Meet Our Judges
Texas Youth Music Festival
Battle of the Bands
Our contestants are ready to battle it out at the Texas Youth Music Festival and our judges will determine who wins the grand prize of a recording session at Orb Recording Studios!
2025 Judges
Kate Bass is one of our judges this year. She is an internationally recognized singer, songwriter, and creative leader who has performed on stages from Carnegie Hall to Broadway, as soloist with the New York Philharmonic, and in Emmy-, Grammy-, and Tony Award–winning productions. She was featured on the Grammy-nominated SONY release Untold, appeared in the Broadway and PBS-aired revival of Carousel with Kelli O’Hara and Jessie Mueller, and her voice and compositions have been heard in award-winning works at major international film festivals from SXSW in Austin to Milan and Venice. Gary Platt, co-founder of the well-known private media arts college, Full Sail University located in Florida. From 1978 onward, Gary has had the opportunity to work with major label artists, working around the world, racking up a dozen RIAA Gold and Platinum awards for his engineering, mixing, and production work. Prince (w/Sheila E), Bon Jovi, CheapTrick, Midnight Star, New Edition, Ohio Players, King Crimson, Eric Sermon, Prodigal, Bill Champlin (of Chicago) The Cult, Adrian Belew, Shaq O’Neal (3 platinum’s), Lenny LeBlanc, Bootsy Collins, The New Mickey Mouse Club (w/Justin Timberlake, Brittney Spears, Christina Aguilera) and others have been clients. Gary says, “I am on the lookout for some great Austin musical talent.”
Come cheer on our contestants at the Battle of the Bands to be held Saturday, October 4 at 7pm as they compete before these industry pros! This highly competitive event will be held at Bee Cave Arts Foundation studio located at 12912 Hill Country Blvd F160, Bee Cave TX 78738. Suggested ticket donation is $10 at the door.
Presented by the Bee Cave Arts Foundation and The Austin School for the Performing and Visual Arts, this unique festival gives student garage bands the opportunity to perform, connect, and grow, all with guidance from professional musicians and music industry insiders.
More News and Events
