Joe Morrison may spend his days working as a personal injury lawyer at law firm Mullen & Mullen, but by night, he’s an avid music fan hoping to protect the live music scene he has supported and nourished for decades.
Together, Morrison, his partner Shane Mullen and Dallas-based production manager Corey Pond have launched the JAMBALOO Music Prize, offering one artist or group a $20,000 check along with professional recording time, promotional support and industry connections in North Texas. The prize represents the latest expansion of the firm’s JAMBALOO Festival, which debuted last year with 25 free shows across different venues in and around Dallas and Fort Worth.
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The competition is open to any artist or band with more than 50% of permanent members residing in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area; artists can participate by submitting an album with seven or more songs via Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music or Tidal. Fifteen anonymous judges will evaluate the submissions and select 10 semifinalists who will compete to become one of three finalists. The winner will be chosen through a weighted vote by a panel of experts, as well as a vote by music fans.
“We didn’t want it to be a popularity contest, which is what sometimes these things can turn into, but we did want there to be an element of public voting, because success and popularity do matter,” Pond explains.
Three finalists will perform on June 6 alongside a to-be-determined national headliner, with all tickets free to the public. The June showcase will take place at Longhorn Ballroom, a historic Dallas venue once managed by Jack Ruby, infamous for gunning down Lee Harvey Oswald after Oswald shot and killed U.S. President John F. Kennedy near Dallas’ Dealey Plaza. The Longhorn was reopened by Texas promoter Edwin Cabaniss and Kessler Presents in spring 2023 after a multimillion-dollar renovation that included a new 6,500-capacity outdoor amphitheater.
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Besides the $20,000 cash prize, the winner will also win a recording session at Dallas’ Luminous Sound studio with four-time Grammy winner Tre Nagella, as well as featured placement at Josey Records, one of the nation’s largest record stores; a live session recorded at NPR affiliate KXT radio; and an email promotion to 650,000 music fans.
“For a local artist, that [money] could fund an entire new album, that could fund the start of a tour,” says Nagella. “This isn’t like a record deal where they’re beholden to someone — they’re free to use it however they want to use it.”
Mullen & Mullen is also hosting a separate $20,000 venue prize, which was launched after the Fort Worth Music Office reached out about The Cicada, a venue facing closure. The venue prize will become an annual summer competition for independently owned, locally operated music spaces.
“We were looking for a way to kind of give back to the community, but to do it in a fun and unique way,” said Morrison, noting that the firm has invested more than $500,000 in the music initiative so far. “As a personal injury lawyer, who the hell wants to interact with me on social media? It felt better if we could give back in an authentic way where people just see us in a different light.”
The JAMBALOO Music Prize is part of a broader vision for the Mullen & Mullen Music Project, which aims to support the North Texas music scene year-round rather than through a single annual event. Plans include pop-up shows, educational panels and industry mixers modeled after South by Southwest’s programming.
Last year’s inaugural JAMBALOO Festival featured notable performances, including a set by rising indie artist MJ Lenderman. The festival is strategically scheduled in February, traditionally a slow period for venues and artists.
“Let’s try to take a time of the year that’s traditionally bad for the industry and for artists, and turn it on its head a little bit,” Morrison says.
Dallas-based artists can submit their work at JAMBALOO.live.
