Black Fret Announces A Season Of Giving, Presenting The Return Of The Black Fret Ball, As Well As Hopdoddy Partnership

Black Fret Ball to return to the live stage at ACL Live at the Moody Theater after topping $3.5 million in overall giving this past decade; $250,000 in grants to be awarded

Black Fret announces a season of giving, presenting the return of the in-person 2022 Black Fret Ball, taking place Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater, as well as working with Hopdoddy Burger Bar on “Tuned In,” a campaign where artists will receive grants as per the results of fan voting. Click here for a video with more information; fans have until Nov. 13 to submit their vote here. At the Ninth Annual Black Fret Ball, 20 local artists will be awarded hundreds of thousands in grants, and there will be performances from 18 of the 20 Black Fret 2022 Artists. The artists receiving grants this year include Abhi the Nomad, Annabelle Chairlegs, Aubrey Hays, Blackillac, Bonnie Whitmore, Buffalo Nichols, Daniel Fears, Graham Weber, Indoor Creature, Jo James, KVN, Me Nd Adam, Mélat, Money Chicha, Natalie Price, Nik Parr and The Selfless Lovers, Pussy Gilette, Quentin and the Past Lives, Scott Strickland and Urban Heat. The gala is open to Black Fret members and will begin at 6 p.m. To join Black Fret, see here. Event attendees are also invited to an afterparty following the Ball. In lieu of a red carpet this year, media are invited to join the Black Fret Artists and staff backstage prior to the event for photo ops and interviews between 6:15 – 6:45 p.m. and interested press can RSVP here for more. Sponsors for this year’s Black Fret Ball include Notley Ventures, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Deloitte, Ben E. Keith, Hopdoddy, Dell, Cake Social, Fair Trade Safaris, McGinnis Lockridge, Becky Beaver, Attorney at Law, Lionheart and Juice Consulting.

“This is going to be one of our most exciting awards seasons ever,” said Matt Ott, co-founder of Black Fret. “The fact that we are giving grants not only in Austin but nine other markets is an incredible indicator that people everywhere love their live music and want to support it. To those in Austin, Colorado and Seattle, please join us! And to all the other great music cities out there we look forward to supporting your music in the future!”

Austin’s own Hopdoddy Burger Bar and Black Fret teamed up this year to award a series of grants to artists from around the nation. The 2022 season of Tuned In encouraged listenership for local musicians, and will be awarding a total of $50,000 in grants to nine bands. Finalists for the 2022 Tuned In season were nominated by Hopdoddy team members, then Hopdoddy guests voted for their favorites. These bands will be awarded grants of varying levels: one $10,000 grant, two $7,000 grants, two $5,000 grants and four $4,000 grants (which can be used for any band-related needs). The grants will be distributed on Thursday, Nov. 17 and Saturday Nov. 19 at special events at Pershing celebrating artists from LA, Arizona, Memphis, Nashville, Denver and cities across Texas. You can see all the grant recipients, including Austin’s own Bonnie Whitmore here at the Hopdoddy Tuned In page. Tuned In will feature performances from Bonnie Whitmore of Austin, Anarbor of Arizona, The Brother Brothers of Los Angeles, N3ptune from Colorado, Piñata Protest of San Antonio and Gold Fighter of Dallas. All of these bands, plus Will Van Horn of Houston, Nordista Freeze of Nashville and Southern Avenue of Memphis will all receive grants. These events will be live streamed on the Hopdoddy YouTube channel for all to enjoy here.

“Supporting our local Hopdoddy communities and musicians has been part of our company culture since we first opened our doors and being able to award the next generation of artists with life-changing grants is incredibly gratifying,” said Hopdoddy CEO Jeff Chandler. “Thanks to the sales from our Goodnight Good Cause burger and our collaboration with Black Fret and Tito’s Handmade Vodka, we’ve made a difference for some very talented people, and we hope to expand this program in 2023.”

 

The ninth annual Black Fret Ball brings the cumulative total of direct financial support to local musicians to over $3,500,000. Combined with the support to local music businesses of $1,500,000, the total impact of Black Fret to the Austin music ecosystem equals over $5,000,000 in just nine seasons. With the nascent Black Fret Seattle chapter having distributed over $150,000 in grants and payments and the Colorado chapter awarding their first $25,000 in grants this year, Black Fret is just beginning to realize its vision of a network of connected communities that will not only support our local musicians in market, but also create an opportunity for these artists to bring their music to other markets in a sustainable and profitable way.

Those interested in assisting with this vision of a national network of Black Fret chapters may reach out to Black Fret Co-founder Matt Ott at matt@blackfret.org. Those who wish to join Black Fret in any of our chapters may do so at blackfret.org/join. With three membership levels of $750 for an individual membership, $1,500 for two or $3,000 for a “party” four-person membership, there are options available for all who truly want to step up to support their local music. Members gain the rights to nominate the bands they love as well as vote for the allocation of grant dollars at the end of the season as well as the privilege to attend the many private events held each season. Those not ready to join Black Fret or those who wish to support the Black Fret mission before a chapter exists in their town may donate at blackfret.org/donate.