AUSTIN, Texas – The last two months of 2019 have been filled with music to the ears for Texas artists and music lovers. November brought 61 Grammy nominations for more than 40 Texas artists.

In December, a Texan was crowned the winner of NBC’s 17th season of the “The Voice,” an international spotlight shined on the Live Music Capital of the World during the 5th Annual Austin Music Video Festival, and a quarter million dollars were awarded to local musicians during the 6th Annual Black Fret Ball.

As the year comes to a close, recent accolades bestowed upon the Lone Star State are proof that the music scene is still alive and well in Texas.

  • 3 “The Voice” finalists were from Texas
  • More than 40 Texas musicians nominated for Grammys
  • Black musicians in Austin get grant funding

Among the acts nominated for a 2020 Grammy, 41 artists were either born, raised or are currently based in Texas. Willie Nelson’s “Ride Me Back Home” is nominated for the “Best Country Solo Performance,” and Jimmie Vaughan’s “Please Come Home” is up for the “Best Traditional Blues Album” award. Nelson and Vaughan are among eight Austinites nominated. Others include Gary Clark Jr., Black Pumas, Chris Athens, Patty Griffin, SaulPaul and Craig Hella Johnson.

In addition to the large handful of Austin musicians up for a Grammy, 33 other Texas nominees hail from across the state.

Some of those cities include:

  • San Antonio
  • Houston
  • Dallas
  • Leander
  • Fort Worth
  • Texarkana
  • Coleman
  • Zapata
  • Wimberley
  • El Paso
  • Marshall
  • Lindale
  • Lubbock
  • Grapevine
  • Driftwood
  • Arlington
  • Smith County
  • Seminole
  • Grand Saline

Texans received a total of 61 nominations for the 62nd Grammy Awards ceremony. The results will be presented January 26, 2020, in Los Angeles.

Also this December, Texas native Jake Hoot was announced the winner of NBC’s singing competition “The Voice”. The 31-year-old was born in Corpus Christi and spent his early childhood years being raised as a Texan.

Hoot made the final four with two other Texans— 29-year-old Ricky Duran and 34-year-old Rose Short. Duran moved to Austin more than a year ago to fulfill his lifelong dream of living in “The Live Music Capital of the World.” He came in second place on the show.

Short was born and raised in Killeen, Texas, and placed fourth in the competition. Hoot, Duran and Short sat down with Spectrum News anchor Tara Petitt before and after the show finale in Los Angeles to talk about how their love for Texas has influenced their music careers.

When asked if she felt Texas’s pride while being on the show, Short said the support she has received is overwhelming.

“Yes, girl, I’m tellin’ you— I’m getting people from all walks of life, honey! Just to have that love… you know how we are in Texas. Texas is very loyal, okay. So I’m just appreciative that they have some loyalty to me and Ricky. So, I’m grateful,” said Short. 

Although Duran wasn’t born a Texan, he credits the “Live Music Capital of the World” for birthing his greatest idols in the music industry and for inspiring him to follow in their footsteps.

“The connection for me, musically, with Austin was originally Stevie Ray Vaughan,” said Duran. “I was obsessed with him. I use to just sit in my room and learn all his guitar licks. So now, no matter what style of music I’m playing, I always have that I think.”

The 29-year-old also talked to Spectrum News about his inspiration from Austin music star Gary Clark Jr. Duran experienced the opportunity of a lifetime when he was given the opportunity to perform with Clark Jr. during “The Voice” live finale. The Austinites sang Clark’s original song “Pearl Cadillac.”

RELATED | Texas Well Represented in "The Voice"

This season’s winner of “The Voice,” Jake Hoot, also received a lot of Texas love this season— especially from his Texan coach, Kelly Clarkson. The two of them shared a touching moment during their interview with the press after the finale. Clarkson shied away from taking any credit away from Hoot’s accomplishment, but he stopped her mid-sentence to set the record straight.

“I’ve got to interject and say that she does a whole lot more than just sit there,” said Hoot. “I mean, she has helped me get out of my shell on stage and has really- and I say it in every interview- you’re just like the biggest cheerleader, you know, and that means more than you know. So, I really do appreciate it.” 

“Well, I believe in you. So, you are welcome,” said Clarkson.

Earlier this month, hundreds of artists from near and far joined forces for the 5th Annual Austin Music Video Festival. The event showcases critically-acclaimed directors, producers, filmmakers and musicians.

Thousands of music videos were submitted from all over the world, and 10 videos were nominated in each of the 13 categories for awards. The festival has repeatedly grown in size every year since it launched in 2015. What started as an “Austin-Submissions-Only” event is now on the radar of musicians and filmmakers worldwide.

“When we started it, we didn’t know if anybody would show up,” said Austin Music Video Festival Co-Founder Jeremy Roye. “But our launch party… we had lines around the block. It’s not necessarily what I expected. It’s really like an international dialogue now, where we see collaborations with an Austin director or a band and someone from abroad."

Austin Film Director César Velasco was nominated for the Alright, Alright, Alright Award for Directing Jonathan Terrell’s music video “Give it Time.” Velasco also received a nomination for the Funny or High category for his work on Me Nd’ Adam’s video “Heartbreak Kid.”

“It feels super exciting,” said Velasco. “It feels like slowly but surely, Austin is becoming more of a Mecca for creatives— not only from the United States, but from all around the world. So having a festival like this that is a marriage of the ‘commercial and film’ world and the ‘music’ and ‘crazy musician life’ world is just super fun.”

“We now have the opportunity to kind of shape what industry looks like in our town,” said Carrie Fussell, the lead singer of “Calliope Musicals.”

The Psychedelic Folk Bank was nominated for awards in two categories.

Fussell was raised in a small Texas town before she moved to Austin, and thus, she says she never takes living in the city for granted.

“Austin’s definitely made me who I am,” said Fussell. “I definitely had my mind totally blown when I moved here. It is never lost on me how lucky I am, and as someone who has always loved music and loved art and performance, like, it’s a dream come true for sure.”

On December 7, 2019, Austin musicians were awarded one quarter of a million dollars at the 6th Annual Black Fret Ball. The Austin-based charity “Black Fret” hosts the event every year to support and celebrate local artists. Since 2013, the organization has delivered nearly $2 million in grant money to Austin musicians.

While the nonprofit’s mission is to empower musicians to create and perform new music, the founders realized from the beginning that Austin needed to build a sustainable model to keep “The Live Music Capital of the World” alive and thriving.

"Taking Austin for granted, assuming that this music will always be here, assuming that it will always magically be supported somehow is a recipe for it to evaporate and go somewhere else," said Black Fret co-founder Matt Ott.

This year’s major grant winners— each awarded $20,000— include Beat Root Revival, The Texas KGB (now called “Madam Radar”), Western Youth, Superfonicos, The Watters, Dave Scher, Cari Hutson & Good Company, Ley Line, Sydney Wright, and The Black Pumas. The Black Pumas did not accept the $20,000 award, however. Instead, the band allowed Black Fret to keep the money and use it to boost the grants for other artists.

Other Black Fret award recipients who each received a $7,000 grant include Cilantro Boombox, A. Sinclair, Altamesa, Dr. JOE, Erika Wennerstrom, Go Fever, Good Field, Jonathan Terrell, Think No Think, and Tje Austin.

More than a dozen of the grant nominees performed at the event.