2026 Live Music Fund Recipients
Austin’s music economy just received a major boost.
The City’s ACME department has awarded:
$7.14M to musicians & venues
$24M+ across arts and culture
This is one of the most significant public investments in music at both a local and national level.
With 1,600+ applicants requesting $67M in funding, the demand is clear—continued funding and advocacy remain critical.
Didn’t get selected? Applications reopen in July. Keep going.
Following is a copy of the email sent from ACME Director, Angela Means. Please take a moment to read, view the recipients, and subscribe to their newsletter.
Dear Austin Creative Community,
Today marks an exciting milestone for Austin’s creative ecosystem as we announce the 2026 Cultural Funding Awardees, investing more than $24 million in artists, musicians, cultural organizations, creative spaces, and heritage preservation efforts across our city.
This year’s funding cycle reflects both the strength and growing demand within Austin’s creative community. ACME received 1,606 applications requesting more than $67 million in funding, demonstrating the incredible talent, creativity, and vision that exists across our city.
Across our four major programs — Elevate, Austin Live Music Fund, Creative Space Assistance Program, and the Heritage Preservation Grant — 731 artists, musicians, organizations, and cultural spaces will receive support to bring cultural experiences, performances, preservation projects, and creative programming to communities throughout Austin.
This funding cycle is especially meaningful because it represents the first full grant cycle implemented by ACME since the department was created in 2025, and the first shaped by The Creative Reset, our community-driven effort to strengthen Austin’s cultural funding programs.
More than 1,500 community members participated and shared over 11,000 comments and pieces of feedback, helping us refine program guidelines and strengthen how the City invests in arts, culture, music, and heritage.
To this year’s awardees, congratulations! Your work enriches our neighborhoods, preserves our stories, and brings people together through shared cultural experiences that make Austin vibrant, original, and unmistakably Austin.
FY26 Highlights
Creative Space Assistance Program (CSAP): 22 awards • $1.32M total
Heritage Preservation Grant: 22 awards • $3M total
Austin Live Music Fund: 399 awards • $7.14M total
Elevate: 288 awards • $12.84M total
Historic Demand
This year’s application cycle was the largest in Austin’s history: 1,606 applicants requested more than $67 million across ACME programs — a powerful reflection of Austin’s creative energy and need for ongoing support.
To everyone who applied, thank you. The creativity and dedication reflected in this year’s applications is inspiring. While demand continues to exceed available resources, ACME is committed to supporting the broader creative community through expanded wraparound services, including grant workshops, professional development opportunities, technical assistance, and one-on-one debrief sessions to help strengthen future submissions.
We encourage you to stay engaged with ACME throughout the year. This funding cycle is only one part of the opportunities ACME will offer throughout the year.
Our Nexus Grant program is now open, offering $5,000 and $10,000 grants to support individual artists and small arts groups producing public cultural projects in Austin. Applications are open through April 16.
The Austin Live Music Fund, Elevate, Heritage Preservation, and Thrive will open again in July to support projects beginning in 2027. Be sure to stay tuned for the launch of ACME’s July grant opportunities and more resources for Austin’s creative community.
This funding announcement is just one step in a larger journey. As ACME continues implementing The Creative Reset, we remain committed to listening, learning, and working alongside Austin’s creative community to strengthen the cultural ecosystem that defines our city.
Thank you for the creativity, passion, and vision you bring to Austin every day. We are excited to continue this journey with you.
Sincerely,
Angela Means, MPA
Director, Austin Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment
