San Antonio’s local music scene will expand into the Empire Theatre this Friday as the 101-year-old venue hosts the debut of its TwoTen Empire Concert Series with local indie bands The Lost Project and Pop Pistol.
The concert will also serve as a release party for The Lost Project’s newest album “Far From Where you Are.” Tickets are only $10 and include a complimentary album. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m.
The Empire joined forces with another San Antonio born company, Freetail Brewing Co., to host the concert series that aims to get “local sounds downtown.”
The theatre hosts everything from silent movies, to plays, to touring comedians, to Cornyation, to nationally-recognized musicians.
“We work with a lot of national acts that come though the Empire and the Majestic. San Antonio has a great music scene, and it’s a very eclectic music scene and it’s a lot broader than what people think,” said Majestic and The Charline McCombs Empire Theatre General Manager Mike Riley. “But because of that big part of our business, we don’t always have the opportunity to work with bands within our own local music scene as we would like.”
The TwoTen Empire Concert Series was announced in March during Freetail‘s new seasonal beer “Piñata Protest,” named after the local Tejano punk group, which played a show in the beer and series’ honor.
Riley said the inspiration for the TwoTen Empire Concert Series came from a series of shows with South Texas Jazz last year.
“We thought, ‘Man, how could we do this same kind of programming, but in a broader context?’ … And then that became a part of where we were going,” Riley said. “At the same time, the Freetail guys are growing and looking to be part of a bigger opportunity. A growing San Antonio company, a growing San Antonio institution, so we were able to marry those things together.”
San Antonio B-Cycle has also joined in by offering half-price day passes throughout the series.
“The plan is to do 10 to 12 shows a year. We’re going to be averaging at about one a month,” Riley said. “We’re looking to focus on San Antonio musicians, and explore the depth and diversity of the San Antonio music scene.”
The lineup for the first three months is already in place and tickets are up on Ticketmaster here. Alternative rock band, Hydra Melody will have their “Nocturna” album release on Saturday, July 18, and Cumbia Funk band Bombasta will play Friday, Aug. 28.
“Downtown San Antonio is just a great place to be. It’s about bringing different local musicians and bringing them to downtown San Antonio and putting them in this great theatre.” Riley said. “This is really about celebrating San Antonio.”
*Featured/top image: San Antonian band The Lost Project. Photo courtesy of Facebook.
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