There may be nothing more symbolic of campus culture at big American universities than a college football weekend.
The pomp, the circumstance, the parties, and of course, the big game itself, unify the community with a spirit and an electricity that is hard to replicate elsewhere.
But the arts, especially music, come close.
Later Saturday, as No. 1 Ohio State invades the Lone Star State to take on No. 4 Texas in the most marquee Week 2 matchup in the country, OutKick University’s Game Of The Week, students on campus in Austin will be revved up for some great football.
Music from the marching band, and from tailgating parties will be a big part of the festivities.
And the music won’t stop there.
If they want to keep the groove going for a post-game party on Sunday, Texas students are welcome, as they are every Sunday, to stop by Anna Buendia’s house, which is affectionately known as “The Lodge,” located off Pearl Street on West Campus.
University of Texas students, including Anna Buendia, center with black shirt and no instrument, gather for daily jam sessions at Buendia’s house, known as “The Lodge.” (Anna Buendia)
“The Lodge” is where music happens every day, and especially on Sundays, when musicians play all day long and free food is provided to anyone who stops by.
“It’s Austin, so music’s everywhere ,” Buendia said. “It’s a densely art-rich city to be in, and just finding a microculture within it has been so wonderful. “
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Buendia, a Texas native who has been either writing or performing music since she was 16, is one of five roommates at “The Lodge.” All of the roommates in the rented home, steps from the heart of campus, are musicians who love to write music, play music and perform music together.
And, as a way to spread their love of music, they have opened up their home, which is equipped with all kinds of instruments and equipment, to other Texas students for free jam sessions, rehearsals, writing sessions and even more slickly produced ticketed performances.
The program that Buendia created is called “Meet Me Here.” As in, meet me here…to make music (or just listen to it).
“I kind of became obsessed with understanding the creative processes of the musicians around me,” Buendia, a 21-year-old senior public relations major said. “Everyone has a really interesting process to their work. What I wanted to do was, it started out of my bedroom, and so that was the concept (to) meet me in my creative sanctuary. And I wanted to meet the artists in their creative plane to understand the processes for their works. And I kept saying that. I kept saying, I just want them to meet me here, meet me here. That’s how that started. Meet me here.”
In the living room of “The Lodge,” Buendia says that there are 20 guitars, two drum sets and a sound system. Students will reserve their “Meet Me Here” space to practice their songs, to play with others, to have fun.
Students at the University of Texas jam out at “The Lodge,” the home of student Anna Buendia, who has created a space for daily jam sessions and musical events. (Anna Buendia)
“Our whole living room is perfect for a rehearsal space, and so daily, there’s rehearsals happening,” Buendia said. “Even when there’s not rehearsals happening, there’s music being made. Like yesterday, I had a small moment of bliss. I was just walking down my stairs, and I could hear my roommate upstairs recording a song, and two of my roommates downstairs, each learning and writing songs, like separate from each other, and it was just like, wow, like it’s really awesome to see that.”
The house is also used for public performances, from small intimate gatherings any day of the week, to the outdoor Sunday staple that entertains and feeds the neighborhood in a block-party setting.
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“We do these ‘Meet Me Here’ tapings. Basically, it’s like a whole production,” Buendia said. “We bring a whole production crew, and the living room turns into a set, and we have an intimate audience of 25 to 30 people upstairs on our second-floor balcony. And we do a live taping of a local band, and it’s a very intimate event. Normally, ticket purchasers get a piece of physical media, and we try to keep the tickets as cheap as possible. Then the artist gets rights to all the audio and the video that we take, and all of that work from our production crew is done for free, just out of passion for the space and the artists that we’re highlighting.”
The Sunday Jams started as something small and casual, too. But they have evolved into a community outreach that includes clothing drives and other charitable initiatives.
On Sundays, University of Texas musicians who hang out at “The Lodge” not only make music, they eat FREE food, courtesy Anna Buendia and her roommates and the student organization “Student Solidarity Network.” (Anna Buendia)
“I started grilling hot dogs outside my house on Sundays, and putting my instruments outside with my roommates, and we would just do like free hot dogs, come jam with us. And it became like a consistent Sunday thing,” Buendia said. “I collaborated with a mutual aid organization founded by a good friend called the ‘Student Solidarity Network.’ They have helped us build just an incredible community of our neighbors that cook biweekly food for like 100 to 200 people. It’s a different menu every week. They bring laborers to help us move all the equipment outside and set up the stage. We do (clothing) drives, so if you have any clothes you need to donate, you can bring it to our house, and we have free piles and racks of clothes at every Sunday jam.
“It’s a biweekly block party. Anyone can come join, hop on the mic, on the drums, on the guitar, on the bass, eat, just sit there. There’s something happening here every single day, music related.”
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Buendia also sees friendships form and partnerships born. Students find bandmates and singing partners and learn from each other.
“I always like to hear a conversation when we start wrapping up where a musician asks someone that they just met that day, ‘Do you wanna come to my place and record a song? ’ And, and it’s always like, ‘Yes, of course,’ and then they come back next week together, and it’s just, it’s a really beautiful thing to watch. So there are opportunities. I think just like the same way connecting with anyone in any other way, there are opportunities to grow mutually.”
Now in her final year of college, Buendia has seen plenty of growth in herself. In all kinds of ways.
But she is convinced that her music, “Meet Me Here” and “The Lodge” are the biggest reasons she let down her guard and was able to maximize her college experience.
University of Texas students perform at “The Lodge.” (Anna Buendia)
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“Yesterday, I was reading through my old journals from my freshman year of high school talking about how I felt so lonely those first few months, and I was just thinking about if I was able to walk upon (Pearl) street on a Sunday, it would have done so much for me,” Buendia said. “It feels really beautiful that I’m able to be part of such a fruitful community that cares about each other and is interested in setting up events where people can be accepted and fed and clothed and walk away with a full belly, a new t-shirt, hopefully new shoes, pants, and, just knowing that they have somewhere where they belong. “
To check out the music at “The Lodge” at the University of Texas, follow Buendia and her “Meet Me Here” friends on social media.
Does your favorite college do music right? Let me know at: patricia.babcockmcgraw@outkick.com
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