BLACK ARTISTS ROCK
is more than entertainment — it’s a lifeline, a history, and a promise to the future. We create intentional stages where Black artistry is celebrated in its fullness, from the deep cultural roots that shaped it, to the fearless truth it speaks, to the undeniable soul that moves audiences everywhere.
Founded in 2024, Scott Strickland created and hosts Black Artists Rock in collaboation with A&J Presents to fill a critical gap in today’s music scene — a need for intentional representation, visibility, and equity for Black musicians of all genres. Our mission is to elevate and celebrate Black artistry through curated performances, cultural storytelling, and meaningful partnerships. Our vision is a future where Black artists are recognized, supported, and heard — in Austin, across Texas, and around North America.
MEET THE ARTISTS
POET HAWKINS
PERFORMING SEPTEMBER 17, 2025
The sound of a heart breaking, and slowly put itself back together.
It takes bravery to write with the kind of threadbare honesty Poet Hawkins achieves in his songs. His voice is like silk and his words are as sharp a word; each line and melody carved meticulously to pierce the heart. He approaches music as a man untouched by the current relentlessness of our increasingly fast paced world; he bids the listener to slow his or her mind to a pace where it becomes possible to hear, to feel, and love.
CHERRI
PERFORMING OCTOBER 15, 2025
CHERRI is a fresh wave of Alt-Pop, R&B, and Afrobeat splashing into the music scene with her unforgettable grooves.
Her love of music began after being exposed to her mother’s (Tameca Jones’) performances and extensive musical library at an early age. She delved into the world of musical greats like D’Angelo, Sade, Anita Baker, and smaller artists like DEAN and Nick Hakim. She combines her favorite genres to spread her infectious and unique sound.
She is a singer/guitarist who shines on stage; when she closes her eyes and sings, it is difficult not to move to the rhythm of her memorable choruses. A heartfelt ballad, an airy mood, invigorating dance tracks – there is little she is not capable of in terms of song diversity.
Her prominence is quickly growing in the music capitol of Austin, Texas. She has performed at well-known and popular venues like Antone’s Night Club, Sofar Sounds, 3TEN Austin City Limits, The Pershing, and more.
With sweet vocals and a vivid electric guitar, CHERRI is a new sensation that is destined to send ripples across the world of music.
TREY PRIVOTT (LOS COAST)
PERFORMING NOVEMBER 19, 2O25
“Austin’s best-kept secret goes national with this year’s Samsara, a debut filled with psychedelic, pop-heavy soul.” – Rolling Stone
On Samsara, Los Coast fuses psychedelic-pop-soul with a fearless blend of funk, blues, garage rock, and more. Led by Trey Privott’s dynamic vocals and John Courtney’s shape-shifting guitar and keys, the Austin five-piece delivers music that’s impossible to pin down but impossible to ignore.
The critics agree: NPR praises their “eclectic range of jazz, soul, rock ’n’ roll, and punk influences” and the way they “get your heart rate up and set your booty for ‘shake’ in no time.” Garden & Gun calls their tunes “easy-to-love, hard-to-categorize,” while the Associated Press hails Privott’s voice as the common thread “fitting every style the band tries on… with unyielding intensity.”
From the funk-fueled sing-along “Monsters” to the sun-kissed synth-funk of “Graves” and the soulful garage-rock of “Battles,” Samsara is, as PopMatters puts it, “far-reaching and deeply imaginative,” recalling “the electric soul power of Curtis Mayfield” and “the psychedelic reach of Arthur Lee’s Love.”
It’s a debut that Glide Magazine calls “more than auspicious… a monster,” and JamBase praises as “uplifting psychedelic funk” with “remarkable, infectious, foot-stomping grooves.”
Formed in 2015, Los Coast cut their teeth with a packed weekly residency at C-Boy’s in Austin before exploding onto the festival circuit with Austin City Limits. Today, they’re a national act with a local soul — and a sound built to surprise.