Addison: It's time to better appreciate Lubbock's arts and music community
There are few cities in Texas with an arts and music scene so robust that it can rival ours in Lubbock.
Those that do? Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio — all of which are much, much bigger than our 257,000 population and much, much more accessible to the talent pool than our dusty city that sits on the other side of the state.
I know most of you are probably wondering what the hell I’m talking about at this point … how could I even compare Lubbock to Austin? If that’s the case, it’s because you’ve not yet immersed yourself into this beautiful, vibrant community that’s sprawling with natural-born and hard-earned talent.
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If you didn’t already know, we have a thriving music scene with bands like Ronnie and the Redwoods, which was a finalist in the SXSW Jam in the Van competition, and Above the Empire, who composed the music for "Dream with Me" – an award-winning documentary produced by the local PBS station – among many other talents.
On any given night, dozens of places in Lubbock will have lined up bands and solo artists for live music. And most weekends, there will be some house show, where dozens of fans will pack out the property to listen to their local favorites.
We also have several festivals throughout the year, including the Lubbock Live: Festival for the Arts, which combines performing arts, local music sets, visual arts and culinary arts.
And the Buddy Holly Hall brings some of the biggest music acts in the world to our downtown. This year alone, we’ll have seen Peter Frampton, Boyz II Men, Bob Dylan and Weird Al.
Not to mention, some of the best discovered their talents right here.
John Denver, Pat Green and Susan Graham all attended Texas Tech — and Josh Abbott, Waylon Jennings, Natalie Maines, and of course, the iconic Buddy Holly were all born in this region.
As a journalist for Texas Monthly once said, “Long before Austin was the Live Music Capital of the World, a cotton-pickin’ High Plains city put Texas on the map.”
In terms of the local arts scene, just look around; it’s everywhere.
Of course, you know about the First Friday Art Trail, which brings in dozens, if not hundreds, of artists and thousands of visitors each month. And as you get closer to downtown, you'll see vibrant murals, walkways and storm drains.
But did you know that we have three art vending machines across the city? Literally, a vending machine where you can order art from dozens of local ceramists, illustrators and jewelry-makers.
Did you know about the bimonthly Moonlight Markets or the semiannual Oddities Art Market? These events typically showcase more unique works than those that you would see on First Friday.
Meanwhile, the East Lubbock Art House offers free art classes and workshops to anyone who wants to be an artist — specifically communities of color.
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Unfortunately, far too many of us take this part of Lubbock for granted. Until recently, I know I did.
I always saw these events as social gatherings rather than people’s livelihoods — or at least, that’s what many hope will become of it.
But a couple weeks ago, I got the opportunity to collaborate with a local artist for a First Friday project, and every bit of my free time — outside of work and school — involved this project.
Even still, I have a 2-year-old at home, so I couldn’t stay until 3 a.m. like many of the other collaborators did, several times, while having to wake up at 6 a.m. for their full-time job. Plus, I already had the majority supplies for my individual collaboration; the others didn’t.
Regardless, I spent 15 to 20 hours in the hot studio, that had no air conditioning, helping create this. And at the end of the day, people came in, glanced and walked away. And that was it.
This is something your local artists and musicians experience every time they create. They spend hours cultivating their works for you to enjoy for two minutes tops, and they spend hundreds of dollars or more for next-to-nothing in return.
Again, most of these artists are deeply educated and trained in these fields but spend somewhere else working a day-job just to keep their bills paid.
Many will blame the artists for getting such a 'wasteful' degree, but it's not fair to blame the artists. All of us consume art on a daily basis, so it's time to abandon the mindset that their educations were a waste.
Instead, if you see something you like, consider tipping the artist -- or maybe even buy something.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Addison: It's time to appreciate Lubbock local arts, music community
