From rock ’n’ roll to gospel and country, Texans love their music. Some of the music industry’s biggest stars (including Leon Bridges, Willie Nelson, Beyoncé, and Buddy Holly) have also called—or still call—the Lone Star State their home. So, it is no wonder the state is also home to some of the country’s most diverse and dynamic music festivals.
Anthony Moreno
Austin’s South by Southwest (SXSW) is one of the country’s largest festivals. In 2022, more than 278,000 people from 112 countries attended the 10-day event. The festival premiered in 1987, and although music has been at its foundation, it celebrates creativity, showcasing music, comedy, film, and professional development. On a more mellow level, Texas’s UTOPIAfest is held in Burnet. Family friendly and with a crowd capacity of 2,000, it is home to two stages, workshops, hiking, yoga, and sites for camping. Other music festivals in the state celebrate folk, Americana, garage rock, and electronic music genres.
If you are planning to start a music festival in Texas, Michele Flores, chief logistics officer for SXSW, says the top five considerations are budget, goals, audience, location, and date. But she cautions, “Knowing what you are wanting and expecting with the budget is key, but always be prepared to change your priorities.”
Here Are Some Other Considerations To Figure Into Your Planning:
The “Why”
What is the goal of your music festival? Do you want to promote new and upcoming musicians and bands across different music types? Or do you hope to elevate the awareness of a specific musical genre?
“For the [Kaiser Family Foundation], our mission is to celebrate the craft of songwriting. Our mission drives our booking (we book performing songwriters), and most of the activities and events we plan center around fulfilling our mission,” says Mary Muse, executive director of the foundation, a nonprofit organization that produces the Kerrville Folk Festival. Founded in 1972, it is the longest continuously running music festival in North America. The festival is held at Quiet Valley Ranch, about one hour from San Antonio and two hours from Austin.
The Vibe
Just as important as the why is the type of energy you want the festival to exude. Are you looking for a mellow, lounge-around-on-blankets-and-lawn-chairs type of festival or the world’s largest dance party? While choosing the type of music to showcase can certainly set the vibe, the layout of the event and the audience you target can also contribute to the feel.
Nathan Migel
Other elements to consider are the accommodations for dancing, standing, and sitting, as well as family-friendly versus a 21-plus event. “Since the [foundation] has persisted for 50 years, there is a community culture that has developed and continues. That culture is one of inclusion, [is] family friendly, and [is] of variation—we consider one another our chosen family,” says Muse.
The Site
When choosing a location, identify the challenges that each area may present and a satisfactory strategy on how to mitigate or optimize those challenges, says Muse. “For Kerrville, we are located at least an hour’s drive from a metropolitan area. Our model is to have an 18-day festival—which is incredibly long—and create an on-site mini-community throughout the festival. Many ‘established’ camps have evolved with groups camping together, creating shared kitchen, dining, and living spaces, and song circles within the campsites.” An essential element is the accessibility of the venue for volunteers, employees, and festival goers, as well as parking—paved or otherwise and paid or free.
The Seating
“The most important part of planning a festival from a ticketing standpoint is the scaling of the venue,” says Josie Moore, box office manager for The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, one of the top music amphitheaters in the world. “You need to decide on seating. Will the event be general admission [open seating], reserved [assigned] seats, or a mixture of both? A general admission event normally allows for a larger capacity, but you will have to put more crowd-control measures in place, like increased staffing and barriers to maintain aisles and crowd flow. While assigned or reserved seating normally allows for fewer tickets sold, you have more options for pricing.”
The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
The Ticketing
“It’s important to have a pricing plan in place and to revisit it as needed,” Moore says. “Understand your target [ticket sales] gross, but be flexible if needed. Planning for presales and special offers like early bird discounts are also important. Upsells, such as skipping the line to enter the venue or early entry into the venue, are popular, as well as options for VIP areas and prepaid parking.”
As for the Kerrville Folk Festival, Muse says the ability to have almost 100 RV lots on-site is a great source of income and provides a helpful service for its eventgoers.
Figure out your financial contingency plans for overhead costs. The success of an outdoor music festival relies heavily on the weather, which is unpredictable in Texas. Unfortunately, the show may not go on because of severe weather, but vendors still need to be paid. “Secure sponsors and additional income sources that help offset overhead that is fixed regardless of the impact of a weather event,” says Muse.
The Logistics
Once the tickets are sold, you want to make sure you have a clear messaging plan to not only set the tone for the event but also the expectations, says Moore. Information like how to access tickets, the scheduled lineup for the event, and important rules such as bag and purse policies are important to communicate early and often to guests who will be attending.
Muse says the one thing she wished she knew before producing the Kerrville Folk Festival was to source people and strategies in the festival community and harness their desire to contribute their talents to the event. “The first music festival I worked on was when Joe Ely hosted Tornado Jam in 1980, 1981, and 1982 in Buddy Holly Park in Lubbock, Texas. I worked for the Lubbock Parks & Recreation Department during those years, and we provided much of the logistical support. I remember seeing this young phenom no one in Lubbock knew of: Stevie Ray Vaughn. I was hooked,” says Muse.
The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Flores began her career working for Direct Events in Austin. Her first music festival was the Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic—where she worked for 15 years. “You really learn a lot in that July Texas heat,” she says. Still, it was the strength of the SXSW community that pleasantly surprised her when she began working with the festival.
“I wish I really understood it was much more than just an annual event, how special the SXSW community truly is. The majority of my career before working at SXSW was strictly running music venues around Austin,” Flores continues. “But after I started working with SXSW directly, I got to see how much desire our audience (our community) wanted to connect year-round. It’s so inclusive and has the ability to connect all these beautiful, creative minds from around the world with one another. I’m so grateful to get to be a part of this.”
All three women have had front-row seats to some of the country’s greatest talents, but none can choose a favorite artist.
“I can never pick one or even a handful of favorite performances,” says Moore. “Some standout performances were Tom Petty, Joe Cocker, Kendrick Lamar, Carol King, B.B. King, Alabama Shakes, Tedeschi Trucks, and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. These performances were all amazing, but what makes them fun is enjoying them with co-workers who are, at this point, family.”
Holly Jee
Muse adds, “There [was] the David Wilcox set when I was sitting next to my future husband. As we shared the music, there was a wash of powerful attraction that changed my life. Then there was the rush from the first time I heard an all-female powerhouse band: Pele JuJu. Folks in our community still talk about their performances. Of course, seeing Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt and so many other legends are all spectacular memories, too. And then introducing our audience to Jackie Venson and Gina Chavez this past year were very rewarding experiences. It is really impossible to pick just one.”
Flores says her favorite memory of SXSW isn’t found on the stage. “I have been blessed to see amazing artists like Adele in a venue where only 20 people showed up or working closely with [former First Lady] Michelle Obama and her team for her last-second keynote speech. But I think overall my favorite memory is the feeling you get when you’re on your feet for weeks with little to no sleep, and you pull off something that brings thousands of smiles and memories to people. That is probably my favorite.”
FESTIVAL SEATING
A sneak peek at the variety of music festivals in the Lone Star State.
South by Southwest
Music: All genres
When: March
Where: Austin
Buzzfest
Music: Alternative Rock
When: May
Where: The Woodlands
Kerrville Folk Festival
Music: Songwriters
When: May-June
Where: Kerrville
Texas Music Revolution
Music: Bluegrass, folk, blues, country
When: June
Where: Plano
Float Fest
Music: Rap, rock
When: July
Where: Gonzales
Austin City Limits
Music: All genres
When: October
Where: Austin
Levitation Music Festival
Music: Psychedelic
When: October
Where: Austin
UtopiaFest
Music: Folk, bluegrass, Americana
When: October
Where: Burnet
