Austin Downtown
Arts Magazine

February 1997
Volume 3 Number 1

Austin's Latin Music Fever by Manuel Gonzales
Once again, my friends, Latin American music has reared its head: dark skinned beauties, latin lovers, rich cigars, and all.

Austin's Place in Country Music by Jenna Colley
Over the past century, America has seen the evolution of country music from a pastime into a multi-million dollar industry giving birth to stars and sensationalism. Texas musicians have been crucial in this evolution, Austin in particular playing a large role in the nurturing of this tradition.

Blues Family Tree/African American History Month Concert Series by Harold McMillan
The project produces this series each year as a vehicle for recording the musical performances and and collecting interviews for an oral history archive. Documenting the evolution of Austin's African American music community is the primary goal

Exploring FronteraFest by Courtenay Nearburg
As a theatre company, Frontera is committed to fostering daring new voices, and the commissioning of new works is first priority.

The New Blues? by Carl Settles
As an African American musician, I bemoan the low interest among my people and other people of color in jazz, its related forms and fundamental antecedent -- the blues.

South by Southwest by Chris Hess
I really don't believe we have become this corporate beast some like to make us out to be.
-- Brent Grulke, SXSW Creative Director

Think About Fresh Ink by Courtenay Nearburg
Printmaking is an ancient art form, first introduced as a simple and advantageous way of spreading religion. Chinese artists created woodcuts to accompany Buddhist texts, or sutras, as early as 858 A.D. Since then, printmaking has evolved into a unique and accessible mode of expression.

Up All Night by Harold McMillan
Every February we black folks become very popular -- to each other and everybody else. The mainstream press and all of the schools and businesses finally stop and pay attention to us.

Verities by Jenna Colley
While most everyone I know is out there living life, I have chosen to hole-up, pull down the shades, unplug the phone and begin drying up like a stick of beef jerky in a Louisiana convenience store. It's reevaluate my life time, and it's long overdue.