Why teen bands? Because the real hotbed of Austin music is being grown and cultivated right here in town by a wealth of talent under the age of 21. Austin is breeding a master race of young musicians who are exceptionally prepared to play on the world's stages.
NEXT UP! is booking the SUMMER SERIES at RUTA MAYA, 3601 S. Congress, Saturday afternoons thru JULY 25th. If you are under 20, live in Austin, Texas or the surrounding area, or even just in Texas, and have a band, you are eligible to play NEXT UP! Leave a message (NOT A COMMENT) here with any additional links here, on Facebook etc, and a phone # and we will call you.
I started the NEXT UP! series in part because I was so blown away by the level of talent I saw coming from Natural Ear Music School and the other Austin schools. I also do it because when I was 15 in 1969, I could go to the Teen Canteen in San Antonio and groove to the music I loved being played and made by people my age. Thanks to the great Sam Kinsey, who ran the Teen canteen, I carry with me wonderful lifelong memories. With NEXT UP! I hope to do for teens what Sam did for me - provide me with a musical experience that was uniquely mine.
