APPENDIX G

Texas Music Night Resources

The directory — the organizations, agencies, press, and platforms a Texas music room actually uses, annotated and current as of this writing.

No music room runs in isolation. It sits inside an ecosystem of state agencies, preservation and trade organizations, performing-rights organizations, press, booking platforms, and the broader Texas music circuit — and knowing that ecosystem is part of running a room well. This appendix is the directory: the resources a Texas music room actually uses, grouped by what they do, each with a short note on why it matters. It draws together threads from across the book — the licensing of Chapter 4 and Appendix E, the press of Chapter 31, the promotion of Chapter 28, the cultural traditions of Chapters 13 and 14.

Two honest caveats. First, a directory is a snapshot: organizations, websites, phone numbers, leadership, and programs change, so verify any detail before you rely on it — treat these as starting points, not gospel. Second, this is a curated set of the most useful and established resources, not an exhaustive list; your own region will have local organizations, venues, and press worth adding. Use it as a foundation and build your own working directory on top of it.

State and Government

Texas Music Office (TMO)

The single most useful government resource for a Texas music business. The TMO is a business-promotion office and information clearinghouse within the Office of the Texas Governor’s Economic Development and Tourism division — notably the first state music office in the nation. (Ch. 28)

• What it offers: the Texas Music Industry Directory (a searchable database of venues, musicians, businesses, radio, and media across the state), music-business guides, safety/production guides, an events calendar, the Music Friendly Texas community-certification program, the Texas Music Incubator Rebate program, and the Music License Plate Grant (which funds 501(c)(3) music nonprofits — relevant to the grant and outside-money discussion of Chapter 36).

• Website: gov.texas.gov/music

• Contact: P.O. Box 12428, Austin, TX 78711 · (512) 463-6666

• Why it matters: free promotion, a directory to list your room and find talent/services, and a gateway to state-level music programs.

Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC)

The state agency that regulates alcohol — licensing, permits, and the rules a venue serving alcohol must follow. Not optional reading for any room with a bar. (Ch. 4; Appendix H)

• What it governs: licensing and permits, server requirements, hours and sales rules, tied-house and marketing-practice rules (relevant to sponsorship, Chapter 36), and compliance generally.

• Website: tabc.texas.gov

• Why it matters: your license and your compliance run through TABC; consult them and a licensed Texas attorney on your specific obligations.

Preservation and Cultural Organizations

Texas Dance Hall Preservation, Inc. (TDHP)

A statewide 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 2007, dedicated to preserving Texas’s historic dance halls and the music and culture in them — directly relevant to anyone running or restoring a traditional hall. (Ch. 15; Ch. 30)

• What it offers: preservation expertise and consulting, a Preservation Fund grant program for qualifying historic halls, National Register assistance, membership, events, and an ongoing effort to map Texas dance halls.

• Website: texasdancehall.org

• Contact: P.O. Box 150068, Austin, TX · (512) 400-4315 · director@texasdancehall.org

• Why it matters: if your room is or hopes to be a historic hall, TDHP is expertise, potential funding, and a community of like-minded owners.

Cultural and Genre Organizations

Beyond dance halls, Texas’s deep musical traditions each have organizations, societies, and communities worth connecting to — conjunto and Tejano cultural organizations, gospel and sacred-music networks, western swing societies, and regional heritage groups. (Ch. 13, 14, 37)

• How to find them: the TMO directory, local cultural arts councils, and the communities themselves are the best routes; these are often regional and community-rooted.

• Why it matters: hosting a tradition authentically means connecting with the organizations and communities that carry it (Chapter 37’s cultural-welcome point).

Performing-Rights Organizations (PROs)

The four major PROs most venues encounter for public-performance licensing are listed here for directory completeness. Contact each directly to determine current terms and whether its repertoire is implicated by your operation.

Trade Organizations

Texas Country Music Association (TCMA)

A trade organization championing Texas country music (active since 2011), based around Carthage and the Fort Worth Stockyards. Useful for rooms programming Texas country and the artists in that world. (Ch. 23, 31)

• What it offers: the Texas Country Music Awards (held at Billy Bob’s Texas), showcases, a songwriter contest, the Texas Country Music Chart, a directory, membership, and Texas Country Music Magazine.

• Website: texascountrymusicassociation.org

• Why it matters: networking, recognition, and visibility within the Texas country scene; a route to artists and industry contacts.

Other Trade and Membership Bodies

Depending on your programming, other national and regional bodies may be relevant — folk alliance and Americana organizations, blues societies, jazz societies, genre-specific associations, and regional music coalitions. (Ch. 31)

• How to find them: the TMO directory and the genre communities you program are the best starting points.

• Why it matters: trade bodies offer networking, recognition, showcases, and industry connections specific to your music.

Press and Media

Covering Texas music, for the earned-media work of Chapter 31. National coverage matters, but Texas-specific outlets are often more reachable and more relevant for a room.

• Texas Music Magazine — a long-running quarterly (since 2000) covering all genres of Texas music, its artists, venues, and events. Website: txmusic.com (Ch. 31)

• The Austin Chronicle — Austin’s long-running alt-weekly with deep music coverage; a model for the kind of local alt-weekly worth cultivating. austinchronicle.com

• Regional and local press — your city’s alt-weekly, daily arts section, local music blogs, radio (including community and college stations), and online listings are often your most valuable and reachable press (Chapter 31’s local-first point).

• Why it matters: earned coverage builds reputation; local and Texas-specific outlets are usually more accessible than national press and more relevant to your audience.

Booking Platforms and Tools

The digital tools rooms use to book, advance, ticket, list, and promote. Specific platforms change and consolidate constantly, so these are categories to fill with current tools rather than fixed endorsements. (Ch. 18, 28; Appendix C, D)

• Booking/advancing tools — platforms for managing bookings, advancing shows, and artist communication.

• Ticketing platforms — for ticketed shows; compare fees, fan experience, and data ownership (Chapter 27, 29).

• Listings and discovery — local event calendars, listings sites, and the TMO events calendar (Chapter 28).

• Why it matters: the right tools systematize the work of Appendices C and D; choose for fit, fees, and the data and relationships you retain.

The Circuit and the Festival Calendar

The Texas Circuit

Texas has well-worn touring routes and clusters of rooms — the Hill Country dance halls, the Austin scene, the Fort Worth Stockyards, the Houston and San Antonio rooms, the regional honky-tonks and halls across the state — that together form a circuit artists travel and audiences follow. (Ch. 18, 30)

• How to learn it: the TMO directory, TDHP’s dance-hall work, and the touring patterns of the artists you book are the best maps; visiting and learning from established rooms (the book’s recurring advice) is the real education.

• Why it matters: understanding the circuit helps with routing-aware booking (Chapter 18) and locating your room in the larger Texas scene.

Festivals and Annual Events

Texas’s calendar is full of festivals and annual music events — from SXSW and ACL in Austin to genre festivals, dance-hall events, conjunto festivals, western swing festivals, and countless regional celebrations. (Ch. 16, 34)

• How to track them: the TMO events calendar, Texas Music Magazine, TDHP and genre-org calendars, and regional tourism resources.

• Why it matters: festivals shape the calendar (Chapter 34), offer programming and partnership ideas, and connect your room to the broader scene’s rhythm.