Live music is lifeblood in Texas and a ready soundtrack for group outings at the state’s prodigious ensemble of concert venues, performing arts centers, dancehalls and nightclubs. Like the locals, delegates will soon find themselves “scootin’ a boot” to country and western, rock, Tejano and other music forms when the agenda is done—or in Beaumont, as part of the program itself, via dance lessons taught by Rebecca Woodland, convention sales manager and on-staff certified dance instructor.
Available to eligible convention groups booking directly through the Beaumont CVB, these customizable wellness-inspired experiences include instruction in ballroom dancing and themed line dancing, such as Cajun and Zydeco steps incorporated into a client’s Mardi Gras-themed banquet.
With live music, outdoor concerts and festivals providing yet more options in the Crockett Street Entertainment District, this tempo-setting “Texas With A Little Something Extra!” perk from the Beaumont CVB is just one example of how groups can get their groove on in the Lone Star State.
Spectacular Stages
Part of downtown Dallas’ AT&T Performing Arts Center, the Norman Foster-designed Winspear Opera House is the home of the Dallas Opera and Texas Ballet Theater, plus Broadway shows and other diverse programming. Seating 2,200 people, the Margaret McDermott Performance Hall is available for events, with space for 200 in the Nancy B. Hamon Hall and up to 800 in the lobby.
Seating 1,000 people, Arlington Music Hall is a group-capable treasure from 1950 where country star LeAnn Rimes got her start and where diverse live entertainment includes the resident Symphony Arlington. In downtown Grapevine, the Palace Arts Center combines the restored Art Deco-era Lancaster Theatre and Palace Theatre, and offers 15,000 square feet of rental space.
Galveston’s glorious 1,000-seat Grand 1894 Opera House offers 11,000-plus square feet of space for meetings, functions and private performances. Visionary and visually striking, Midland’s Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center is a must for entertainment and events for up to 1,800 people.
Wrapped in shimmering metal and incorporating the facade of the historic Municipal Auditorium, San Antonio’s Tobin Center for the Performing Arts is a showcase of architecture, acoustics and engineering. Located on the banks of River Walk’s Museum Reach section, the Tobin stages diverse world-class entertainment along with private events for up to 3,000 guests. Unique spaces include the 1,738-seat H-E-B Performance Hall, convertible to 2,100 seats via revolutionary movable-floor technology and accommodating up to 800 people for events, and outdoor performance plaza, featuring a permanent 30-foot video wall and water taxi access.
According to the latest Pollstar numbers, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands is the world’s top-selling outdoor amphitheater. Now in its 27th season, this picturesque stage for headline entertainment is also the summer home of the Houston Symphony, second home of the Houston Ballet and a presenting venue for the Houston Grand Opera. Rental spaces include the Woodforest Bank VIP Club and 21,000-square-foot Pavilion Event Center Symphony, housing the group-capable House of Blues Lounge.
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Home of the summertime musical extravaganza Viva! El Paso and specialty programs like Movies in the Canyon and the live music Cool Canyon Nights, McKelligon Canyon Amphitheatre is a natural 1,503-seat outdoor venue in the Franklin Mountains near downtown El Paso, with meeting space for 300 in the Pavilion.
“Note” Worthy
This summer, the Austin CVB toured tradeshows, marquee events and live music venues around Texas and beyond in a fully retrofitted 30-foot 1970s Airstream to promote Austin’s preeminent music scene.
Back in the “Live Music Capital of the World,” delegates are invited to “meet to the beat,” which is all but guaranteed in a city with 250-plus live music venues, electric entertainment districts right by the Austin Convention Center—and even musicians playing at the award-winning Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
Notable group choices include 3TEN. Part of the venerable Austin City Limits brand, this 350-person venue features 200-plus acts each year and can be rented for events alone and together with its larger sibling, ACL Live, located in the W Austin’s Moody Theater. Other picks include legendary Antone’s, opened in 1975; Stubb’s, with great BBQ, catering and live music; and top-ranked club The Mohawk.
Excitement is building in Lubbock as plans for a major performance venue, first envisioned more than 25 years ago, are now taking shape. Named for the city’s late revered musical son, the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences project has attracted some $81 million in pledges and donations, as announced by the Lubbock Entertainment and Performing Arts Association this April, and has a prospective 2019 opening date.
Anticipating a summer 2017 opening, the new $165 million Music Factory entertainment district will amp up Irving’s appeal. In the meantime, the Texas Musicians Museum, opened in July 2015, features memorabilia from Willie Nelson, Holly and fellow Texas legends such as Janis Joplin and Roy Orbison, with performance and event space in the adjacent Music Garden.
Other Metroplex options include Plano’s Love and War in Texas, where Miranda Lambert launched her career; the Gaylord Texan Resort’s Glass Cactus Nightclub in Grapevine; and in Dallas’s legendary Deep Ellum district, live music temple The Bomb Factory, which hosts everything from sneaker conventions to yoga classes in its 4,300-person capacity room.
Offering 32,000 square feet of space, the 10,000-seat Laredo Energy Arena is the premier entertainment facility in South Texas, which gains another valuable asset with this fall’s unveiling of the new 1,800-seat McAllen Performing Arts Center. South Padre Island conferees, meanwhile, can soak up live music at popular beachfront venues like the Quarterdeck Lounge at Isla Grand Beach Resort and Clayton’s, the biggest beach bar in Texas.
