Latest / Austin Signal / Austin-Bergstrom bringing big changes in the new year

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Austin-Bergstrom bringing big changes in the new year · Austin Signal

• 0:09
  Austinites aren't the only ones who
• 0:10
  are bringing some change to the new
• 0:12
  year. The airport in Austin will
• 0:14
  be undergoing some modifications in
• 0:15
  2026.
• 0:17
  More gates, more flights, more
• 0:19
  construction.
• 0:20
  The change is happening at
• 0:21
  Austin-Bergstrom, plus a major
• 0:23
  milestone has been reached in the
• 0:24
  construction of a new water delivery
• 0:26
  system underneath Lake Travis.
• 0:28
  Once it's finished, the system is
• 0:30
  expected to increase the water
• 0:31
  supply for Cedar Park, Leander,
• 0:33
  and Round Rock to 145
• 0:35
  million gallons per day and reduce
• 0:37
  vulnerability to drought.
• 0:39
  We've got those stories coming at
• 0:40
  you next.
• 0:42
  The Austin Signal is a production of
• 0:44
  KUT News hosted by
• 0:45
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:47
  And maybe you've decided to cut back
• 0:48
  on alcohol to start the year.
• 0:50
  That doesn't mean your drink should
• 0:52
  be a boring one.
• 0:53
  We've some recipes that'll jazz up
• 0:55
  your 2026.
• 0:56
  Coming up next on Austin Signal.
• 1:08
  Howdy out there, thank you for
• 1:09
  tuning in. This is Austin Signal.
• 1:12
  It's Wednesday, January 7th.
• 1:14
  We are completing our first full
• 1:16
  week of 2026 and
• 1:18
  we're very glad you're spending part
• 1:19
  of it right here with us.
• 1:21
  This is listener-supported public
• 1:23
  radio, KUT News.
• 1:24
  I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
• 1:26
  Let's get into today's show.
• 1:28
  The Austin Bergstrom International
• 1:30
  Airport will be undergoing a few
• 1:31
  changes in 2026.
• 1:33
  It's a story that KUT's
• 1:35
  transportation reporter, Nathan
• 1:36
  Bernier has been following.
• 1:38
  He was out at a press conference
• 1:39
  held at the airport this morning,
• 1:40
  and he's here in the studio with us
• 1:42
  now for an update.
• 1:43
  Howdy, Nathan. Hey, Jerry.
• 1:45
  So, take us back a little bit,
• 1:47
  I know this goes to August of last
• 1:48
  year, City Council approved an
• 1:50
  expansion to the airport, and also a
• 1:52
  new deal that made that expansion
• 1:53
  even bigger?
• 1:54
  Yeah. So basically what happened is
• 1:56
  this expansion really, it's been in
• 1:58
  the works for years.
• 1:59
  It got paused during COVID
• 2:01
  because, you know,
• 2:03
  because, and, uh,
• 2:06
  and then after COVID
• 2:07
  people started flying in
• 2:09
  droves. Yeah. Yeah.
• 2:10
  The numbers really went up.
• 2:11
  Yeah. And so they started the
• 2:12
  expansion, but they never really
• 2:13
  knew exactly how big
• 2:15
  the expansion would be.
• 2:17
  One of the biggest pieces of this is
• 2:19
  something called Concourse B,
• 2:21
  and this is a standalone facility.
• 2:23
  It's like a new building with at
• 2:25
  least 20 gates connected to the
• 2:26
  existing Barbara Jordan terminal by
• 2:28
  an underground pedestrian tunnel,
• 2:30
  and the renderings show a moving
• 2:31
  walkway, so, you know, it'll make it
• 2:33
  a little bit easier for you, Jerry.
• 2:34
  Yeah, yeah.
• 2:35
  But, so anyway, what
• 2:37
  happened late last year is
• 2:40
  the city finally
• 2:42
  negotiated 10-year
• 2:44
  lease agreements with the seven
• 2:45
  biggest carriers.
• 2:47
  At Austin Berksham International
• 2:48
  Airport, like those with the biggest
• 2:49
  presence, Southwest, Delta American,
• 2:53
  and those were finalized
• 2:55
  by the airlines in
• 2:57
  recent days.
• 2:59
  So those 10-year
• 3:01
  contracts give the
• 3:03
  city a couple things.
• 3:04
  Number one, a very clear idea
• 3:06
  of how much gate space
• 3:08
  these airlines are planning to lease
• 3:10
  over the next decade.
• 3:11
  And now this Concourse B, for
• 3:12
  example, that's slated to
• 3:14
  open in the early 2030s, so within
• 3:15
  the next decade.
• 3:17
  So it gave them how much an
• 3:19
  idea of exactly how much gate space
• 3:21
  we can get into that if you want to
• 3:22
  talk about specific airlines.
• 3:23
  I mean, Southwest is looking to
• 3:25
  perhaps more than double its
• 3:26
  presence.
• 3:27
  The second thing it did is it gave
• 3:29
  the city the ability
• 3:31
  to borrow against that,
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  those contracts.
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  So the airport expansion, it's
• 3:36
  now pegged at over $5 billion.
• 3:39
  City doesn't have that.
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  And this money, by the way, does not
• 3:41
  come from property tax.
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  I was gonna ask you, where does it
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  come from?
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  So it comes from loans that
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  are repaid with airport revenue.
• 3:49
  Now, and some of it is paid up
• 3:51
  front, it's not all loans.
• 3:51
  Some of this is like literally, you
• 3:53
  know, the airport takes in a lot of
• 3:54
  money. They charge the airlines,
• 3:55
  they make a ton of money from
• 3:57
  parking. So you can think about that
• 3:58
  every time you stay in the red
• 3:59
  garage for a few nights, you're
• 4:01
  helping for the airport expenses.
• 4:02
  Especially after the holidays.
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  So, so that, so now it's all coming
• 4:06
  together. And today they finally
• 4:08
  said, this is exactly
• 4:09
  how many gates we are planning to
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  open and the number is,
• 4:13
  you wanted me to say it?
• 4:16
  32 gates.
• 4:17
  Now that's not all concourse B.
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  So this is something that, uh,
• 4:21
  people may be less familiar with
• 4:22
  concourse M.
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  So concourse, B I told you about
• 4:24
  that. That's going to have a
• 4:26
  20.
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  Six gates, 26 gates,
• 4:30
  Concourse B, we didn't know that
• 4:31
  until today, they're going to open
• 4:33
  with 26 gates most of those are
• 4:34
  going to southwest, they are going
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  be the new anchor tenant of
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  Concourse b, then there's something
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  called Concourse M, M stands
• 4:41
  for midfield, so this is like
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  a pre-manu, the
• 4:44
  term the airport official used with
• 4:46
  me was pre-engineered, a building,
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  basically they're gonna put a
• 4:49
  building in the middle of
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  the airfield And you'll get to it by
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  going down to gate 13 in the Barbara
• 4:55
  Jordan terminal, hopping on a bus,
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  taking a three to five minute bus
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  ride to Concourse
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  M. And that's gonna have six gates.
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  Some of them will be kind of like
• 5:03
  the south terminal now where you
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  literally walk onto the airfield and
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  like walk up a flight of stairs to
• 5:08
  get on your plane.
• 5:09
  There'll be a couple, some of them
• 5:10
  we'll have actual jet bridges like
• 5:12
  the tube, the tunnel you walk
• 5:13
  through to get onto the plane.
• 5:15
  But right now they don't have any
• 5:16
  airlines committed to Concource M.
• 5:18
  Their initial plan is to use it for
• 5:19
  like flight diversions or maybe
• 5:21
  charter flights. And they hope
• 5:22
  that they can convince.
• 5:24
  Airlines, this is something you want
• 5:25
  to use. Now, Allegianton Frontier
• 5:26
  are currently in the South Terminal,
• 5:28
  which is going to close in the
• 5:29
  spring, so they can knock it down
• 5:31
  and make space for more
• 5:33
  taxiways.
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  So maybe Allegiantont Frontier will
• 5:35
  operate there? I don't know.
• 5:37
  I asked an airport official back
• 5:38
  today. They said, you know, no one's
• 5:40
  committed yet. So right now,
• 5:41
  Allegentont Frontiers are going to
• 5:42
  be just in the Jordan terminal, as
• 5:44
  far as we know, as we know for now.
• 5:45
  Okay, well, we have been speaking
• 5:46
  with KUT's transportation reporter,
• 5:48
  Nathan Bernier. As I said, he was
• 5:49
  out at the airport today.
• 5:50
  He's gonna have more coming up later
• 5:52
  on KUT.org and
• 5:54
  we will have that story in our show
• 5:56
  notes. Nathan, thanks for coming on
• 5:57
  the show.
• 5:57
  Glad to be here, Jerry, thank you.
• 6:03
  Alright, well central Texas cities
• 6:04
  get their water in a mix of
• 6:06
  ways. North of Austin, the Brushy
• 6:09
  Creek Regional Utility Authority
• 6:10
  just completed a major milestone in
• 6:12
  getting water to the residents of
• 6:13
  Leander, Round Rock, and Cedar Park.
• 6:16
  That's underground tunnels beneath
• 6:17
  Lake Travis.
• 6:18
  For more about this, we're speaking
• 6:19
  with KUT's Hays County reporter,
• 6:21
  Kailey Hunt.
• 6:22
  Kailey, thanks for coming on the
• 6:23
  show.
• 6:24
  Hey Jerry, how's it going?
• 6:25
  I'm doing pretty well, how are you?
• 6:27
  I'm good.
• 6:28
  Alright, so tell us about
• 6:30
  this project.
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  What is it and why was it
• 6:33
  implemented in the first place?
• 6:35
  Yeah, so you know it's really
• 6:37
  interesting. This project actually
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  dates back about 20 years,
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  all the way back to 2006-2007,
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  which is actually when the cities of
• 6:46
  Cedar Park, Leander, and Round Rock
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  came together to form the Brushy
• 6:50
  Creek Regional Utility Authority,
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  or as you might known as the BCRUAs,
• 6:55
  people say.
• 6:56
  Much simpler.
• 6:57
  And, yes, so,
• 6:59
  and what they
• 7:01
  decided was that these cities
• 7:03
  together was that they needed a
• 7:05
  safe and reliable, but more
• 7:07
  importantly, cost-effective way to
• 7:09
  supply water from Lake Travis to
• 7:12
  these three fast-growing cities.
• 7:14
  And so that was
• 7:16
  priority number one.
• 7:18
  Second, as we've gone through
• 7:20
  the years, we've had some terrible
• 7:21
  droughts, right? We've covered that
• 7:23
  quite a bit at KUT.
• 7:24
  Mm-hmm. So the other part of
• 7:26
  it was they needed to make sure that
• 7:28
  they were constructing a system that
• 7:30
  would be quote drought resilient
• 7:32
  right allow them to continue
• 7:34
  to draw water from Lake Travis even
• 7:36
  when those water levels drop.
• 7:38
  Yeah, so now that they have these
• 7:40
  tunnels underneath Lake Travis,
• 7:42
  that's how they are planning to get
• 7:43
  their water. A few more steps to
• 7:45
  come, we're going to talk about
• 7:46
  that. First I want to ask, how do
• 7:47
  they get their water right now?
• 7:50
  Yeah, so that's perfect.
• 7:51
  You kind of need to know how we're
• 7:53
  currently getting our water to kind
• 7:54
  of understand how this new system
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  is really going to help us out.
• 7:58
  Mm-hmm.
• 7:59
  So currently the cities of
• 8:01
  Leander, Cedar Park and Round Rock
• 8:02
  use what are called floating barges,
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  which is like those big like flat
• 8:06
  bottomed boats and ships
• 8:08
  that you often see.
• 8:10
  And so we have these barges that are
• 8:12
  located all throughout Lake Travis
• 8:13
  and they have these pumps that
• 8:15
  are attached to the bottom.
• 8:17
  And that's how we actually pump
• 8:19
  water from the lakes and then those
• 8:20
  are connected to the pipelines that
• 8:22
  go to our water treatment plants.
• 8:24
  So.
• 8:26
  The problem with these barges
• 8:27
  though, Jerry, is that during
• 8:28
  extreme droughts they
• 8:30
  can actually sink and
• 8:32
  bottom out and at
• 8:35
  that point they're only gonna be
• 8:36
  pumping out sand and not water.
• 8:40
  So the idea is
• 8:41
  that with these new tunnels and by
• 8:44
  drawing water from deeper parts of
• 8:46
  Lake Travis, we won't have to
• 8:48
  worry about that during droughts.
• 8:50
  We'll still be able to continue to
• 8:51
  pump water just because we're in a
• 8:53
  deeper part of the lake.
• 8:55
  Okay, that makes sense.
• 8:56
  So tell us, as I said, this is a
• 8:58
  major milestone that these tunnels
• 8:59
  are completed, but there are still
• 9:01
  steps to be taken.
• 9:03
  What is the next one?
• 9:05
  Yeah, so again,
• 9:07
  really significant amount of work.
• 9:08
  This is a five year project.
• 9:10
  It started in 2022.
• 9:12
  So we're about three and a half
• 9:13
  years in now.
• 9:15
  They've completed all the
• 9:16
  underground components.
• 9:17
  So that was a big milestone.
• 9:19
  Still to be completed though is
• 9:21
  a big pump station which is
• 9:23
  gonna be able to pump all of this
• 9:25
  water.
• 9:25
  Mm-hmm.
• 9:26
  Back to our cities in Leander Cedar
• 9:28
  Park and Round Rock.
• 9:29
  And apparently Jerry is so big that
• 9:31
  they had to get these pump
• 9:33
  parts like custom made in
• 9:35
  Spain. So we have that
• 9:37
  to look forward to.
• 9:39
  And then also on top of that too,
• 9:41
  the BCRUA is also concurrently
• 9:43
  doing an expansion of its water
• 9:45
  treatment plant.
• 9:47
  So, you know, right now we're
• 9:47
  talking about drawing water from the
• 9:49
  lake. Well, that water isn't
• 9:51
  necessarily clean or ready to drink.
• 9:53
  So that's where the water treatment
• 9:54
  plan comes in.
• 9:55
  So. With the expansion of that,
• 9:57
  then the cities will see more
• 9:58
  available clean and treated water
• 10:01
  available as we go forward into the
• 10:02
  future.
• 10:03
  Excellent. Well, we have been
• 10:04
  speaking with KUT's Hayes County
• 10:06
  reporter, Kailey Hunt.
• 10:08
  We're going to have a link to her
• 10:09
  reporting in the show notes and over
• 10:11
  at kut.org
• 10:13
  slash signal.
• 10:14
  Kailey, thanks for talking with us.
• 10:16
  Have a great day.
• 10:17
  Thanks, Jerry, you too.
• 10:22
  And thank you for spending part of
• 10:23
  your Wednesday here with listener
• 10:25
  powered public radio.
• 10:26
  This is Austin Signal on
• 10:29
  KUT News.
• 10:30
  We're coming up on a break and after
• 10:33
  the break, you know, we've been
• 10:34
  talking all week long about
• 10:36
  resolutions and making yourself a
• 10:37
  little bit better.
• 10:39
  Perhaps you've given up alcohol to
• 10:40
  start 2026.
• 10:42
  That doesn't mean that your relaxing
• 10:44
  drink should be a blah one.
• 10:46
  We're going to have ways to spice it
• 10:48
  up, spruce it up and jazz up
• 10:49
  2026 that's coming up next.
• 10:52
  And it's right here on Austin
• 10:53
  Signal.
• 11:00
  This is Austin Signal, thank you
• 11:01
  for tuning in today.
• 11:03
  We are completing the first full
• 11:05
  week of 2026 today
• 11:07
  and for many of you out there, it
• 11:09
  might mean day seven without any
• 11:11
  alcohol.
• 11:11
  Now you've probably heard of dry
• 11:13
  January by now.
• 11:15
  Abstaining from drinking during the
• 11:16
  first month of the year has been on
• 11:18
  an upward trend recently, but
• 11:20
  for some this one month stint
• 11:21
  can also kick off the idea of a
• 11:23
  much longer break.
• 11:25
  And some folks are choosing to stop
• 11:26
  altogether and for many
• 11:28
  different reasons.
• 11:30
  And as more people are choosing to
• 11:32
  avoid alcohol, options for
• 11:33
  non-drinkers are also expanding
• 11:35
  beyond sodas and sparkling waters.
• 11:37
  Here to tell us more and share a
• 11:39
  few mocktail recipes, we're talking
• 11:41
  with Chris Marshall.
• 11:42
  He is the founder and owner of Sands
• 11:44
  Bar, an alcohol-free cocktail bar
• 11:46
  here in downtown Austin.
• 11:47
  Chris, thanks for joining us here on
• 11:49
  Austin Signal.
• 11:50
  Jerry, thank you so much for having
• 11:51
  me. We are glad to have you here,
• 11:53
  and we're excited to get these
• 11:55
  recipes. But before we start there,
• 11:57
  just because you're taking alcohol
• 11:59
  out of the equation doesn't
• 12:00
  necessarily mean that a nice
• 12:02
  relaxing beverage has to be
• 12:04
  a blah, right?
• 12:06
  Absolutely. I think there's a
• 12:07
  misconception around non-alcoholic
• 12:09
  beverages. People think that it can
• 12:10
  just be either soda,
• 12:13
  water, or just a sugar bomb.
• 12:15
  And I really do believe that adults
• 12:16
  deserve adult beverages that
• 12:18
  taste elevated and interesting.
• 12:21
  And that's, I think that's the
• 12:23
  beauty of Dry January.
• 12:24
  It gives everyone an opportunity to
• 12:25
  try something new.
• 12:26
  Yeah. And tell us a little bit about
• 12:27
  Sands Bar. How long have y'all been
• 12:29
  operating in Austin?
• 12:30
  Nine years.
• 12:31
  This is coming up on nine years
• 12:33
  and so we started off in East Austin
• 12:35
  a couple years ago and then moved
• 12:37
  downtown about three or four
• 12:39
  years ago and it's just
• 12:41
  been a remarkable journey
• 12:43
  just to watch this idea that
• 12:45
  I had a couple of years ago of
• 12:46
  non-alcoholic beverages really
• 12:48
  Transform into something that I've
• 12:50
  been able to start here and take off
• 12:52
  over the world.
• 13:16
  It's been really interesting to
• 13:18
  watch when I was
• 13:20
  in college, I definitely
• 13:21
  participated in alcoholic beverage
• 13:24
  consumption.
• 13:26
  And as I've
• 13:28
  run Sands Bar and just been out in
• 13:30
  the community, it's amazing to see
• 13:31
  how many people come into the
• 13:33
  bar and they're really excited about
• 13:35
  trying really great drinks.
• 13:37
  I think there's just a
• 13:39
  move away from.
• 13:42
  Socializing that's centered around
• 13:43
  alcohol. I think alcohol will always
• 13:45
  be a part of social life and
• 13:47
  we're not prohibitionist by any
• 13:49
  stretch of the imagination, but we
• 13:51
  do observe so
• 13:53
  many people who are just interested
• 13:54
  in a life without
• 13:56
  putting alcohol in the center of
• 13:58
  their socializing.
• 13:59
  And Austinites certainly enjoy
• 14:02
  going out and enjoying themselves
• 14:03
  with a nice drink, a nice meal,
• 14:05
  and doesn't mean that alcohol
• 14:07
  has to be part of that equation.
• 14:09
  So speaking of that, let's
• 14:11
  transition and talk a little bit
• 14:12
  about the recipes that you brought
• 14:14
  us today to share with
• 14:16
  our listeners. Let's start with the
• 14:17
  first one. What do you got for us?
• 14:19
  All right, I got a sage blueberry
• 14:21
  gin and tonic.
• 14:21
  Okay, that doesn't sound boring at
• 14:23
  all, you know? It doesn't sounds
• 14:24
  like, no disrespect to sparkling
• 14:26
  waters, I love my sparkling waters.
• 14:27
  But sometimes they'll just be like,
• 14:29
  lemon. Lemon Lime.
• 14:30
  Say that again?
• 14:32
  The sage and blueberry gin.
• 14:33
  Gin and tonic.
• 14:34
  Okay. So what is in that?
• 14:36
  So the first thing is a
• 14:37
  non-alcoholic spirit. I think that
• 14:38
  that's a really important thing to
• 14:39
  just kind of note off the top, that
• 14:40
  there are a lot of great non-
• 14:43
  alcoholic spirits that kind of
• 14:44
  mimic the flavor of
• 14:46
  spirits.
• 14:47
  There's a lot great nonalcoholics
• 14:49
  wines that do the same thing, that
• 14:50
  have the same
• 14:52
  profile that you would expect in a
• 14:54
  traditional wine without the
• 14:56
  alcohol. So this is a kind
• 14:58
  of a play on a gin and a tonic, we
• 14:59
  have some blueberry
• 15:01
  sage Simple Syrup
• 15:04
  We have a non-alcoholic
• 15:06
  gin and tonic water.
• 15:07
  So think of your G&T, give it a
• 15:09
  little bit of sage, that earthiness
• 15:10
  and just a bit of sweet on the
• 15:12
  blueberry. It really is a nice
• 15:14
  kind of spring to summer
• 15:16
  drink here in Austin.
• 15:17
  Yeah.
• 15:18
  Feels very fragrant,
• 15:20
  you know, I can smell that
• 15:21
  blueberry, I'm almost being
• 15:23
  crushed in the drink, it sounds
• 15:25
  delicious.
• 15:26
  Okay, let's go to the second one,
• 15:28
  what do you have for us there?
• 15:29
  So if you do like a little bit sweet
• 15:31
  and I'm a person who's kind of
• 15:33
  partial to sweet drinks.
• 15:34
  I think that there's nothing wrong
• 15:35
  with a little bit of natural
• 15:37
  sugar. So this one is
• 15:39
  something you can make today.
• 15:41
  You can go home and probably have
• 15:42
  the ingredients at home.
• 15:43
  It is what we call the lady bird.
• 15:45
  Whoa, that sounds good and sounds
• 15:46
  very Austin very okay.
• 15:48
  What what what do you what do we
• 15:50
  need to make that one?
• 15:51
  So for the ladybird, we have
• 15:53
  muddled strawberry, three
• 15:54
  or four sprigs of mint,
• 15:56
  half ounce of lime.
• 15:58
  I'm going to muddle that up really
• 16:00
  good. Throw some ice on top and
• 16:02
  you can top it with either club soda
• 16:04
  or my favorite ginger beer.
• 16:06
  And that way you got this
• 16:08
  really interesting drink that's got
• 16:10
  the citrus, it's got the mint, it
• 16:12
  all kind of working together to
• 16:14
  give you something that's just more
• 16:16
  than your typical ginger
• 16:18
  beer
• 16:19
  Okay, well I gotta say,
• 16:21
  I can feel my stomach rumbling.
• 16:23
  The muddling of strawberries, just
• 16:24
  those words together sounds very
• 16:26
  good.
• 16:27
  But I do have another question for
• 16:29
  you, brought to
• 16:31
  mind by the name of the first drink.
• 16:33
  It has gin and tonic in the name,
• 16:35
  even though it is a mocktail.
• 16:37
  And getting ready to talk to you for
• 16:38
  today's episode, we realize here
• 16:40
  at the show that mocktail, there's a
• 16:42
  kind of, it's a topic of debate.
• 16:43
  What is the dispute there?
• 16:45
  Yeah, I think there's a lot of
• 16:46
  debate around the
• 16:48
  word mocktail because for
• 16:50
  a long time mocktail just
• 16:52
  meant juice and soda.
• 16:55
  And I think this idea
• 16:57
  that that is an infantilizing
• 17:00
  word to use.
• 17:01
  Now I personally believe in
• 17:03
  reclamation and reclaiming what
• 17:04
  words mean and I believe that we can
• 17:06
  make mocktail mean something
• 17:08
  interesting and complex.
• 17:10
  You know these these
• 17:12
  recipes that I've given you today.
• 17:13
  Some have the non-alcoholic spirit,
• 17:15
  some don't.
• 17:15
  But I do think that we can,
• 17:17
  you know, kind of remix it and say
• 17:19
  non-alkalic cocktail or in a
• 17:21
  cocktail. Those are okay things.
• 17:23
  But look, I'm okay with mocktail
• 17:24
  because when I go to a bar and I
• 17:26
  order a drink, I want to be very
• 17:27
  clear that I want something that
• 17:29
  doesn't alcohol.
• 17:31
  All right, well I have one last
• 17:33
  question before you get
• 17:34
  out of here today.
• 17:35
  You mentioned that you're no
• 17:37
  prohibitionist by any stretch of
• 17:39
  the imagination, you used to partake
• 17:41
  in alcohol and now you run Sands
• 17:43
  Bar, an alcohol free cocktail
• 17:45
  bar.
• 17:46
  What is a piece of advice you would
• 17:48
  give to somebody who's trying to
• 17:49
  abstain from alcohol, maybe just for
• 17:51
  January, but who knows,
• 17:53
  like I said, maybe it'll grow into
• 17:55
  something bigger than that.
• 17:56
  Yeah, I would just say, approach it
• 17:58
  with curiosity.
• 17:59
  See what this month means to you.
• 18:01
  We have alcohol
• 18:03
  part of every part
• 18:05
  of our lives, right?
• 18:06
  From sports to socializing
• 18:08
  to philanthropy, right.
• 18:10
  Alcohol is everywhere.
• 18:11
  And just imagine what your life
• 18:13
  looks like when you remove alcohol.
• 18:15
  If you try to go
• 18:17
  on a break and you realize it's
• 18:19
  harder than you thought, that's just
• 18:21
  information.
• 18:22
  That's just your body and your brain
• 18:24
  saying that hey, I may lean on
• 18:26
  alcohol more than I realize.
• 18:28
  And if that's the case, there's
• 18:29
  always resources.
• 18:30
  But I believe that everyone can
• 18:32
  enjoy a great non-alcoholic drink
• 18:34
  and I enjoy having
• 18:36
  friends who do both, right?
• 18:38
  I think that there's just no shame
• 18:39
  or stigma in your
• 18:42
  relationship with alcohol.
• 18:43
  Excellent, we have been speaking
• 18:44
  with Chris Marshall, the founder
• 18:46
  and owner of Sands Bar, that's an
• 18:48
  alcoholic-free cocktail bar in
• 18:50
  downtown Austin.
• 18:51
  Chris, thanks so much for the
• 18:52
  recipes and for your time today.
• 18:54
  Thank you.
• 18:59
  This is Austin Signal.
• 19:01
  Thank you for spending part of your
• 19:02
  Wednesday right here with
• 19:04
  us. Let's talk a little live music
• 19:06
  now.
• 19:08
  Music in general, actually.
• 19:09
  Here to help us out is our friend,
• 19:10
  Maile Carballo from our sister
• 19:12
  station, KUTX.
• 19:13
  Howdy Maile. Hey.
• 19:14
  Hey Jerry, happy Love Austin Music
• 19:16
  Month!
• 19:16
  Happy Love Austin Music Month
• 19:18
  to you. I think that's why live
• 19:19
  music was on the brain, you know?
• 19:21
  Oh yeah. But before we talk live
• 19:22
  music, because I know we got a lot
• 19:24
  of cool live music happening this
• 19:25
  weekend here in Austin,
• 19:28
  KUTX started off the new year with
• 19:29
  some great news, lots of recognition
• 19:31
  and some nominations.
• 19:33
  Tell us about this poll.
• 19:34
  Absolutely.
• 19:35
  So what's happening right now?
• 19:36
  A little love. It's Love Austin
• 19:37
  Music Month, but the Austin
• 19:39
  Chronicle also just put out their
• 19:41
  44th annual Austin
• 19:43
  Music Awards Poll Nominations,
• 19:45
  nominated by just a
• 19:47
  slew of industry professionals,
• 19:49
  myself included, but-
• 19:51
  Oh, wow, humble brag.
• 19:53
  Yeah.
• 19:53
  I'm over right there.
• 19:54
  No, I'm kidding, but
• 19:55
  Well that's why we bring you on,
• 19:57
  because you are an industry expert,
• 19:58
  you know?
• 19:58
  That's precisely the reason
• 20:00
  why.
• 20:01
  But yeah, KUTX has gotten a lot of
• 20:03
  love alongside just amazing,
• 20:05
  amazing people in the industry.
• 20:08
  KUTx is nominated for best
• 20:10
  radio station.
• 20:11
  I believe Taylor Wallace also has a
• 20:13
  nomination for best Radio
• 20:14
  Personality.
• 20:15
  Mark Fort also, who is
• 20:17
  also on co-op radio.
• 20:19
  So just a city full of a lot radio
• 20:21
  love right now.
• 20:22
  Absolutely and also some
• 20:24
  love for our audio engineer Jake
• 20:25
  Perlman, you know, Jake, you don't
• 20:28
  hear his work a lot But you hear him
• 20:30
  as an underwriter.
• 20:31
  You know his voice real smooth.
• 20:33
  Yeah. Yeah, and there is a real a
• 20:36
  Huge recognition a Susan Castle.
• 20:38
  What is she up for?
• 20:39
  Susan Castle, you know her, you love
• 20:41
  her, she's up for the Austin
• 20:43
  Music Industry Hall of Fame.
• 20:45
  So yeah, personally, I would love to
• 20:47
  see her in there because she
• 20:48
  deserves it just to the moon
• 20:50
  and back. I love that woman.
• 20:52
  But yeah, there's over 53 categories
• 20:55
  in the poll right now, anything from
• 20:56
  best band of the year, radio station
• 20:58
  to miscellaneous instrument
• 21:00
  player. So all of the recognition
• 21:02
  for all the great people out there.
• 21:04
  Yeah, we would love to see that
• 21:05
  recognition for Susan.
• 21:06
  We are lucky at KUTX to
• 21:08
  have had quite a few music
• 21:10
  industry hall of famers, Jay
• 21:12
  Trachtenberg and all these other
• 21:14
  folks.
• 21:15
  So how do people actually vote?
• 21:17
  Absolutely, so you can actually open
• 21:19
  up a physical copy of the Chronicle
• 21:21
  and scan a QR code.
• 21:23
  I know, I wish you could cast
• 21:25
  a ballot.
• 21:26
  Send in a ballot, yeah.
• 21:27
  Right?
• 21:27
  Right? But you can actually, at
• 21:29
  Free Week this weekend, they are
• 21:31
  having a show and you can cast your
• 21:32
  ballot in person.
• 21:33
  But if you are on the interwebs,
• 21:35
  just as a normal person does on
• 21:37
  their day-to-day, you can casting
• 21:39
  your vote at vote.austincronicle.com
• 21:42
  Excellent. Well, get out there and
• 21:43
  vote. I believe you don't have to
• 21:45
  vote in all of them, right?
• 21:46
  I believe like 25 maybe to get
• 21:48
  like a chance at winning a South by
• 21:50
  something like that.
• 21:51
  Yeah, so if you do vote in over
• 21:53
  25 or more, you do get your
• 21:55
  name entered, your email entered to
• 21:57
  win a 2026 music
• 21:59
  wristband for South By.
• 22:00
  Okay, well we have about 20 seconds
• 22:02
  left. Do you have your free week
• 22:03
  plan ready for this weekend?
• 22:05
  I do. I will be seeing Tear
• 22:07
  Dungeon on Thursday, which is an
• 22:08
  unofficial free week show, but
• 22:10
  Mohawk, it's going to be great, and
• 22:11
  of course the KUTX show on Friday.
• 22:13
  Absolutely, we had the KUTX
• 22:15
  Morning Drive Time host, Taylor
• 22:16
  Wallace, in with us on Monday to
• 22:19
  talk about the KU-TX Showcase
• 22:20
  and a few more of her
• 22:22
  recommendations.
• 22:23
  You can listen to that over at
• 22:24
  kut.org slash
• 22:26
  signal. And we have been speaking
• 22:28
  with Maile Carballo from KUTX.
• 22:30
  Maile, thank you for your time.
• 22:31
  Thank you, Jerry.
• 22:33
  And thank you out there for spending
• 22:34
  part of your day here with Austin
• 22:37
  Signal.
• 22:37
  That's it for today's show.
• 22:39
  We'll be back tomorrow and we'll
• 22:41
  talk to you then.
• 22:42
  Kristen Cabrera is our managing
• 22:44
  producer and Rayna Sevilla
• 22:46
  is our technical director.
• 22:48
  I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
• 22:50
  Talk to you then.