In an effort to amp up the vibes in the Live Music Capital of the World, some longtime champions of Austin’s music scene are fine-tuning a cherished lo
In one of the most significant closures to hit Austin’s music industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, local concert promotions company Margin Walker closed up shop for good on Monday after staging hundreds of homegrown shows annually since 2016 at a variety of venues here and around the state. Tabled: Margin Walker heads Graham Williams and Ian Orth (r) at the ground of Sound on Sound Fest in 2016 (Photo by David Brendan Hall)
News of the organization’s closing hit in a mid-afternoon social media post Dec. 14, which characterized the move as a “very tough decision, but one that, essentially, made itself” given the pandemic’s nuclear impact on live entertainment. Substantial concert calendars went mostly black after March and 2021 remains shrouded in uncertainty. As such, having one of the largest independent show stagers in the state throw in the towel appears an ominous indicator of how slow a rebound the touring music industry faces.
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Austin 360
With the live music industry reeling and tours and large events indefinitely on hold, beloved Austin-based indie music promotion company Margin Walker Presents has decided to shutter. For most of us in the biz, March marked the beginning of the close of live entertainment, which continues now and will continue for a long time to come. The uncertainty and lack of resources have hammered down on those working in this world from venues to artists to festivals promoters and beyond, a notice posted to the company s Instagram account on Monday said.
The post said that despite strategic changes in the business, painful staff cuts and taking loans and grants, the company was not immune to the pandemic-related downturn.
Posted By Sanford Nowlin on Tue, Dec 15, 2020 at 9:38 AM click to enlarge Instagram / papertigersatx Margin Walker Presents, the booking agency that brought touring acts to San Antonio s Paper Tiger and other independent Texas music venues, has closed, blaming the pandemic s halt to live events. Over the past four years, Austin-based Margin Walker has booked thousands of concerts into club and hall-sized venues that also include Austin s Mohawk and Barracuda and Dallas Club Dada. The agency was also tapped to handle booking for San Antonio s rebranded Sunset Station. However, once the pandemic hit the U.S. in March, touring all but dried up.