What is Keep Waco Loud?

That’s a question that Wacoans who roam Instagram and Facebook may be asking themselves lately. And the answer is easy, it’s a couple of music lovers who see musical talent in Waco and want others to be able to see it too.

Husband and wife team Katie Selman, 29, and Jacob Green, 35, the masterminds behind Keep Waco Loud, both have ties to Central Texas but they just moved back to Texas, to Waco, a couple of years ago. One thing they noticed is that there was almost nowhere they could go and hear the music they like, including good punk or hip hop.

“We found ourselves going to Dallas or Austin a lot,” Selman said.

But then they found that there were little hidden venues, such as Spin Connection and Old Digs, playing the local music they wanted to hear.

“We were like, this is really cool. This is legit and no one’s talking about it,” Selman said. It seems diverse local music existed, it just didn’t have many places to be heard.

Both Selman and Green have non music-related day jobs but they thought, we can do something about this, WE can shine a light on local music. And so Keep Waco Loud (a labor of only love so far) was born with a simple but eye-catching graphic and a voice that said to the Waco social media audience, ‘locals, we see you and we want to bring you something cool.’

Green, who has played in multiple bands in places he’s lived, said he and Selman dove in and started meeting with the folks at these little venues and meeting with local artists, hoping to find a way to accelerate the ember of local music that remains, to fan those flames.

The main goal of Keep Waco Loud is to shine a spotlight on local music but the approach to it is multi-fold. There’s the just-launched website, keepwacoloud.com, featuring stories about local artists. They are making connections between local venues and artists who don’t currently have somewhere to play. And they’re grooming other venues to consider bringing in live music.

“We’re going to try to make so much noise, no one can deny this is happening,” Green said.

Selman and Green say Downtown Waco has a lot of potential for hosting even more live music. And as downtown residents themselves, that’s something they’d especially like to see. They co-hosted a jazz weekend at Brotherwell Brewing last weekend. And coming up this Friday, May 24, they’re using Brotherwell for their Keep Waco Loud launch party featuring a full lineup of local artists.  Also on the books at Brotherwell is a Dad Jokes and Beer comedy show they’re hosting June 16.

Keep Waco Loud is doing its part by increasing Waco’s capacity for live local music and by making connections for artists but they need Wacoans to meet them half way and come to shows.

“If people don’t show up, why are the venues going to continue to host live music,” Green said.

“You’ve got to come out and support local music, local artists, local everything,” Selman added.