With over 50 acts from across the globe ranging in hip-hop, jazz, country, DJs and everything in between, the sound of live music will ring at Shiner’s Saloon in Austin from March 15-16.
The Shiner’s Saloon Showdown is hosted by San Marcos event company Apogee Presents. There will be 24 total hours of live music from singer-songwriters, jam bands, official SXSW artists and more.
Mike Howard, executive producer of Apogee Presents and Texas State alumnus, said the event is about the artists.
“You’re supposed to not know this bands, just come in and you might find your new favorite artists,” Howard said. “Seeing a singer-songwriter performing their own music, that’s an art that will never go away.”
Apogee Presents has hosted the event for the past five years, but this year Howard said it has been rebranded and is bigger and better than ever.
Howard said The Shiner’s Saloon Showdown helps carry the torch of supporting local artists and can be a platform for artists to be seen.
“In today’s day and age there’s so much media saturation that it’s hard to even get your album heard,” Howard said. “It’s a big part of why we will always do this event.”
The Trips, a San Marcos band, are excited to bring energy to the event with their upbeat melodies and a mixture of classic ’70s tunes, pop-punk hits and originals from their future album, displaying the mixture of music the group grew up listening to.
McKenna Wells, drummer for The Trips and public health senior, said when working at KTSW-FM 89.9, Texas State’s student-run radio station, she would help the station find bands and recruit artists that would let them play music or host on air. Now on the other side as a performer, Wells is excited to see her fellow local musicians and students display the wide array of art they’re creating.
“I have the experience of being someone going in looking to find fun music and also the performer now,” Wells said. “It’s just such an exciting experience on either side.”
Maddy Hatchett will bring her nostalgic sound with a futuristic edge to the Shiner’s Saloon. She will perform her original work including her latest single “Lately,” about moving back home during the pandemic and being grateful for spending time with loved ones.
“Before the pandemic, I was running around like a chicken,” Hatchett said. “So I felt like it was the first time I could actually just breathe and look back on everything.”
Hatchett said it’s a special feeling to get to share her stories through her music and for others to connect, feel emotions and see things in a different light all through her melodies. Especially with her live music.
“Live music is an opening to enjoy the music itself, but there’s also a social aspect to the live music scene that’s special,” Hatchett said. “That’s the fun part for me.”
Although music is not Hatchett’s full-time job, she said part of the hurdle for many artists is the ability to make a living income off their passion and work. Showing up and supporting local live music is a huge way for artists to be able to sustain what they’re doing.
Howard said some of his first-ever experiences in San Marcos involved music, standing in front of a band at a show or seeing live musicians at a house party. Local artists build community and bring identity to a place, much like Austin, Texas, the live music capital of the world.
“Austin is very supportive of supporting their local artists, like Willie Nelson, Gary Clark Junior and Stevie Ray Vaughan,” Howard said. “I think the best we can do is try to continue to carry the torch of supporting these local artists.”
The Shiner’s Saloon Showdown is from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. on March 15-16 at 422 Congress Ave. Unit D, Austin, Texas 78701. The event is free and for all ages.
For the full line-up, setlist times and more information, visit Apogee Presents on Instagram @apogeepresents
