New Opportunities for Bands and Musicians in the Tyler Area

Patriot Commons is near the University of Texas campus, and is currently growing by leaps and bounds. With about 3500 new residents each year, Tyler is a fast growing city, and the opening of Patriot Commons earlier this year is now paying off with new bars and restaurants.

Republic Icehouse is one of the newest additions, and they are currently seeking bands. They also plan on having an Open Mic night.

UC Sports Bar, which also features live music, recently opened at Patriot Commons. Restaurants round out the attractions with a Steak n Shake, Scooter’s Coffee and Yogurt, and Boba-Loompia. Fedex and UPS are also setting up locations here, so with all of this going on, I expect a lot of traffic and firmly believe Patriot Commons will be a huge boon to Tyler, and to Tyler musicians and bands.

International Music Festival - Austin - Sept 6-7

Great idea. Bad promo.

I always get excited to find what appears to be a new festival with promise to add more flavor to Texas' festival scene, and the name of this one really caught my attention.

This is the fourth year for this festival. I've written about badly promoted festivals before, but this one really gets me because I would think the presenter, the Texas Music Museum, would do better. Visiting the Museum's website gives a bit of info, with a large graphic that says click DETAILS, so I do.

This click leads me to a one page PDF with the address, price (free but donations accepted), and a few small blurry pics of the bands (I think that's the bands - too blurry to tell).

I know web developers are expensive, and I'm not fond of events whose only online presence is a Facebook page, but come on. A Facebook page is at least better than a PDF, and anyone can do it.

Some of you may question why I'm so critical of festivals that do crappy online promotions. Well, here's why : the bands. These bands are usually playing for nothing, or nearly nothing, which really means they're paying to play. At the very least, they're paying with their time, and gas to get to and from the gig. Some may be travelling far enough to require hotel rooms. Some may be giving up better paying gigs hoping to get good exposure at the festival, or maybe they just booked the festival in advance then had to turn down paying gigs because they were booked. These bands deserve better advertising. Put up a website, or at least a web page or Facebook page, and tell us about the bands. Link to their websites.

Seeking Entertainers for New Year's Eve Party

This is a family-friendly event, not much posted online about it yet, but they are lining up the entertainment so this is your chance.

I almost hate to say this but there is no pay involved. But I know from experience there will be entertainers who would love this kind of exposure, which is the only reason I'm posting it.

If you'd like to perform, contact information and event details can be found here : Texas Musicians Forum.

Metal at the Monkey - Dallas - July 31

I know a few DFW area 80s and metal fans that are going to LOVE this... 80s Metal at the Gas Monkey in Dallas!

With an 80s costume contest, several raffle drawings, and a few good metal bands, this sounds like a blast! To top it off, the entire night will be broadcast live by KNON.

Details and tickets here: gasmonkeybarngrill.com

Beaumont Radio Station Seeks Unsigned Talent

Unsigned bands and artists in the southeast Texas area who play country music or Texas music - get heard on this Beaumont radio station! The station is seeking music from unsigned artists and bands. Chosen music will be played on their Saturday night Texas Connection show, from 6-8 pm.

Details here : www.kykr.com

Rock the River Fest - New Braunfels, TX

What a cool way to beat the Texas heat - listening to good music, then tubing the Guadalupe River with the bands!!

Festivities start Friday night, August 8, with an acoustic show featuring 3 or 4 artists. Saturday you go tubing with the bands. Tubes are provided but you should bring your own booze (please read the rules - no glass, no styrofoam, and there's a size limit on coolers).

Saturday night wraps everything up with the main event featuring lots of bands on two stages. Bands and artists include :

Green River Ordinance
Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors
Uncle Lucius
Jamestown Revival
The Wind and the Wave
Andrew Ripp
Hudson Moore
Penny and Sparrow
Friendly Savages
Emily Hearn

It's events like this one that make me glad I live in Texas. For more information about this unique event and to buy tickets, visit the website : RockTheRiverFest.virb.com

Texas Showdown Tattoo and Music Festival - El Paso

This is for all you hardcore fans - tattoos, music, sideshows, and body suspension acts. Good music and over 300 of the world's top tattoo artists sounds like an interesting mix, but the body suspension stuff makes me queesy.

Friday, July 18, Deftones will headline, with The Casualties, Lower Class Brats, and Murder FM. I saw the Deftones a few years back, and unfortunately it was not a good show.

Saturday, July 19, Drowning Pool will headline, with 12 Stones, Crazy Town, Bridge to Grace, and more. I never got to see Drowning Pool with Dave Williams, but the newest lead singer Jasen Moreno is bringing high energy back to the band. After watching a few vids with him, especially how well he did on "Bodies", I plan to catch them the next time they're in Dallas.

Sunday, July 20 features Wu-Tang Clan, Snow Tha Product, Sheek Louch, and more.

Tickets for this 3 day event can be bought online at Ticketmaster, or save a few bucks by buying them directly from the El Paso County Colliseum box office.

Learn more about this freak show of an event at texastattooshowdownfestval.com or on their Facebook page.