AUSTIN, Texas — Austin City Council will consider sponsoring the longstanding summer concert series Blues on the Green at an upcoming meeting on Feb. 15.

What You Need To Know

  • The Austin City Council could potentially co-sponsor Blues on the Green after it was canceled this year due to "rising costs"

  • Council member Natasha Harper-Madison announced that a resolution will be brought to the council at their Feb. 15 meeting to discuss a potential sponsorship to save Blues on the Green

  • ACL Radio has put on the event for free since the early '90s

Blues on the Green is an Austin tradition that began in the early '90s as a small concert at the Arboretum and has grown into a highly anticipated annual event held at Zilker Park.

On Jan. 17, ACL Radio announced that the free series for 2024 would be canceled for the first time since its inception. The event’s organizers cited rising costs as a hurdle.

“Without admission fees or bar sales, it's become more challenging every year to produce an event that's grown to this size and still keep it free and open to the public,” the post reads. “Unfortunately, this year, the rising costs present too big of a hurdle…We love BOTG, Austin loves BOTG, and it's our hope that we can work with the city, community, and sponsors to return sometime soon. Austin, please know that we wish it wasn't so.”

The cancellation was met with shock and sadness from locals.

But on Feb. 2, Austin City Council member Natasha Harper-Madison posted a statement to the City of Austin’s council message board announcing a resolution will be brought to the council at their Feb. 15 meeting to discuss a potential sponsorship to save Blues on the Green and make sure it continues.

Harper-Madison emphasized the importance of preserving the event, especially for the Live Music Capital.

“It is imperative, now more than ever, that we as a city identify ways to equitably systemize city co-sponsorship of events that are free and open to the public in order to maintain Austin's cultural identity as the ‘Live Music Capital’ for all Austinites and its visitors alike,” she said.

The hope of Harper-Madison and supporters is for the city to help fund the event through a co-sponsorship and to have local food and drink vendors on site to keep costs low.