Road: February 2023

March 6, 2023 | Austin, Texas | News | Newsletter | Music Friendly Texas | Outreach

After a brief hiatus, we are back to sharing a recap of TMO Community Relations and Outreach Specialist Chip Adams’ travels throughout the state. Chip manages our Music Friendly Texas Program, the only one of its kind in the country since 2016, and includes 40 certified cities throughout Texas, and growing every day.

This month, Chip made trips to the Woodlands, Corpus Christi, and Granbury, and had the opportunity to meet up with several existing and potential Music Friendly Texas Communities in the region.

Here are Chip’s Notes from the Road:

Music Friendly Texas travel kicked off in February with a day trip down to The Woodlands. The TMO was invited to speak at the Sam Houston State University campus at The Woodlands Center. This was coordinated by the SHSU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, giving us an opportunity to discuss our office and the Music Friendly Texas program. I was joined by Spencer Zamora from Travel Texas as well as Betty Russo from Texas Economic Development & Tourism. It was great to see our friends from Music Friendly Texas certified Conroe, and soon to be certified College Station. Many thanks to Chad Hargrave, Associate Provost for Research and Sponsored Programs for coordinating this great event! Also thank you to Jonathan Thomas, Coordinator of Strategic Partnerships, for all of his help with logistics during the event!

Next up was a trip down to Corpus Christi for the inaugural Coastal Bend Music Industry Symposium. TMO Director Brendon Anthony and I were given some opportunities to speak in front this well-attended day of panels and networking. The day’s events were split between music venues House of Rock and the Bay Jewel. Attendees were invited to listen and ask questions during panel discussions surrounding marketing, local resources, accounting, understanding Performance Rights Organizations, and much more. Brendon helped kick off the day’s events, while I conducted Corpus Christi’s Music Friendly Texas workshop. I am thrilled to say that the city is officially on its way to becoming certified in our Music Friendly Texas program.

Industry experts, including Mitch Ballard from BMI, John Troup from SESAC, Stephanie Brazeal from House Of Rock, Melody Martinez from Freddie Records and many more helped make this a great and highly informative day for attendees. Many thanks to House of Rock’s Casey Lain and the team at Visit Corpus Christi for hosting this fantastic conference. Looking forward to 2024!

February wrapped up with the Music Friendly Texas certification ceremony for the City of Granbury! The event took place during the city’s annual Granbury JazzFest. With stages setup all over the city, it made for a fantastic day of music, showcasing why Granbury is officially Music Friendly! Showcasing talent ranging from Brave Combo to area high school and college jazz ensembles, it was a jam packed day of wonderful music. The certification took place at Hewlett Park, where I was joined by Mayor Jim Jarratt, City Manager Chris Coffman, Visit Granbury’s Tammy Dooley & Kristen Gibson, along with members of City Council and their Music Friendly Advisory Board. Thank you to all that attended. It was an honor certifying Granbury as our 40th Music Friendly Community!

Until next time!