Black Fret Launches Austin Love & Lightstream; A Live Stream of Austin Music

Yesterday Black Fret, a public charity headquartered in Austin, kicked off Austin Love & Lightstream virtual event that will live stream 6 hours of Austin music live from Scholz Garten in Austin, Texas. Planned for an initial five day run through Saturday, March 21st from Scholz Garten, Austin Love & Lightstream is a local response to the cancellation of SXSW and the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. The event is closed to the public and taking place on a sterilized outdoor sound stage at Scholz Garten.

Austin bands and personalities will be live streamed six hours a day starting at 4:00pm each day till March 21st. This content is being delivered through a partnership and collaboration between Black Fret, Cadence Wealth Management, Tour Gigs, The Werd Company, Good Wolf Productions & Scholz Garten.

The live stream will begin at 4:00PM Central Daylight Time with performances from Austin, Texas artists Moving Panoramas (2019 KUTX Band of the Month) at 4:00PM, Henry Invisible at 5:00PM, Cari Hutson & Good Company (2019 Black Fret Artist) at 6:00, Sir Woman (2020 Austin Music Awards “Best New Band”) at 7:00, Corey Baum of Croy and the Boys (2017 Black Fret Artist) at 8:00, and Greyhounds (2017 and 2018 Black Fret Artis)t at 9:00PM. Viewers can access the Facebook Live stream from the Black Fret website at www.blackfret.org and https://www.facebook.com/BlackFret/videos/2813246445423056/.

Viewers will be able to make tax-deductible donations to Black Fret for disbursement to Austin musicians and other nonprofits who provide support for our local music scene. Black Fret is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt public charity headquartered in Austin, Texas that has provided over $1.7 million in grants and payments to local musicians.

With Black Fret’s support and ready supply of local Austin musicians, a production team has been assembled to get them back to work via live music streamed to your home all over the globe. It is the collective goal to bring live music to the world in a time of need safely and with every precaution possible.

As a matter of protocol, production is running skeleton crews of 10 people or less at any given time, including the artists performing. Bands and crew are not allowed to physically interact. Bands self load from the street and enter a sanitized open-air stage with ample room to perform allowing for appropriate and safe social distancing. All artists are asked to strike set and load out so that the sound stage can be sanitized thoroughly before the next artists are allowed to enter the property.

This team that is bringing the Black Fret Nomination Celebration to you under the banner of “Austin Love and Lightstream” hopes to continue to produce content that is 100% pure Austin throughout this crisis. It is their hope that this broadcast will be a beacon of energy, strength and a real time look into true DIY Austin grit and how local musicians and producers cope with and ultimately rise above this pandemic.

Love & Lightstream will endeavor to bring powerful perspective, art, entertainment and authentic live Austin music to the masses until we can all safely meet again in a live music venue. To learn more please visit: blackfret.org. To donate please visit: http://blackfret.org/make-a-donation/.

About Black Fret: 

Founded in 2013, Black Fret is a public charity headquartered in Austin whose mission is to empower musicians to create and perform new music. The organization is an innovative evolution of the age-old symphony patronage model that is focused on supporting popular local music. Together, Black Fret’s limited membership will build an endowed institution capable of sustaining more than $1 million dollars a year in grants to Austin’s artists. Annual Black Fret member dues are $1,500, breaking down to about $100 a month after taxes.

Many members have access to a corporate charitable giving match program (such as offered by Dell, Apple and other major employers) that can reduce the monthly cost to less than $50 a month. In return for annual dues, members enjoy a broad range of private events including monthly shows in intimate venues and an incredible annual awards show named The Black Fret Ball.

Grant recipients are selected annually through a yearlong process where members, advisors and prior grant recipients nominate, lobby for, see performances by and finally vote on their favorite artists. Those who wish to become a member of Black Fret in either Austin, Texas or Seattle, Washington can sign up at www.blackfret.org/join.

All memberships provide entry for the member and a guest to all upcoming 2020 Black Fret events, including the Black Fret Ball. For inquiries, please email sustain@blackfret.org and for more info see www.blackfret.org.

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Source: www.blackfret.org