FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD) - A Texas congressman stops by Fort Worth to take the wraps off legislation aimed at helping local music venues hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roger Williams took the stage at Billy Bob's Texas to introduce the Save Our Stages Act.
"It's a $10 billion program that allows recipients to pay for necessities like utilities, rent, PPE and maintenance," the District 25 Republican said. "The great thing about this is that unlike a lot of what we do in Washington, this is a bipartisan bill."
Williams says venues like Billy Bob's, as well as the entire music industry, have been hit very hard by the pandemic.
"During this pandemic, COVID-19, independent live music venues have been hardest hit; as they actually were the first to close, and now here we are the last to reopen," says Williams. "This is an industry that needs help, and it's an industry that is part of the culture we have every single day living here as Texans."
Walter Kinsey, the CEO of Stockyards-based Encore Live, further illustrates how hard the entertainment industry has been decimated.
"It is crazy for me to think about the fact Encore Live, who offices just 400 yards away from here in the Stockyards, today will be the largest producer of live music in the United States this year," says Kinsey. "That's not a pat on my back, that's a what the hell is going on in this country when our little business is the biggest producer of music in America."
Bob Jameson, the CEO of Visit Fort Worth, says live music is a major economic driver in the city.
"One dollar on a ticket spent translates into $12 in economic impact from each of these music venues throughout our city," says Jameson.
Williams says given the bipartisan nature of the bill, he expects it to pass relatively quickly.
