Curtis Roush, photo courtesy of KUTX..
After a successful Austin City Limits Music Festival weekend one for Austin artists, more local musicians are ready to rock out in their city for weekend two.
Story by Megan Price
The second weekend of Austin’s largest music festival will feature more local talent such as Curtis Roush, Mamafesta and Duncan Fellows.
These local artists had the opportunity to attend the festival before ever creating their sound, such as Indie Rock band Duncan Fellows. “ACL was the first festival I ever went to, and I worked it for three years cooking burgers,” Duncan Fellows lead singer Colin Harman says. “I would look at the stage and think how lucky those artists were, so this has been a long time dream.”
Photo courtesy of Mamafesta.
Mamafesta, a rock band comprised of five diverse musicians, lead singer, Lowell Carrico, and guitar player, Vince Seidl, also attended the festival as youth. “For Vince and I, it was a coming of age festival,” Carrico says. “We got to experience it from the inside, and now we couldn’t be happier to be playing it.”
The live music capital of the world has no shortage of talent, and that surplus has inspired these artists to get to where they are today. Mamafesta takes advantage of opportunities to play with different artists, attributing those experiences to their improvement as a band. Duncan Fellows has also put the many forms of local creativity to use. “There is an energy here that we have been able to feed off of,” Duncan Fellows guitar player Cullen Trevino says. “Getting to go to so many different shows and be around so many other austin musicians pushes you, and you get inspiration from what people are doing.”
Given the musical talent that call Austin home, the resulting community offers many resources. Organizations like the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, through which singer/songwriter Roush is provided insurance, and SIMS, a suicide prevention organization named after Sims Ellison, help to keep musicians healthy and connected with one another. Many bands within the city find themselves drawing creativity from one another.
Photo courtesy of Duncan Fellows.
While the musician community and artistic environment offers ideas, it also creates a bit of competition. Roush describes being from Austin as “a blessing and a curse.” With so many local performances, it can be a struggle to be noticed or get gigs for some bands and musicians. But even with some of the potential challenges that come with being an local artist, they still benefit from the community they create.
The community built by local artists has elevated Austin’s status as the live music capital of the world. Since 2002, ACL has created its own recognition and these locals know that better than anyone. “I feel like every festival around the country has their own feel to them,” Roush says. “I think ACL has a hybrid identity. It’s a good mix of urban and rural, and I think that represents the Austin atmosphere really well.”
That hybrid identity also shows within the lineups. “There are so many great local and non-local bands that play,” Harman says. “There are also so many different genres and it encompasses all the different listeners that attend.”
While experiencing the Austin culture might be a once in a lifetime opportunity for some, to these artists, it is just home. “We just love the vibe of feeling like you’re home.” Carrico says. “We’re just stoked for it.”
