Austin Bergstrom Airport transfers music programming to ACME; staff report staffing fix and plans to expand to 25 weekly shows

Airport staff and the Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment (ACME) told the Music Commission that Austin Bergstrom International Airport’s longstanding live-music program will move into ACME oversight, with staff handling booking, databases and expansion plans.

Ramonica (Ramónica) Carr, Austin Bergstrom International Airport guest services officer, gave a brief history of the program and described recent operational challenges. She said the airport’s live-music program began one month after the terminal opened, has grown to eight stages — “1 main stage that can accommodate a full band, 1 medium stage that can accommodate 4 performers, and 6 stages for solo performers” — and that AUS “hosted 1,351 live music performances featuring over 200 local bands and musicians” in 2024.

Carr said the program paused during the COVID-19 crisis, pivoted to virtual events and then relaunched with safety protocols. In March 2025, staffing disruptions forced four shows to be canceled after two sound engineers left in quick succession; AUS contacted affected musicians, paid shows canceled within seven days in full and contracted a sound engineer on March 26. Carr said AUS has since hired a full-time sound engineer and was securing a temporary engineer to increase capacity. “All performance canceled within 7 days were paid their full performance fee,” she said, and most canceled shows were rescheduled.

ACME staff described the operational transition. Erica Shamley said ACME and airport staff are drafting a memo to clarify roles, schedules, storage, reporting lines and timelines for the transfer. ACME expects to complete the technical transition and information access by October 1: “we think that the transition will be done by October 1.” ACME staff said they must consolidate musician data that currently lives in multiple systems, move booking and intake into a single application, and ensure city staff can view shared calendars and documents across servers.

Staff described near-term programming changes: AUS increased performances from 15 to 20 shows a week and planned to launch 25 weekly shows in August, with performances Monday through Friday and an anticipated 105 shows per month. Commissioners asked for operational details — set lengths, engineer coverage, opportunities for internship or training partnerships with area technical schools, and how residencies versus rotational bookings would affect equity in access. Staff said larger bands typically perform two 50-minute sets on the main stage and that solo performances are shorter; ACME signaled a preference for rotating many musicians through the program rather than locking in long residencies so more artists can benefit from paid airport appearances.

Several commissioners suggested partnering with Austin Community College or other training programs to expand sound-engineering capacity and offer workforce pathways. Commissioners also asked staff to communicate change timelines compassionately to artists who may be affected by the booking-policy changes.

Airport and ACME staff agreed to provide regular updates to the commission during the transition and welcomed ongoing feedback from commissioners and the community.