WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today joined a video conference call with Texas’ live entertainment venues hosted by Governor Abbott’s Economic Development & Tourism Office of Small Business Assistance and the Texas Music Office to discuss the new Small Business Administration (SBA) Shuttered Venue Operators Grant created by his bipartisan Save Our Stages Act. Sen. Cornyn shared an overview of the program and why he, as an Austinite and Texan, has advocated for the music and live entertainment industry in Congress. Tim Jeffcoat, Houston District Director of SBA, explained the more technical aspects of the grant program for the more than 500 live venue operators on the call. Both Sen. Cornyn and Tim Jeffcoat also answered questions on the call.
“I live in Austin, my Austin office is on 6th Street, and the Live Music Capital of the World has been quiet for nearly a year now,” said Sen. Cornyn. “Not only venues are affected – wait staff, food suppliers, t-shirt printing businesses, and local hotels are all suffering from the effects of pandemic-related closures. The ‘supply chain’ of live music is vast. It is my hope that grants from Save Our Stages will help preserve the entertainment industry, which puts food on the table for thousands of Texans and creates live music memories for countless more.”
Statements of support from Texans like Robert Earl Keene, Josh Abbott, and owners of the Nutty Brown Amphitheatre in Austin, the Kessler Theater in Dallas, and Floore’s Country Store in San Antonio for Sen. Cornyn’s legislation can be found here.
Sen. Cornyn’s website has additional resources for Texans during the coronavirus outbreak here.