New senior director of live music and entertainment, Andy Langer aims to revive UT’s live music and entertainment scene

Thirty years after earning his degree, Andy Langer, a journalism alumnus from the class of '94, returns to the University as the senior director of live music and entertainment. Langer said this role entails bridging the wider Austin music scene to the campus through music-focused initiatives.

Before joining UT staff, he hosted "Austin City Limits Radio," served as a writer for Texas Monthly and spent 15 years as the music editor for Esquire. Hired with a full-time position this year, Langer sat down with The Daily Texan to talk about his plans to shape the future of live music on campus.

The Daily Texan: You've had an impressive and varied career across media. How do you see those experiences shaping your role as senior director of live music and entertainment at UT Austin?

Andy Langer: This campus has a rich history of being part of the Austin music scene, and the city itself is the live music capital of the world. The music industry itself is a relatively small and insular thing, and I am part of that on a national level. What I can do is leverage everything I know about the outside world and help bring those two things together. Everything I do is designed to connect those dots.

DT: What specific partnerships can the UT community expect from your efforts to intertwine Austin's music scene with campus life?

AL: (On Monday), we launched the concert club with the Moody Center. Using your (UT) EID, you'll be able to log into a site and you'll receive an email with a code. Then on select Fridays, you'll get an offer for heavily discounted tickets at the Moody Center. This is important because concerts are expensive. Students have largely been priced out. So for shows where they have inventory left, they'll work with the artists and their management teams to offer ... discounted tickets to students.

Two weeks ago, I brought Andre 3000 to campus, and Andre 3000 has a flute record, as we know. André 3000 spent an hour and 15 minutes talking to the 18 flute majors. The night before, we bought them tickets to see him perform at ACL Live, and the next day, André spoke with them. He went over to the football stadium and got a new jersey from Sarkisian. The football team will remember him walking down their hallways for the rest of their lives.

DT: Looking forward, what are some specific goals you'd like to accomplish in your first year in this role?

AL: The goals and landmarks (I have) are to connect the cultures of the campus and the city, and that's pretty measurable. What's immeasurable is what happens when you're one of those flute students who learn directly from André 3000 or have a conversation about the flute with him — that's immeasurable. What that student experienced is something that's not going to happen anywhere else. I'm not saying it's not going to happen elsewhere because they don't have me, but I am saying we can make that kind of thing happen here.