As North Texas music scenes continue to receive national recognition, local industry leaders say the missing piece needed to elevate the region into a destination hub is a prominent music festival.
“We need a damn signature event y’all,” Tami Thomsen, a longtime Dallas talent manager, told guests during the Jambaloo Symposium in Fort Worth on Feb. 7. “With this great of a music community as we have, we still don’t have that signature event that ties the city together, embraces locals and also brings people in from out of state.”
The panel kicked off the second annual Jambaloo Music Festival, a weeklong event that brings free concerts to 15 North Texas music venues, including four Fort Worth locations.
The event was moderated by KXT 91.7 FM program director Benjamin McPhail and featured prominent local music leaders, including Thomsen; Tom Martens, director of the Fort Worth Music Office; Chip Adams, director of the Texas Music Office; and Grammy-Award winning producers Tre Nagella and Symbolyc One.
There’s “a lot of interest” in North Texas for a new signature event, but there are no concrete plans in motion, Adams said. Some of Texas’ major music festivals include Austin City Limits and SXSW. Other key events across the U.S. include Coachella in California and Lollapalooza in Illinois.
“I think it’s a matter of time before we lock in something really, really unique that we can hang our hat on,” he said.
Martens hopes the event bounces between Dallas and Fort Worth every other year if it becomes a reality.
Thomsen said she’s confident a new festival will happen in the next five years.
“It won’t start as big as Lollapalooza and it won’t start as big as ACL, but I think that’s coming,” she said.
During the panel, music leaders also discussed the challenges facing independent venues and strategies to support local artists.
Musicians in need of financial or medical support have a plethora of resources, Martens said, including free mental health services, and a health care program through JPS Health Network in Fort Worth.
In recent years, venues have faced challenges with rising food and insurance costs and lower alcohol sales. The Texas Music Office has an annual rebate program that sets aside $20.2 million to assist venues across the state.
The best way for independent venues to thrive is for supporters of the arts to care and support those businesses, Thomsen and Nagella said.
“We have to care about the people that make music, and we have to go support venues like Tulips, like Granada (Theater) in Dallas or whatever venue it is,” Thomsen said. “Once they’re gone they’re harder to replace.”
Jambaloo’s free concerts start Tuesday. Although the shows are free, concertgoers are required to RSVP for the days they plan to attend.
Participating Fort Worth venues include The Cicada, Tulips FTW, The Post and Low Doubt Bar. Click here to see the full North Texas lineup.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
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