Performing in Austin

By arushi ahMed

Finding your niche as an artist in Austin, TX.

Austin’s music scene is so diverse, encompassed with genres such as country, rock, jazz, blues, hip-hop, and more. This town has been given the “live music capital of the world;” locals and tourists from all around come to this city to bask in the animated sounds, but a select few have the unique experience of being a musician here, and every individual has to start somewhere. Whether you’re a soloist, in a band, or simply experimenting with making sounds, Austin is teeming with opportunities to perform and connect with the community.

“I chose Austin because it’s just so music centric,” says Camille Schiess, local violinist, fiddler, and lesson teacher. Especially focused on teaching and developing musicians, when Scheiss had originally moved to Austin she found it shocking how many students were in school programs such as band, orchestra, and choir. “I wanna be here because not only can I teach, but I can also play and show my students what they can do,” and they will be strongly passionate about it, she says.

The ability to become a musician is in everyone, but each individual has to start somewhere. There are many ways one can become involved, at any time. From joining a band, orchestra, or choir in high school, to simply beginning to listen to new and unfamiliar genres in your free time.

Dougie Do, producer and MC of Magna Carda clarifies how he and his coworker “were always involved in music from a young age.” Dougie has been playing the tenor saxophone since high school, and Megz, the rapper, started off by being in a rap group for church growing up in New Orleans. Having experience from such an early point led the two to form a group, eventually making their way into the city of Austin. When the two initially arrived in Austin, around 2008-2009, they point out that the community was not as receptive to hip-hop and r & b as genres, since rappers were not seen as musically capable or talented. Dougie Do states, “with more transplants arriving in Austin in the last decade, it’s created a new wave of hunger for the genre,” and that they themselves and other artists have been able to obtain attention for their creativity. As more underground rap battles, open mics, and even larger scale festivals like JMBLYA have become popular, hip-hop artists in Austin have been able to exchange and explore new styles of rap, and simply share their stories with people who are willing to listen.

Camille Scheiss, violinist, again adds onto the fact that rap and alternative genres are still underrepresented in the Austin music scene: “There’s so much music, and there is some music that I don’t think is represented as much.”

A way that many musicians have made their way to Austin’s lifestyle has been by learning classical music. “Classical music, you want to make sure you’re very centered on your technique and making sure you’re really getting what you want out,” Scheiss says. After doing repetitions of small parts, and then putting the pieces together, people will typically begin to expand their genre and style. This way it really adds a unique personality to the music, and forms a spot for Austin’s livelihood.

Austin’s live music scene also requires finding a venue and a timeframe for a gig, which is difficult for anyone starting off in the music industry. The process of booking any venue is grueling: after sending many emails and follow up requests, they may respond after months or even after years!

However, over the past years, Austin has become open to new musicians by providing multiple live venues and festivals to work up to, allowing for more approval room. Billy Murphy, vocalist and manager of the jazz band “Copa Kings,” had only started getting small gigs when their band first began to form. “We were very fortunate in that we have two venues in town actually, that prioritize us to perform,” says Murphy. From starting off with a couple of gigs, they’ve proven to have brought in large crowds to the bar, and in return obtained a monthly Wednesday to perform. All it takes to get in the gig business is a small nudge from fellow musicians who are willing to help out, which then eventually opens up a whole array of opportunities.

When an artist’s live playing has expanded over time, after hours of hard work, gigs, and an expanded audience, they can start working up to performing at larger festivals. When there are so many bands playing at one festival, it can be really special to have an audience at one stage, because they have chosen out of so many options to be at that specific one. Magna Carda says from experience playing at SXSW, Austin City Limits, and Sound on Sound Fest, that “having a 45 minute performance always feels like 5 minutes!”

Covid-19’s impact on musicians’ careers.

All musicians have setbacks, and one that a lot of them have in common is the recent pandemic. Covid has influenced musicians in ways that directly affect their careers, their feedback, and the ultimate experience. The required quarantine in Texas meant that all sorts of shows and performances were halted, and that meant lower incomes for musicians that depend on live shows.

By this point, Austin’s title as the Live Music Capital of the World lost a big part of it’s meaning: individuals getting together to perform and watch others perform live on stage, where acoustics would fill up a room, or resonate for miles if it were held outside.“I bet you we didn’t play another gig of any kind for over a year,” says Billy Murphy. This had a great impact on the careers of many lesserknown musicians, because people wouldn’t randomly come across them playing in public spaces anymore. People simply didn’t have as many online-sites set up for listeners, putting a significant pause to their growth in recognition. It would take quite some time to form a platform strong enough, even as viewers to have connections with people online. It wasn’t until months later, in early winter, when the Copa Kings had begun to meet up again and began recording holiday music. This had opened up a new experience for them as musicians, and for their listeners.

Once covid had subsided, there were still limits to which venues were available, and other strict guidelines to follow safe protocol. This meant that there would be less performances for every artist, and that they would have to be precise about when and which gigs they wanted to do. This somewhat made many musicians aware of what was important and what was not, allowing for less stress even after the limits became unlimited.

Teaching music in an online environment was also a struggle for both the teacher and the learning student. Even teachers who are well experienced in educating new musicians about music have had trouble with such an unexpected halt. Camille Schiess has been teaching violin lessons for years: “we as teachers rely on our students to react back.” The lack of being in the physical presence of live music has made it difficult for starting musicians to become passionate about the little things, and grab onto the ambition to become something musically special.

From the old eras of Austin where many musicians were not recognised, to finally making it through the tough times of online music; Austin’s lively musical scene has stayed steady and strong for years, and it is a great spot for musicians to express their passion for music!