Music Cities Meet Up

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  "id": "PP1150506",
  "track": "Music",
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  "category": "Meet Up",
  "event_id": "PP1150506",
  "event_type": "panel",
  "format": "Meet Up",
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  "name": "Music Cities Meet Up",
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  "publish_at": "2026-02-11T14:30:00.000-06:00",
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  "date": "2026-03-17",
  "end_time": "2026-03-17T13:00:00.000-05:00",
  "start_time": "2026-03-17T12:00:00.000-05:00",
  "message": null,
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  "credentials": [
    {
      "name": "Music Badge",
      "type": "music"
    },
    {
      "name": "Platinum Badge",
      "type": "platinum"
    }
  ],
  "contributors": [
    {
      "id": 85259,
      "company": "New Orleans Mayor’s Office Of Nighttime Economy",
      "credential_types": [
        "music"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2247263,
      "name": "Julia Heath",
      "speaker_types": [],
      "title": "Policy & Outreach Manager",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Julia Heath",
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      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": "As Policy & Outreach Manager for the New Orleans Mayor’s Office of Nighttime Economy, Julia Heath leads efforts to strengthen the city’s music ecosystem through venue support, workforce development, and cultural policy innovation. Her portfolio includes the design and launch of the Tune-Up Grant Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative supporting venue sound management and audio workforce training, and the New Orleans Music Census, which surveyed over 1,500 respondents to inform long-term industry strategy.\r\rWith a background in independent venue operations, festival production, and national music policy, Julia has worked across sectors to support sustainable, equitable music economies. She previously helped secure $150M in federal relief for California’s independent venues and currently manages programs that support original music, music business education, and culturally significant performance spaces in New Orleans.\r\rJulia also serves on the board of NITECAP (Nighttime Economy Culture & Policy Alliance), a national network of practitioners advancing safe, vibrant nighttime economies. She is committed to building bridges between government, artists, and industry and to ensuring that music remains a viable, celebrated career path in New Orleans and beyond.\r\r",
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    },
    {
      "id": 23544,
      "company": "Sound Music Cities",
      "credential_types": [
        "music"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2020643,
      "name": "Don Pitts",
      "speaker_types": [],
      "title": "President, Founder",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Don Pitts",
        "credit": null,
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      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": "With more than three decades of experience across the music and entertainment landscape, Don Pitts is known for his practical, community-driven approach to strengthening local music ecosystems. He is the Founder and President of Sound Music Cities, where he works with cities, states, and regions across the United States to support musicians, venues, and the broader music industry through data, policy, and implementation-focused strategies.\r\rMost recently, Don was named one of the 26 Most Influential People in Music for 2026 by SPIN magazine, recognizing his national impact on music policy, sound management, and music ecosystem development. His work is rooted in time spent on the ground with artists, venue operators, residents, and city staff, translating lived experience into solutions that actually work.\r\rPrior to founding Sound Music Cities, Don led the Music & Entertainment Division within the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department. During his tenure, he earned the nickname “The Sound Whisperer” after helping reduce music-related sound complaints in Austin by more than 75 percent. His approach shifted the focus from enforcement to sound management, introducing clearer expectations, better tools, and shared accountability that benefited venues, neighborhoods, and city staff alike.\r\rOriginally from Nashville, Don’s career spans nearly every corner of the music ecosystem. His experience includes managing artists and venues, working directly with promoters and festivals, leading entertainment relations at Gibson Guitar, and co-founding the North American Music Cities Summit. That mix of private-sector, community, and public-sector experience gives him a grounded perspective on how music scenes function and where they often struggle.\r\rAt Sound Music Cities, Don is best known for leading music census projects and ecosystem assessments in more than 30 communities. His work consistently highlights that thriving music scenes depend not just on talent, but on clear policy, affordable space, professional pathways, and coordination across sectors. Whether working with a small town or a major metro, Don’s focus remains the same: helping communities grow music without growing conflict, and ensuring the people who make the music can continue to live and work where they are.\r\r\r",
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      "type": "person"
    }
  ],
  "venue": {
    "accessible": false,
    "age_policy": null,
    "floor": null,
    "id": "V2459",
    "indoor_outdoor": null,
    "name": "Music Clubhouse",
    "parent_id": "V2427",
    "parent_venue_name": "Downright Austin",
    "venue_entry_info": null,
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    "location": {
      "address": "710 E. 10th St.",
      "lat_lon": [
        30.2698058,
        -97.7343172
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      "city": "Austin",
      "postal_code": "78701",
      "state": "TX",
      "name": "Downright Austin"
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    "events": "[omitted 5 venue events]"
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  "description": "Across the U.S., music communities are changing, how people make music, how they earn a living, how venues operate, and how cities respond. This meet-up brings together musicians, venue owners and operators, promoters, industry professionals, city staff, and community advocates working in music scenes of all sizes to discuss how local music scenes evolve and adapt. \n\nThe meetup is designed for anyone who cares about the future of local music, whether you are deeply embedded in your community or simply curious about how music ecosystems function and survive. Attendees will leave with new connections, shared language, and a clearer sense of how others are navigating similar challenges in different cities.",
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  "long_description": "Across the U.S., music communities are changing, how people make music, how they earn a living, how venues operate, and how cities respond. This meet-up brings together musicians, venue owners and operators, promoters, industry professionals, city staff, and community advocates working in music scenes of all sizes to discuss how local music scenes evolve and adapt. \n\nThe meetup is designed for anyone who cares about the future of local music, whether you are deeply embedded in your community or simply curious about how music ecosystems function and survive. Attendees will leave with new connections, shared language, and a clearer sense of how others are navigating similar challenges in different cities.",
  "meeting_url": null,
  "meeting_url_live": false,
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  "sort": "MUSIC CITIES MEET UP",
  "source": "Official",
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  "tags": [],
  "talent_attending": null,
  "title_only": false,
  "track_display_name": "Music",
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