ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Kalahari Resorts and Conventions in Round Rock is launching an outdoor music and entertainment festival Friday. It will kick off the opening of the resort’s outdoor entertainment space.
The three-day festival is free and open to the public. In addition to a farmers market, summer fashion show and Kalahari character visits, three live bands will be performing at the event.
The Watters is among the few performers.
“We’ve been doing music together for about 12 years,” said Jenna Watters.
The Watters is a local husband and wife duo in the Austin area. When they aren’t performing together, they’re a seven-piece band. A COVID-19 music world looked different for them. Zoom and neighborhood lawn concerts is how they adjusted.
“Last year was actually quite busy for us,” said Watters. “We just have to adapt and do what we can.”
Many musicians in the Austin area were hit hard with live music venues being shut down. The Blenders, which is an acoustic duo, saw a significant decrease in gigs.
“We typically do about 30 shows a year, and we did four last year,” said David Dyke with The Blenders.
Both The Blenders and The Watters will both be performing at Kalahari’s outdoor space this weekend.
Kalahari said the event caps at 600 people. Guests must also follow the City of Round Rock mask mandate.
“Kalahari Resorts and Conventions invites guests, along with the Round Rock and Austin community to Spring Fest this weekend as we celebrate the opening of Amatuli, our outdoor entertainment space. As we welcome all to Spring Fest, the health and safety of all our visitors remains our priority,” Kalahari wrote in a statement to KXAN.
“It really is a nice open air space, so everybody can distance themselves,” said Dyke.
Watters said the majority of the spaces she’s being booked for are outdoor spaces.
“Not much is happening indoors right now,” said Watters.
Places like the Elephant Room, a popular jazz club, are still in the COVID-19 dark.
“Things are coming back, but it’s not 40 gigs a day, I’ll tell you that,” said Michael Mordecai.
Mordecai helps book gigs at both the Elephant Room and other venues around town. Before the coronavirus, 40 gigs a day was the norm.
“I know that we can get musicians to play there, but I don’t know if somebody is going to get sick,” said Mordecai.
Watters said things are still looking up for the music industry.
“The inquiries are flooding in. Everyone is ready for music it seems like,” said Watters.
The outdoor festival at Kalahari will begin Friday, March 26 at 6 p.m. and go through Sunday, March 28.
