Ray Benson, member of Asleep at the Wheel, plays at the airport twice a year.
Travelers grab a Lone Star beer at the bar at Ray Benson’s Roadhouse across a gate in the terminal. A young woman wheels a carry-on as she weaves through tables and chairs, trying to find a seat to relax and read her newspaper. Families share a plate of barbeque trying to kill time and hunger before their connecting flight, and one woman sets up a microphone and does a sound check for today’s performance at the Asleep at the Wheel’s guitarist’s namesake.
Nancy Coplin has booked over 4,000 bands and singers/songwriters to play at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Her desk is surrounded by signed head shots of performers, stacks of CDs from inspired local bands hoping to get booked and across the room sits a library of music that has graced the stage or the intercom of the gateway for thousands of travelers a day.
To Coplin, who has been booking bands, managing sound and setting up the stage for 11 years, bringing in local talent and new talent, as much as possible, is key to what make the airport performances special.
“I like to give new people a chance. I just feel this is one of the few places in town that somebody new to town can get booked even if they don’t have a following, as long as their music is good,” Coplin said. “They are reaching a totally different audience than they normally would and I have heard many stories of people saying ‘oh this guy signed up on my e-mail list and when I went to Wichita, Kansas he showed up to the show because he knew we were coming.’ So it helps develop a fan base.”
As she walks through the terminal, she greets multiple people, asking about their weekends. She walks by James McMurty, at the airport to catch a flight to Boston, and asks him how he’s been. It’s rounding 3:30p.m., just about the time today’s act, Rodney Hayden, is supposed to perform. He is running late. The bartenders ask Coplin where the act is and she runs up to her office to give him a call. He got caught up at security.
Bands experience many things at the airport that they wouldn’t otherwise playing at a bar on 6th Street. For one, they can broaden their fan base by playing to an audience comprised of people from around the country, the world even, but when a band books a gig at the airport there is some red tape they have to get through. For one, because the airport has to be family friendly, bands have to censor their lyrics. Also, performers have to go through a full security check, as if they were boarding a flight.
To make this easier, each of the five venues at the airport has their own sound system so the bands only have to plug and play. In this sense Coplin has played roadie for thousands of performances. Also, sitting on the stage is a tie-dyed piano, donated on long-term loan by the Gibson Guitar Showroom.
“It’s so hard to bring a piano through security,” Coplin said. “There is a lot to think about when you come to play here.”
Rodney Hayden played on Monday Nov. 29.
Although a band may be popular and have good music, such as Grupo Fantasma, they would not be able to play at the airport because there are too many people in their band and they are too loud. Yes, too loud. Because of the proximity to the gates, Coplin has to consider a noise limit. Travelers need to be able to hear important information at their gates.
Coplin says that bands are very cooperative when dealing with all of the extra considerations. Delaware North Hospitality Management Company works with getting bands in, and Coplin says that they have played a key role.
“They have been instrumental in expanding the program,” Coplin said. “When I first started in ‘99 we had two shows a week; now we have 13. The city cannot invite the media in but because they’re a vendor here they can invite the media into their facility.”
Once Hayden, a singer songwriter in a worn and stained suede cowboy hat and stylish suede cowboy boots, got to the stage, Coplin chatted, while he “got dressed” after going through security. Hayden told her that he just finished a songwriting session with George Strait and Strait’s son Bubba. They talked casually as he took out his acoustic guitar and Coplin strapped on the headphones at the soundboard. The inside of the door was covered with stickers left by musicians, a testament of local bands leaving their mark on the gateway to the Music Capital of the World.
As Hayden played, children and adults took dollar bills to the tip jar, and travelers clapped after each song. Coplin talked about Sunny Sweeney, who played at the airport recently, and just signed a record deal and has her song “A Table Away” playing on country music stations around the country. When asked if Willie Nelson had ever played for travelers, Coplin said no but “anything is possible.”
Pepsi sponsors the live music performances.
“I would love for one day when Willie was traveling through the airport to hop up on stage and perform,” Coplin said. “Willie is a national treasure.”
Other notable bands that have played the stage include Band of Heathens, Redd Volkaert, Sarah Hickman and Carolyn Wonderland. Coplin says the performers can make some extra money during the day, the travelers get to enjoy some free entertainment, and the employees get something to “break up the monotony of their day.” For the performers it creates a change of pace.
“From a creative standpoint it’s a creative gig,” Hayden said between sets. “I enjoy it because I am a songwriter, so all the songs I write about myself traveling around, I can look around and get new material.”
When it comes to who gets to perform, Coplin just looks for bands that sound good.
“Our travelers are meat and potato listeners,” Coplin said. “I used to be a cover band snob. Now I find that bands that do covers create an air of familiarity for the travelers. We want to make the music a place of comfort, and interest too, and fun.”
