Austin’s HAAM Day Turns 20: A Citywide Tribute to Local Music and Community
The annual event raised funds for local musicians’ healthcare through hundreds of live performances across the Greater Austin area
On September 23, Central Texas transformed into the world’s largest single-day local music celebration — HAAM Day Music Festival powered by PNC, SXSW and C3 Presents. The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) marked 20 years since local philanthropist Robin Shivers founded HAAM to alleviate the financial burdens on working musicians, and has proudly worked to keep her legacy of supporting local music in Central Texas alive and well.
Since 2005, HAAM has provided over $215 million in healthcare services for the musicians, DJs, and music teachers that power our local live music scene. The numbers tell a remarkable story: HAAM Day Music Festival featured over 120 hours of music in just 24 hours — that’s 5 full days of free local music for the Central Texas community to enjoy, raising critical funds for HAAM’s life-saving services. Over 400 local musicians donated over 20,000 minutes of live music, which is nearly $67,000 worth of performance time to help make the critical funds raised during HAAM Day Music Festival go further.
Suporting local musicians
Through partnerships with local providers and partners, HAAM leverages every $100 raised into $700 worth of healthcare access for the thousands of DJs, musicians and music teachers who keep Austin’s legendary live music scene alive.
What began with just 13 venues in 2005 has transformed into a citywide celebration featuring over 200 participating businesses across the Greater Austin area. This year’s festival turned H-E-B’s new South Congress location into the HAAM Day Music Festival headquarters, where KVUE broadcast “We Are Austin” live from the store’s True Texas BBQ restaurant.
Keeping Austin’s music community strong
The festival’s success reflects Greater Austin’s commitment to its musical identity and to the thousands of hardworking creatives who sustain the multi-billion-dollar local music scene that makes Austin the Live Music Capital of the World.
As festival-goers enjoyed free performances across the city and into Round Rock, Lockhart and more, the message was clear: supporting local music means supporting the people who create it. HAAM Day proves that when a community rallies around its artists, everyone benefits from the music that defines a city’s legacy.