On a typical weekday afternoon, Smoot Fellowship Hall at Central Presbyterian Church downtown might be hosting a refugee support program, preparing a meal for people experiencing homelessness or serving another community group. Under a proposal being pitched to Austin leaders, the space could take on a different role after dark, serving as a “green room” where musicians can eat, answer email, store gear and prepare for a gig at one of dozens of nearby venues.
The green room proposal is part of a broader package of budget recommendations proposed by the Downtown Commission. The commission is asking city leaders to consider funding expanded late-night safety escorts, subsidized parking for musicians and other amenities that advocates say would make it easier and more practical for musicians to perform downtown.
The proposals will compete with dozens of other funding requests as the City Council seeks to close a projected multimillion-dollar budget gap. The council will review City Manager T.C. Broadnax’s proposed $6.6 billion budget in the weeks ahead.
While supporters hope the city will help launch the effort, they say municipal funding isn’t the only path forward. Central Presbyterian, along with the advocacy group Austin Texas Musicians and other partners, say they would also pursue philanthropic support and private donations if the concept gains traction.
Under the proposal, the church green room would initially operate as a pilot project on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, when downtown music venues are busiest. Musicians could stop in before or between gigs to store equipment and spend time in a quiet, alcohol-free environment. The kitchen could also be available to provide food and drinks for those looking for an alternative to bar food.
The church already hosts programs for immigrants, meals for people experiencing homelessness, concerts, film screenings and other community events in Fellowship Hall.
Church leaders say the concept builds on Central Presbyterian’s longstanding role as a community gathering place. In addition to worship services, the downtown campus already hosts programs for refugees and immigrants, weekly meals for people experiencing homelessness, concerts, film screenings and other community events.
Pastor Jack Barden said the green room would be another way for the church to extend what he called “welcome and hospitality” to people who work downtown.
Austin Texas Musicians CEO Pat Buchta, who is a member of the Downtown Commission, said the idea grew out of conversations with musicians who described having few appealing options to pass time between gigs. While some performers head home, others remain downtown, often waiting in bars because they have nowhere else to go.
“A lot of our professional working musicians are sober,” he said, “and the last place they want to be before and after a gig is hanging out in a bar all night.”
Singer-songwriter Kaytee Klinkenberg performs a three-hour solo set most Saturdays at Maggie Mae’s on East Sixth Street. For her, the show itself is only one part of her responsibilities for the night.
Preparing for a downtown gig means packing equipment, arriving at least an hour early to unload and find a place to park, setting up, performing, breaking everything back down and loading out before finally heading home.
“It takes about five hours in total if I have a three-hour gig, at least,” she said, adding that show nights involve solving a string of logistical problems before she even plays her first song. “Before I got the confidence to move the [parking] barricade in front of a club … we would carry my gear, and I would feel like my arms are falling off.”
Those challenges become even more complicated on nights when she performs at multiple venues.
Frances Ferguson, a leader at Central Presbyterian (left), hugs Pat Buchta of Austin Texas Musicians in the church kitchen. The proposal suggests having prepared foods and drinks for musicians spending time in the green room.
“One gig will end and then I’ll need to run to Red River, and I have to figure out somewhere to kind of stash my gear and run to that gig,” she said. She’ll sometimes take equipment she’s not using into a show because she doesn’t want to leave it in her car.
Klinkenberg said the church space would offer a place to safely leave equipment and regroup between performances.
“I would find it practical … if there’s a way to safely store my gear,” she said. “I would absolutely use that.”
Frances Ferguson, a leader at Central Presbyterian Church who helped develop the proposal, said supporters see the effort as an investment in the infrastructure that working musicians need to make a living downtown.
The proposal envisions starting small, with a one-year commitment of operating the green room three nights per week at a cost of just over $121,000 to cover a rental fee for the church, security to oversee the space and janitorial and administrative services. A pilot program held during last year’s Hot Summer Nights festival on Red River helped to test the idea and identify the labor and logistical costs for an ongoing weekly schedule.
Ferguson said the church believes its historic downtown campus can play a larger role in supporting Austin’s creative economy by putting existing community space to work for musicians.
“If you want a vibrant downtown music scene, it’s not just about bars saying you can work here for $200,” Ferguson said. “It’s about having the community infrastructure that makes it easy, because no one’s making a million dollars working the bar scene.”