The federal program kept Houston venues afloat, and a local sloth well-nourished
in December 2020. Although its early months were bedeviled by a glitchy website, $1.16 billion has now been distributed to support 758 music venues, museums and other live entertainment venues in Texas.
Edwin Cabaniss, owner of the Heights Theater and chair of the Music Avenue Alliance-Texas, explained that when the shutdowns began in March 2020, he felt confident that the theater could weather this crisis, perhaps with the Paycheck Protection Program. But he soon realized that his team was facing “a bitter fight for survival,” so he reached out to Cornyn’s office.
The Texas Legislature also passed a measure, in 2021, providing some support to the state’s small music venues.The SBA itself is a relatively small federal agency, with an annual budget of just under $1 billion. It has never had occasion to administer a program like this one, or the Paycheck Protection Program.