Brendon Anthony, the current director of the Texas Music Office, announced he will leave his post April 26.
Anthony was a driving force behind the launch of the Music Friendly Texas Certified Community Program, the Texas Music Incubator Rebate Program and the task force on concert safety, which established an event production guide in the wake of rapper Travis Scott’s 2021 performance at Astroworld where 10 fans died and hundreds of others were injured.
“The biggest thing I come away with is all the tremendous relationships that I’ve made while I’ve been here, and the support that I’ve received from so many people across the state and around the country. It’s just been tremendous,” he said of his accomplishments in an interview with the Fort Worth Report.
Anthony, who has served in the role since 2015, is only the second person to lead the office.
Established in 1990, the Texas Music Office is situated within the governor’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism and works to support the music industry throughout the state.
“It is a really special agency. Very few governments have an office that’s designed to listen to and speak for this industry, and we cannot take that for granted,” he said. “We need to continue to prove that we do the best work, and we need to support other states as they endeavor to follow our lead, like Tennessee has done recently and others are looking at. It’s a tremendous opportunity that this office presents.”
Anthony is confident that his successor, Chip Adams, is the right person to do the job. Adams took over the Music Friendly program in 2019, which grew from 10 partner communities to more than 60 today and is expected to reach 70 by the end of this year.
Fort Worth was the first certified partner within that program and has enjoyed working with Anthony and Adams in the subsequent years, Tom Martens said. Martens is the associate vice president of creative and branding for Visit Fort Worth and director of the Fort Worth Music Office.
“(The Texas Music Office) has been really just a tremendous leader, and Brendon’s been at the forefront of that,” Martens said. “He’s never been more than a text away, and to have that connection to someone who is part of the governor’s office in our field, it’s just been tremendous.”
Though he is sad to see Anthony leave, Martens is looking forward to continuing to work with Adams, an alum of Texas Christian University.
“I think this transition will be seamless,” Martens continued.
Anthony’s last day will be May 6.
“I’ll just say how personally honored I’ve been to do this job for as long as they’ve let me, and I’m very, very grateful for the support of the governor and his executive staff,” Anthony said. “We could not have done what we’ve done without his support and his executive staff’s support. They have been unwavering and have jumped in whenever we’ve asked. Offices like this don’t work unless that’s the case.”
Marcheta Fornoff covers arts and culture for the Fort Worth Report. Reach her at [email protected]. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
