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Carrollton Awarded State ‘Music Friendly’ Designation at Festival
The City of Carrollton is now certified ‘Music Friendly’ after the Texas Music Office (TMO) awarded a designation certificate on stage at the Festival at the Switchyard Saturday, November 2.
Earning status as a Music Friendly Texas Certified Community sets Carrollton apart as one of 69 other notable Texas communities that promote and host major music offerings. The Music Friendly Texas program, administered by the Office of the Governor and the first in the nation introduced by TMO in 2016, seeks to foster music business-related economic development and job creation in Texas cities and communities. Encouraging music industry development sends a clear message to industry professionals that certified communities are serious about attracting and developing music industry growth.
“Congratulations to the City of Carrollton on earning the Music Friendly Texas Certified Community designation,” said Governor Greg Abbott said last week. “Music is key to the Texas brand and is deeply rooted in the cultural traditions of our great state. Music Friendly Texas Communities work tirelessly to attract and develop the local music industry to boost local job creation and economic growth. In fact, with support from the Texas Music Office, the Texas music industry accounts for more than 192,000 direct and indirect permanent jobs and generates more than $26 billion in annual economic activity statewide. Together, we will continue to work alongside communities in every region of our state to build a bigger, better Texas.”
The Music Friendly Texas Community Certification ceremony was held as part of the day-long Festival at the Switchyard, Carrollton’s annual signature event featuring free family-fun with free concerts from The Wallflowers and Deep Blue Something. Carrollton City Council was on stage as Mayor Steve Babick accepted the certificate presented by TMO Community Relations and Outreach Specialist Gini Mascorro.
“As part of our Destination 2040 plan—a blueprint for the future of our community—cultural experiences have been an important component of the feedback we’ve received from our residents,” Carrollton Mayor Steve Babick said at the certification ceremony on stage in front of thousands of music lovers. “The City of Carrollton already hosts a number of exciting events, so the Music Friendly Texas Community certification gives us state-level credit for things we’re already doing. We’re grateful for the recognition of our quality music events hosted in Carrollton and happy to be on a short list for music entertainment stakeholders to consider venues, locations, and audiences.”
Representatives Julie Johnson and Ben Bumgarner also congratulated the City of Carrollton on earning the designation from the Governor’s Office.
“The City of Carrollton has consistently prioritized the arts and entertainment for its community, and the recognition as a Music Friendly Texas Certified Community is well deserved,” Representative Julie Johnson said. “I am proud to represent Carrollton and the diversity showcased through its people, food, and art on a daily basis. This designation will highlight that Carrollton is the place to experience the best music and cultural events in Texas.”
One of the requirements for earning the state designation was to establish a Music Advisory Board to serve as a recommending body for City Council regarding music events and programs.
“The City of Carrollton has always been in tune with various genres of music for its programs and events,” Jim Moen, Carrollton Music Advisory Board Chair, said. “The Music Friendly recognition from the State is very meaningful to this community of music lovers and live entertainment fans. The rest of the Board and I are excited to get to work and build on previous successes while planning for future creative projects.”
For more information on Carrollton’s Music Friendly certification, visit cityofcarrollton.com. For more information on Carrollton’s Festival at the Switchyard, visit carrolltonfestival.com
Carrollton Set to Earn State ‘Music Friendly’ Designation
Post Date:09/27/2024 11:59 AM
Carrollton City Council approved a resolution at the Tuesday, September 24 meeting launching a partnership with the Texas Music Office (TMO) administered by the Office of the Governor to designate Carrollton as a Music Friendly Community.
A Memorandum of Understanding between Carrollton and the State will be signed and executed to create a working arrangement for sharing commercial music data for the State’s directory as part of the Music Friendly Texas Certified Community Program.
The program is offered to cities around the State to recognize notable communities that promote and host major music offerings. For Carrollton, that includes regular Sounds on the Square Fridays, Carrollton Culture Fest, TEXFest, and the City’s signature event, the Festival at the Switchyard.
“The agreement recognizes that we have quality musical events in Carrollton and it places us on a kind of short list of Cities throughout the State that we want to be on when people are considering musical and cultural events,” Mayor Steve Babick said during Tuesday’s meeting. “As part of our Destination 2040 plan, cultural experiences have been an important part of the feedback we’ve received. We already host a number of events, so this gives us State-level credit with the Governor’s Office for things we’re already doing.”
Carrollton will join 63 other cities in the State that have qualified for this program, which offers unique branding opportunities, increased event exposure with State-wide recognition, and intra-City networking opportunities. In exchange, the State collects attendance data on music events. The goals also include seeking out stronger interest in the future from potential musical artists, venue operators, and concert promoters.
“We’re excited to enter into this agreement with the State as a Music Friendly Texas Community because it provides for the musicians and event organizers to select a ‘designated city’ versus a venue or location that does not offer that status level,” Executive Director of Development Ravi Shah said.
The TMO said tourists from around the State and beyond use this database resource to plan trips to communities that place a strong emphasis on music offerings.
Participation in the Music Friendly Texas Certified Community Program, the first in the nation, introduced by TMO in 2016, provides Texas communities with a network for fostering music industry development and sends a clear message to industry professionals that certified communities are serious about attracting and developing music industry growth.
There is no explicit cost for participation in this first-of-its-kind program from the City or taxpayers. However, the program requires the creation of a music advisory committee, which would advocate for music offerings and provide a recommending body for Council regarding music events and programs within the City. More information on Carrollton’s Music Advisory Committee including eligibility requirements, term limits, and applications will be available soon as part of the City’s Boards & Commissions dashboard.
The State will present the Music Friendly Texas Community certification to the City in a ceremony on stage at Carrollton’s Festival at the Switchyard on Saturday, November 2. The presentation will be conducted before headlining acts Deep Blue Something and the Wallflowers take the stage.
For more information on other City boards, commissions, and committees, visit cityofcarrollton.com/boards. For more information on Carrollton’s Festival at the Switchyard, visit carrolltonfestival.com.