Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Elaine Schock or Meredith Louie

Shock Ink 818-932-0001

September 5, 2024

Singer/Songwriter Shelley King’s Co-Founded HOME

Branches Out to Increase Aid

To Elders of the Austin Music Community

Fundraising Events Are Slated

To Help Find and Fund Housing Opportunities

For Austin Musicians and Entertainers In Need

“This is close to my heart,” says King of HOME.

Sonic Guild Austin Showcase on September 21

Just Added to King’s Performance Schedule

AUSTIN, Texas — When beloved Texas blues/soul singer/songwriter Miss Lavelle White fell on hard times, fellow Lone Star State award-winning musician Shelley King and her friends came to the rescue. Along with several women in the Austin music community, including Marcia Ball and Carolyn Wonderland, King set out to help raise money to keep this blues legend and music community elder from becoming homeless.

Through this, HOME, an organization that helps the elders of the music community with housing costs, was born with King, Ball, and Wonderland among its co-founders. “Initially, we held a benefit to raise money to house Miss Lavelle White, a blues legend who was facing possible homelessness. After we helped Miss Lavelle, we kept helping others and realized there is a serious need to help the elders of our music community who cannot perform as often and are struggling with Austin’s rising housing costs. Austin is a boomtown with housing costs that have more than quadrupled in the last 20 years while local musicians’ pay remains relatively unchanged,” explains King of the origins of HOME, which stands for Housing Opportunities for Musicians and Entertainers. The Austin-based singer-songwriter herself continues to be a creative force in her hometown’s music community having just released her 10th album, Madam Mystic. With “deep, gritty blues …fiery guitar and roof rattling vocals” (Rolling Stone), King performs regularly at Austin’s Continental Club and also tours throughout the US and Europe.

After 12 years of being led by an all-volunteer all-female group of musical and music industry icons such as Marcia Ball and Nancy Coplin, the nonprofit Housing Opportunities for Musicians and Entertainers (HOME), which is now a 501c3 organization, is stepping into a new chapter to expand its mission of creating security for aging Austin area musicians.

“It is impossible not to recognize the critical need for housing security among our aging musician population and the increased cost of living in Austin that makes staying in their homes a challenge. HOME’s unique mission and programs fill a critical niche for this underserved community in Austin - there are hundreds of aging musicians in need across our City that need support,” says HOME.

HOME has other fundraising events planned. “One is a series of cooking classes at Central Market with celebrity musical chefs. Another is a music series with special guests hosted by Austin’s Saxon Pub featuring top singer-songwriters curated by Kimmie Rhodes. This is a continuation of a series launched in 2023 and will re-launch on Monday, September 23 with 100% of proceeds once again benefiting HOME,” says King. Lineups and details will be posted on their website as they are confirmed: https://thesaxonpub.com/events.

Additionally, the HOME Board is dedicated to hiring the first Executive Director by early 2025 to enhance its ability to support more aging musicians starting early next year.

“This cause is close to my heart. It is my honor to serve and give back to those who have given me so much. This is a real grassroots local community organization. We believe that these artists, who have contributed immensely to our community and the city's reputation as the ‘Live Music Capital of the World,’ deserve support as they face the challenges of aging, reduced opportunities, or health issues,” says King.

HOME encourages Austin musicians aged 55 and over to apply for assistance, if needed, through their website at HomeAustin.org. To learn about how you can support this cause, make a donation, and/or attend a fundraising event, please visit HomeAustin.org.

Another organization that King is proud to be a part of is Austin’s Sonic Guild. Dedicated to supporting local artists (with chapters in Austin, Seattle, Colorado, and the Ozarks), Sonic Guild builds communities to support extraordinary new music by providing financial and professional support that enables musicians to create and perform. And through hosting regular events, Sonic Guild gives opportunities to bring awareness to artists. On September 21, Shelley King will perform at their Sonic Guild Artists Showcase at The 04 Center in Austin. Tickets are free but limited. To RSVP go to: prekindle.com/event/19159-sonic-guild-artist-showcase-austin

For more information on Shelley King, please visit www.shelleyking.com

About HOME

HOME  is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization that strives to create more security for aging musicians of the Austin, Texas, music scene by providing financial grant assistance and other assistance, including referrals to available resources. The performers who put Austin on the musical map have spent most of their careers working without a safety net. As they age, the fall from the tightrope becomes increasingly perilous. HOME’s mission is to create housing security for aging Austin area musicians. We work to channel the generous donations of those who love Austin music toward easing the challenges these legends face. For more information, visit www.homeaustin.org.

About Shelley King

Award winning and critically acclaimed Shelley King’s 10th album release, Madam Mystic (2023), adds new flavors to her “electric Southern blues and acoustic folk, revved-up Cajun country and rock ’n’ roll” (Dallas Observer). Released on her own label, Lemonade Records, the album features 12 new tines written or co-written by King including the single, “Time Means Nothing,” an intimate and warm song about appreciating the here-and-now, as well as the fun, swinging, jazz title track, that unveils a deeper artistry, matured by her years of touring, recording, and electrifying audiences throughout and beyond the Lone Star State. Following her studies at Sam Houston State University, seasoned by countless gigs in musical theater and as a solo act, King relocated to Austin in 1992. The title track from her 1998 debut album, Call of My Heart, won “Song of the Year” honors at the Austin Music Awards in 2002 after being covered by Toni Price. King and her group won the AMA’s “Best Roots Rock Band” honors in 2005. And in 2008, the Texas legislature chose her as the first woman to be designated an Official State Musician of Texas, and in 2024 they gave King a grant to bring her live show to underserved areas of Texas as part of the Texas Commission on the Arts Rural Tours Initiative. 

Shelley King is also on tour:

Sept. 9, Hondo’s on Main, Fredericksburg, TX (Shelley & her band)

Sept. 10, Continental Club, Austin, TX (Shelley King and Carolyn Wonderland duo, Tuesday Residency)

Sept. 12, Heights Theater, Houston, TX (appearing with Carolyn Wonderland Band, co-bill with Walter Trout)

Sept. 13, The 04 Center, Austin, TX (appearing with Carolyn Wonderland Band, co-bill with Walter Trout)

Sept. 14, Lum’s BBQ, Junction, TX (Shelley & her band, free show with Hollin McKay and Guthrie Moss)

Sept. 15, Kessler Theater, Dallas, TX (appearing with Carolyn Wonderland Band, co-bill with Walter Trout)

Sept. 17, Continental Club, Austin, TX (Shelley King and Carolyn Wonderland duo, Tuesday Residency)

Sept. 19, Mercer Hall, Dripping Springs, TX (Shelley King Band, a Benefit for Dripping Springs YMCA)

Sept. 21, The 04 Center – Sonic Guild Artist Showcase, Austin, TX (Shelley & her band)

Sept. 24, Continental Club, Austin, TX (Shelley King and Carolyn Wonderland duo, Tuesday Residency)

Oct. 4, Cafe Wah?, New York, NY (Cindy Cashdollar, Shelley King, Carolyn Wonderland)

Oct. 5, The Falcon, Marlboro, NY (Cindy Cashdollar, Shelley King, Carolyn Wonderland)

Oct. 6, The Lizzie Rose, Tuckerton, NJ (Cindy Cashdollar, Shelley King, Carolyn Wonderland)

Oct. 8, Continental Club, Austin, TX (Shelley King and Carolyn Wonderland duo, Tuesday Residency)

Oct. 11, King Biscuits Blues Festival, Helena, AR (appearing with Carolyn Wonderland Band)

Oct. 17 - The Roxy, Rochester, MI (appearing with Carolyn Wonderland Band)

Oct. 29, Continental Club, Austin, TX (Shelley King and Carolyn Wonderland duo, Tuesday Residency)

Nov. 9. Houston Blues Festival (appearing with Carolyn Wonderland Band)

Nov. 15, Oak United Methodist Church, Oakhill/Austin, TX (Oakhill Listening Room Concert Series)

Nov. 20, “ThanksFOREGiving” Fundraising event for Visit Austin Foundation (appearing with Carolyn Wonderland Band)

Jan. 12, 2025, Sandy Beaches Cruise 25, Fort Lauderdale, FL

King will also be performing on the holiday tour, KingWonderBall, with Carolyn Wonderland and Marcia Ball. Details will be announced shortly. 

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Shelley King - "Madam Mystic"

Shelley King - "Time Means Nothing"