Headquartered in the city known as the Live Music Capital of the World, we know how important it is to support the Austin music community. That’s why we partnered with the Austin Music Foundation to create a monthly series that showcases talented musicians from their inaugural Artist Development Program. On September 5th, we brought the successful first season of our concert series, Mood Live, to a close with a performance from ADP participant James Junius.
A Utah native, James decided to relocate to Austin after his music caught the attention of Terry Lickona, executive producer of the longest-running music program in television history, Austin City Limits. James is a singer/songwriter with a unique style described as Heartland Shoegaze. According to Lickona, “James writes songs that come from the heartland but resonate with all of us.” His heartfelt lyrics and beautiful melodies certainly resonated with the Mood employees and industry supporters that were in the audience that Tuesday afternoon at the Mean Eyed Cat!
Though he usually performs with a full band, this time James was backed only by a drum machine that kept the beat as he powered through his impressive 12 song set list. You can watch the full video of one of his latest compositions entitled “Run” below.
After the performance, we asked James a few questions about his move to Austin, why he loves being part of the Austin music community, and what he’s currently working on. Hit play to watch our exclusive interview…
James is spending the remainder of 2017 putting the finishing touches on his debut release and further developing his live show, so we’re excited to see what the future holds for this talented young artist! He’ll be ending the year with a performance at Austin’s popular New Year’s Eve event at Auditorium Shores so make plans to ring in 2018 with amazing music and plenty of fireworks.
A huge thank you to our partners and sponsors for their support of Mood Live, including Austin Music Foundation, Independence Brewing, Loudmouth Rentals, and the Mean Eyed Cat.
We may have wrapped up the first season of our live series, but we haven’t even scratched the surface of the amazing talent that Austin has to offer. We’re already looking forward to our next season so stay tuned for details. In the meantime, you can find photos and videos from all of our Mood Live performances HERE!
– Submitted by Jessica Reed and Brad Bond, Marketing