On a warm Monday night on South Congress, soulful R&B vocals and smooth guitar riffs filled the roof of Rivian’s Austin space as Torrence Thomas, one-half of the music duo THEBROSFRESH, took the stage.
Despite Austin’s reputation, the music industry remains a struggle for many Black artists, like Thomas, as significant events and mainstream venues often overlook these artists and do not include them in the city’s distinct music scene.
“As a Black musician in Austin, there are positives and negatives to that ‘live music capital’ label,” Thomas said. “There are a lot of opportunities to play in this city, but only a small few avenues to really grow your brand. It’s like there are only three pipelines you can take and not many resources to help you scale beyond them.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Austin’s Black population is only 7.9% as of April 2023. This underrepresentation is seen in many aspects of Black culture in the city, especially the music industry. For many Black artists, this lack of visibility is heightened by systemic challenges, from limited access to performance venues to fewer opportunities to be included in Austin’s mainstream music events, such as South by Southwest and the Austin City Limits Festival. Additionally, a 2022 survey by the Austin Music Census reported that only 5.9% of Austin’s music professionals identify as Black, African, or African American.
“In reality, there aren’t a lot of Black bands and musicians in Austin,” Thomas said. “You can count us on one hand. But the few that are here, they’re doing some really notable things—like Gary Clark Jr. and the Black Pumas.”
Several organizations and groups have sought to address the disparities in recent years. The Black Live Music Fund was launched in 2020 by the Austin-based nonprofit Diversity Awareness & Wellness in Action, or DAWA, to establish educational and economic programs for musicians to ensure that they can maintain music careers. The fund is designed to provide grants directly to Black musicians, covering costs from recording expenses to health and wellness needs. Fund organizers will create a long-term plan to promote Black music in Austin. Jonathan “Chaka” Mahone, founder of DAWA, says the initiative seeks to “create space for Black music to thrive” in a city historically known for music rooted in Black culture.
“The Black Live Music Fund is simply about Black music in Austin,” Mahone said. “Austin is known as a rock and roll city, as a blues city. Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, these folks music comes from Black people, all of it.”
The fund aims to help build a strong foundation for Black musicians and creators to have sustainable careers in Austin. In 2023, it raised $100K for Black musicians, venue promoters and studios.
“Why is it that so many of the talented Black musicians end up having to leave this city?” Mahone said. “We need a fund that is directly giving to Black musicians and those creating space for them.”
Veronica Robertson, DAWA Board Co-chair, emphasized the transformative impact of the Black Live Music Fund on artists’ lives and the “beautiful space” Austin can be for Black musicians.
“We’re pouring into you like you pour into our community,” Robertson said. “It just gives me so much joy and life and laughter and just wholeness that we are giving to the givers.”
For Black musicians, Austin’s music venues present another layer of challenges. While Thomas says no one is “overtly racist” in Austin’s music scene, he says that certain spaces unintentionally exclude Black musicians due to genre preferences. Furthermore, 93% of Black musicians in Austin say they experienced discrimination when booking shows, according to Measure’s Austin Live Musicians Survey in 2021.
“There are definitely venues that cater to specific genres, and those don’t always include genres Black musicians are known for,” he said. “You don’t see a lot of Black bands at like White Horse or Sagebrush, the Broken Spoke places like that. I'm not saying that Black people don't feel welcome there, but you're not going to go in there and expect to see a lot of us.”
Thomas says that Black musicians need more consistent representation on the main stages of ACL, SXSW and other mainstream Austin music events. He hopes event organizers and city officials will include more diverse acts and performers, like other festivals nationwide.
“You don't see a lot of hip-hop at ACL, and that is by design,” Thomas said. “There's not a lot of R&B at ACL either. So damn, since we're talking about Black acts, are they even represented?”
Thomas says that lack of mentorship creates significant obstacles for many Black musicians entering the Austin scene. He sees mentorship as crucial for growth and says Austin’s music industry would benefit from supporting emerging Black artists.
“There isn’t a ‘music industry 101’ or anyone guiding us on how to navigate this industry at a high level,” Thomas said. “More mentorship would be huge, but right now, even reaching those established in the industry feels inaccessible.”
Reflecting on his move from small-town Louisiana to Austin, Thomas expressed hope that the city’s values around creativity and progression will eventually lead to better representation.
“The soul of the city is based in music and creativity, and they champion those values,” he said. “I think it’s moving in the right direction, and I can only be hopeful for the future.”