LOCAL EVENTS
San Marcos has long been a music friendly town with the opportunity to see live music almost every night of the week. From bars that double as music venues such as The Porch, Jacks Roadhouse, Tantra and Senza Maeso, to concert specific venues such as The Marc, there is a scene for every style and taste. The Destination Services team, which includes Visit San Marcos and Downtown San Marcos, has always promoted and provided resources and fun events for tourists and locals alike, but since 2021, they have had a dedicated branch offering a hub of all things music in the form of Listen San Marcos. This resource provides weekly and daily live music lists and a constantly updated music directory. They are also the force behind the San Marcos branch of Make Music Day, which brought 59 free music performances across 12 local locations all in celebration of sound and rhythm.
Make Music Day is celebrated all over the world starting in France in 1982. French politician Jack Lang and his staff at the Ministry of Culture wanted to create a new musical holiday where music would be free and accessible all around the city from street corners to rooftops. Nearly four decades later the holiday has spread worldwide in over 1,000 cities and 120 countries. This year was San Marcos’ second year participating in what is sure to be a long history of musical celebrations throughout the 78666.
“The idea is for it to be a celebration of music all over,” San Marcos Destination Services Coordinator Steve Anderson said. “Everyone’s welcome and encouraged and it doesn’t matter your talent level or your age.”
Anderson is the force behind Listen San Marcos, keeping an ear out for all the tunes and tones that make San Marcos a destination for live music. In 2021 San Marcos was designated music friendly by the State of Texas and thus Listen San Marcos was born.
“Since then we’ve been promoting live music in town as well as holding educational and networking events,” Anderson said.
He also is the liaison for the Central Texas Music Friendly Communities, which connects him to musicians and venues around central Texas.
“We have constant opportunities of talking to other communities of what they’re doing to promote their musicians and music community, so it’s really great to have that infrastructure there to bounce ideas off of people that are doing the exact same thing you’re doing,” Anderson said.
One of his tasks is to keep an updated music directory of active musicians and businesses in town.
“I think it’s a useful thing because a lot of the musicians might not have their own website or their own social media presence and if you’re searching for them it’s great to be able to find something,” Anderson said.
Make Music Day has grown to be a national holiday in France, where most citizens get the day off to enjoy or make music. Although it’s not a national holiday in America yet, the Listen San Marcos team worked hard to make sure it felt like one.
“Everywhere I was able to visit had a good turnout. A lot of places that don’t typically have live music like The Art Center and The San Market had music going on and got people through the door who might not normally go to these types of businesses,” Anderson said. “As [Make Music Day] grows, I just see it being beneficial for everyone; it’s enjoyable to see music but also beneficial for businesses to get people through the door.”
Make Music Day was designed to be accessible, not just to the public who get to enjoy the music but to the businesses and musicians interested in participating.
“Any business that wants to participate and any musician that wants to participate, all they have to do is sign up, create a profile and then see all the other people participating,” Anderson said. Through the website musicians and businesses can reach out to each other to set up gigs.
This year the Listen San Marcos team set up a bucket drumming circle at the Historical Hays County Courthouse lawn that was accessible to anyone and everyone interested in drumming it out.
“I got drumsticks donated from Vic Firth and buckets donated from Murdoch’s,” Anderson said. Looking forward to next year’s Make Music Day, Anderson hopes to partner with San Marcos CISD and Texas State University who both have prestigious music programs.
“We’re just trying to spread the word that we’re a free resource; if you want to find live music, we’re a great resource to do that. If you’re trying to promote your music we’re a great resource to do that at no cost to anyone,” Anderson said.
The team at Listen San Marcos is starting to host San Marcos Music Meetups, so keep an eye out to be involved in helping shape the San Marcos music scene.
For more information on the San Marcos branch of Make Music Day visit their website at makemusicday.org/ sanmarcos. One can explore all things music in San Marcos on the website visitsanmarcos.com/ listen-san-marcos/ or follow their social media at @listensanmarcos on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates on live music around town.
Photos courtesy of Steve Anderson
