Brendon Anthony takes center stage at the Grand Stafford Theater, the storied live music venue and oldest building in historic downtown Bryan where he has made music many times. In Texas Country music circles, Anthony earned his cred as a first-string fiddle, mandolin, and guitar player performing on tour full-time for 15 years with Pat Green, jamming onstage or in the studio with the likes of Cory Morrow, Roger Creager, and Jack Ingram, and playing the occasional gig with living legend Willie Nelson. For this stint, however, Anthony swaps his musical instruments for a microphone, and jeans and cowboy boots for a business suit, commanding the audience as the director of the Texas Music Office, a position he has held since he was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2015.
“I talk quite a bit to groups about outreach programs, the state of the industry, if you will, and our efforts of the Texas Music Office,” says Anthony, a graduate of Texas A&M University. “I get up and do this job every day because I'm a musician. I grew up in Bryan College Station, a place that fostered that love and support for music,” he says.
Bryan joins 30 other Texas cities, including Austin, Brenham, Dallas, Denton, Fort Worth, and Waco, as a music-friendly community, and with that certification comes a network of support through the Texas Music Office. The program is part of the office’s larger goal: Making Texas attractive to music industry businesses, from startups to corporations.
This music-friendly designation is not merely a feel-good label — it sends a powerful message from music-friendly certified communities to music industry professionals: Hey, we’re serious. We want your business. And according to a study conducted by the Texas Music Office, the music industry in Texas is big business. It supports approximately 100,000 permanent employees in the music business and music education, which translates to $4.4 billion in annual earnings and over $440 million to the state’s tax base. “So you can see this as an enormous economic driver,” Anthony says. “One worthy of advocacy and support.”
Anthony approached community liaison and business entrepreneur Jose Quintana about initiating the music-friendly certification program in Bryan. “The Texas Music Office director knew that we, as a community, have been investing heavily in the development of our live music industry,” says Quintana, who serves as the advisory board chair for Bryan’s certification process. “We accepted the challenge and are very appreciative of the opportunities that it could bring to our community.”
Quintana says the program will help to add visibility to both the public and the music industry. “We are already receiving inquiries to partner with venues in other cities to produce live performances and create a ‘circuit’” — that is, owners or operators in different other Texas cities that join forces in order to attract an artist for a tour. Quintana explains that one community will lead as the producer to coordinate high-profile concerts in, say, Dallas and/or Houston as well as Bryan College Station. “This is more efficient, and we get better terms than if we just wait to be contacted by artists’ agents,” he says. “Conversely, we are making plans to leverage those new relationships to promote our local talent.”
College Station is in the early stages of working toward music-friendly certification as well. “Beginning in January, we will be firing on all cylinders to begin the process,” says Kendra Davis, events coordinator for Visit College Station. “The [advisory] committee will primarily consist of individuals in the community that have experience in the music industry and can offer a breadth of knowledge when it comes to creating an eclectic, diverse, and unique atmosphere for how music and music-related events can and will look within College Station,” she says. “We look forward to utilizing this certification to our advantage as we continue to bring in concerts and festivals into our community and utilize Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater and other venues to their full capacity.”
The Texas Music Office conducted its first set of studies on the impact of the music business on the Texas economy in 2015, according to the office’s website. These economic impact studies demonstrate an upward trend in the music industry up until 2019, Anthony says. “Our mission right now is to make sure that after 2021, we have a firm understanding of what we lost between 2019 and now.” He says he is optimistic about the future of Texas’ music industry. “I think that live music events are going to surge back,” Anthony says. He believes the dollars that were lost will be replaced as the industry gets back on its feet after the pandemic, and he anticipates that when it does, Texas musicians will be at the forefront.
“Texas is an amazing place to live,” Anthony says. “Economically, it’s a strong place to work as well. We want to keep it that way.” IN
As we go to press, Bryan’s official certification date is imminent. For more information, visit texasmusicoffice.com.
