Little Known Music Scene in Austin Shares Vision
Andrew Mabry- XLRadioAustin.com, Joel Skotak- AboveGroundsAustin.com, LeeAnn Jennings- Austincmn.com
There are hundreds of Christian bands in Austin that have little recognition. A couple of years ago, there was not a Christian Music Scene to speak of in this community. Not happy about this, a few people came together and prayed. The solution often comes in chords of three. XLRadioAustin.com, ACMN, and Above Grounds has set the stage and broken the ground for the Christian Music Scene in Austin. Their vision is to bring together a community of local Christian Musicians/Artists by providing support, resources, and a platform for these artists.
The vision for a community of local Christian Musicians originated with Above Grounds in 2006. Joel Skotak, founder of Above Grounds, explains how “Above Grounds promotes and supports many great local Christian artists and bands by providing them with the means to get their ministry of music out to the Austin community. In the spring of 2006, Above Grounds began as an idea for a Christian coffee shop/music venue, and has since turned into something much more than a coffee shop. The mission of the organization – connecting Christians in Austin – has remained the same, but the way the organization is working to accomplish this mission is constantly evolving and improving.”
Above Grounds holds a monthly music event called City Roots. City Roots is a concept that involves planting local Christian musicians in coffee shops around Austin and promoting these free shows to the local Christian community. The idea was spurred by a desire to see talented local-area Christian bands join forces and make an impact on Austin’s coffee shop music scene and the city. Every City Roots event is held in a family-friendly coffee shop/venue.
Grace Pettis, a local Christian musician, had this to say about City Roots, “…the City Roots experience has been a positive one, all around. The organization has a passion for good music that expresses the truth of Christ in a sincere, authentic way. To be honest, I am often disappointed with the “Christian Music” genre. Some of the songwriting is sloppy, some of the lyrics predictable and at worst, riddled with bad theology. City Roots is helping to make the unique voices of artists like Gina Chavez and Spoken Groove heard. It would be nice if “Christian Music” stopped being “Christian Music” in a genre-specific sense and instead became a bunch of really talented musicians, in a variety of genres, making good music and speaking truth.”
ACMN and XLRadioAustin.com came out of Above Grounds and launched within months of each other this year. The new Austin Christian Musicians Network led by Lee-Ann Jennings is making headway as the organization held it’s first public meeting open to all local Christian musicians at Northwest Fellowship on Tuesday, May 13th.
“Our mission is simple, we’re a network providing community, resources and support for musicians whose purpose is to glorify God and impact their city for Christ. We plan to hold regular meetings where we can network, share ideas and pray together. “
- Lee Ann Jennings, founder of ACMN
Many types of resources will be available for the Christian Musician community including networking, databases, ways to post needs and info online, gig swapping and sharing, and possibly most importantly: the opportunity to meet other Christian musicians in Austin working towards the same goal – to reach Austin with their music.
The last meeting, June 23rd, was held at Mozart’s Coffee Roasters. Peter Nevland of Spoken Groove spoke about playing and performing downtown and in the secular scene. Chrissy Lovell and the band Chaney each played a set on the patio after the meeting.
It just makes sense that a local radio station pop up to play these independent artists. XL Radio, a free local internet radio station that plays primarily local Christian music of all genres, has launched at www.xlradioaustin.com.
XL Radio is an Austin Based Radio Station that plays local and independent Christian music. It gives a voice and platform to all who have a gift of music to share.
The purpose of XL Radio is to expose the great music that exists on the local and independent level. The website, www.xlradioaustin.com, is set up to do as much as possible for the artists by providing links to purchase their music online, information and has a revolutionary and simple way to upload music right into the station! To listen to this station, simply click “LISTEN LIVE” at the top of the home page, and start streaming some high quality (technically and musically) tunes!
“Our station is funded by individuals who believe in our purpose and share our values. Together we can make a difference and show the world that Christian music isn’t cheesy but rather some of the best music there is!”
- Andrew Mabry, Founder & Station Programmer
XL Radio, ACMN, and Above Grounds are run and managed by a volunteer teams who have spent countless hours and resources because they share the same vision of being an arm or a leg in the body of Christ in Austin. Although, not the same organization, each of these groups support and sponsor one another. To find out more information about who is playing at City Roots, when, and where, go to www.abovegroundsaustin.com. To get plugged into the network of musicians, visit www.austinacmn.com or to listen to some good local music, log onto www.xlradioaustin.com.