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Photo by Julian Bajsel, Courtesy of The Concourse Project<\/p>\nKelly Gray and Andrew Parsons\u2019 top-rated venue puts the city on the EDM map<\/p>\n
Photo by Julian Bajsel, Courtesy of The Concourse Project<\/p>\n
Once only found in the underground, electronic dance music now sells out mainstream stages at Coachella. For some, throwing successful parties is serious work\u2014and a serious time commitment. Kelly Gray and Andrew Parsons started out in 2005, promoting<\/a> events for 800-square-feet dance floors in Austin, Texas. Today, their venue, The Concourse Project, is ranked 39th in DJ Mag\u2019s Top 100 Clubs global list, competing against venues in Ibiza, New York, Berlin, Las Vegas and more.<\/p>\n The Concourse Project<\/a> sits on the edge of Austin\u2019s city limits, creating a different flavor for the live music capitol of the world. Their programming put Austin on the EDM map and facilitates the Texas nightlife industries.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think Austin has become a place to come and write music and be an artist. Not just your LAs and New Yorks, right?\u201d Parsons said. \u201cDance music-wise, more and more people are making [Austin] their home and creating here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The city is home to Live Nation-C3 presents, PBS\u2019s Austin City Limits and of course The Concourse Project, but other big Texas cities have also made a name for themselves in the EDM space. Houston\u2019s ART Club<\/a> blends big names with home-grown Southern culture. Ice House Radio<\/a> creates offline third spaces that connect community. Dallas\u2019 It\u2019ll Do Club<\/a> brings dance music legends to a tucked-away neighborhood. SILO Dallas<\/a> transformed a historic grain silo into a 3,200-capacity club that also landed them on DJ Mag\u2019s top venues list.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is such a community-based industry,\u201d Gray says, and \u201cAustin is an incubator for dance music professionals. It\u2019s becoming a hub. We take pride in having strong local DJS and being able to give [them] opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n Grey and Parsons also produce their annual house and techno festival, Seismic Dance Event<\/a>. This year, headliners Four Tet, Mochakk and The Blessed Madonna shared the bill with curated emerging talent. Over 500 underground DJs came across Grey\u2019s desk to potentially play for the festival.\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas DJ XOY<\/a> opened for Berlin-based artist HorsegiirL and curated opening acts for Ru Paul, while Houston-based DJ Amarji King<\/a> supported Zack Fox\u2019s show.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a big opportunity for me to represent Houston girls, trans girls, black girls, indigenous girls in electronic music,\u201d XOY says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n On Seismic Dance Event\u2019s final festival night, The Blessed Madonna stepped up to The Concourse Project\u2019s main stage, first adorning a keffiyeh in support of Palestine. She\u2019s outspoken on her social media platforms about the power of dance music and its political roots. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re part of the resistance\u2014and turning a blind eye to it just for preserving business matters is not who we are as people.\u201d Gray says, who also uses social media to mobilize action in Texas politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Concourse Project has evolved into a stage for international exchange of talent, ideas and culture. As the EDM scene expands, Gray and Parsons aim to grow the venue together with the Austin community.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so much more that can be done to involve many more local DJs,\u201d Gray says. \u201cIt feels special to find more people that you weren\u2019t aware of and give them opportunities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The Concourse Project Cultivates Austin\u2019s Dance Music Culture<\/p>\n \t\tAD SLOT: article_culture_incontent AD SLOT This placeholder is removed when the ad slot is configured.<\/p>\n \t![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image1-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Shannon Mack, Courtesy of The Concourse Project<\/p>\n![\"DJ](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image2-683x1024.jpg\")
Photo by Shannon Mack, Courtesy of The Concourse Project<\/p>\n
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