Gary Clark, Jr.

Playing at 2:15 on Sunday is an overnight success story that is about to hit the big time.  An unknown talent discovered by Warner Brothers who is about to release his first full-length album.  While I'm sure that is going to be the storyline we know it's not true.  The fact that Gary Clark, Jr. has been playing in obscurity in Austin is an indictment of any claims that we may have towards being a music launching pad.  Sure, we're called the Live Music Capital of the World, but what does that get the artists?  Allow me to rant:

Gary Clark, Jr. played the first ACL in 2002.  He also played in 2003.  Back then he was considered a young prodigy.  He even played the young guitar prodigy in a major motion picture in 2007.  Yet he toiled at Antone's and Continental Club for years.  He didn't play another ACL until 2011, on the tiny BMI stage.  His breakout was playing with Eric Clapton at the Crossroads Festival but it wasn't until he was seen by music royalty in New York that his career took off.  Now he's playing at the White House in front of the President and finally getting a show on the big stage in prime-time at ACL.

If an obviously great musician can spend his career playing in Austin and it takes 12 years to get discovered, what does that say to other musicians looking to establish a life/career in Austin?  Take Austinite Suzanna Choffel, who had to move to Brooklyn and land an audition on "The Voice" before she was finally recognized.  At 32, despite playing in Austin for over 10 years, she's finally being recognized.  What about Pleasant Grove, a great band out of Dallas that moved to Austin, only to find gigs hard to get?

I don't have an answer, just asking the question.  If we don't want to keep losing promising artists to LA, NYC, or Nashville somebody needs to figure out the answer.

Don't Owe You a Thang