By Adam Pulchinski

Marketing Coordinator

Austin Area Commission for the Arts

It might not feel like it, but the Austin ArtWorks Festival isn’t too far away. Before you know, we’ll be celebrating the fifth year of bringing people in, from, and outside of Austin together to support and appreciate arts in various media.

That media does, of course, include music, and the very successful Saturday night concert. Last year I was pretty bummed because it was the first time I’d missed the concert since the ArtWorks Festival started holding the event. It was always a fun time, and I wish I could have kept the streak going.

There was a little rain on the parade at the 2015 event, but this time the Dick Schindler Celebration Concert will be held on Saturday, August 27 at 7:00 p.m. at the Historic Paramount Theatre. Being indoors will let the theatre shine the way it should, and keep any raindrops from falling on our heads.

That’s not to say being outdoors will be eliminated entirely. There will be a section for attendees to get a breath of fresh air or socialize with some beverages as they take a break from the musical acts which we are proud to finally be able to announce.

The full lineup of musicians performing at the concert will be Malamanya, Sonny Knight and the Lakers, and the Peter Jacobs Jazz Combo in the outdoor Paramount Plaza in between the onstage performances. Both bands are from the Twin Cities. Malamanya describes their music as vintage afro-Caribbean dance music and Sonny Knight is classic R&B/Soul music.

These acts join the incredible track record of artists that have included Cloud Cult, Martin Zellar and the Hardways, Pert Near Sandstone, Alex Rossi and Root City, and Martin O’Reilly and the Old Soul Orchestra (though, those last two were truncated on account of rain).

If you see nothing else from the list of performers past and present, I’d hope you see the variety. Not only have the musicians and bands been very different from one another, but they’ve been accessible to a diverse population in our community (and all those awesome visitors the festival brings!), and we’re hoping to grow that to entertain as many people as possible.

Here’s hoping you join me, because I know I won’t make the mistake of missing another festival concert.