Ray LaMontagne Cancels Austin Show to Protest Campus Carry
American singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne cancelled his long-anticipated Austin show yesterday, stating his protest of Texas’s new campus carry law, which allows licensed permit holders to bring concealed handguns into many performance venues on public university campuses, and that includes the Texas Performing Arts Center. Ray LaMontange said his he thinks of himself as a “very open minded human being,” but said, “on behalf of myself and the band…I want to express our collective disappointment in the decision to allow guns on campus, and within a campus venue.” The show was scheduled to take place at the Bass Concert Hall on the UT campus, and had been sold out for month. Anticipation surrounding the event had heightened in the last several months, as Ray LaMontange was forced to cancel his slot at Auditorium Shores during this year’s SXSW festival. The campus carry law has stirred up a lot of controversy on campus, in Austin, and around the state and country, has compelled multiple professors to seek job at other universities, and now, inevitably, cancelled shows from protesting musicians. (KUT)
PHOTO CRED: THALIA JUAREZ
Release of 2016 All ATX CD Installment All ATX: Low Down Violet Crown
Tomorrow is the release of the newest installment of the All ATX CD All ATX: Low Down Violet Crown. This year’s album features blues-rock covers and includes Walker Lukens covering Dr. John, Grupo Fantasma taking on ZZ Top, and Black Pistol Fire recreating a tune from Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green days. The CD is accompanied, as always, with a benefit concert, with proceeds from both the CD sales and the concert going to support local organizations Black Fret, HAAM, Austin Music Foundation, and SIMS Foundation, whose mission is to provide a tight network of support for Austin musicians. This year’s concert is on September 29th with the Doobie Brothers headlining a bill otherwise outfitted with local artists appearing on this year’s CD. The show is sold out, but KUTX will be giving away tickets all weekend, and you can snag a free download of a couple of tunes from Low Down Violet Crown today and tomorrow through our Song of the Day feature. If you’re looking to grab your own copy of All ATX: Low Down Violet Crown exclusively at Waterloo Records. Find out more here.
-Taylor Wallace
