Austin band leader Graham Reynolds is teaming up Texas Performing Arts to brings the Texas Mixtape concert series to the Texas Big Top, a new outdoor venue on the plaza of the Bass Concert Hall on the University of Texas campus.
The shows will be the first in-person performances that Texas Performing Arts has hosted since March.
For the three-concert series, Reynolds combined artists who inspire him in unusual groupings.
“In the spirit of this new Texas Big Top venue, experimenting and discovering its role in this pandemic era of the Austin music scene, I’ve asked the players to stretch themselves, playing with musicians they’re either just getting to know or perhaps have never played with before,” Reynolds said in a press release about the event. “Mixtapes are my roots. They’re the way I love to listen, bouncing from one style to another, creating meaning through new contexts. Growing up, they were a way to share a part of yourself with others.”
See: “How Graham Reynolds Built a Bridge Between Musical Genres”
Bob Bursey, executive director of Texas Performing Arts, said that the severe disruption of live performance demanded creative strategies. “(It) means presenting in a new outdoor venue and bringing other viewpoints in to our programming. With this series, we’re continuing our focus on supporting Austin artists during the pandemic.”
See: “Texas Performing Arts, along with Fusebox, launch residency program for Austin performing artists”
Tickets to Texas Mixtape will be sold in pods of two seats with a minimum of six-feet spacing between pods. Tickets for each concert are $20 per pod and available at texasperformingarts.org. Masks are required for staff and attendees at all times and sanitization stations will be available at all entrances.
The Texas Mixtape series schedule is:
7 p.m. Nov. 20
Featuring Brannen Temple ElecTriO with Bobby Sparks and James Robinson
7 p.m. Dec. 4
Featuring Gina Chavez and Special Guest
7 p.m. Dec. 11
Featuring Josh Baca, Orión García, Andre Hayward, and Beto Martinez
I would be eternally grateful if you would live stream or youtube video these extraordinary events! Thank you!