Texas Cowboys puts on first Harvest Moon Festival since return to campus
Bouncy country tunes echoed through the air on a cool Thursday night at Republic Square Park in the heart of downtown Austin. Rows of cowboy boots and hats assembled in front of the stage as the June Shine band tuned their guitars and fiddle, getting ready to open for the Randy Rogers Band during the Texas Cowboys' Harvest Moon Festival.
While a tradition for the century-old spirit group known for launching the cannon at football games, this year marked the first Harvest Moon Festival since the Cowboys returned to campus after a six-year suspension due to hazing violations. Mitchell Greenberg, Texas Cowboy and chairman of the festival, said the Cowboys hope to redefine the organization's away from its past mistakes by refocusing on serving the community, in which Harvest Moon plays a major role as the organization's largest fundraiser.
"When we were the first class back, we did an extensive amount of work with the University ... figuring out how ... we wanted to envision (the) Cowboys for the next 100 years," finance senior Greenberg said. "Our commitment to service ... is how the Cowboys are changing the narrative going forward."
Profits from the Harvest Moon Festival went to the Cowboys' main philanthropy, UT Elementary — a charter school that serves underprivileged kids. With about 1,500 tickets sold at over $35 each, the Cowboys far exceeded their fundraising goal of $25,000. Texas Cowboys President Connor Heath, a quantitative finance senior, said generating enough donations and ticket sales proved difficult given the foundational gap left by the probation — but with creativity and effort, the Cowboys made it work.
"Making a sizable donation to UT Elementary was tough because it was a really big goal," Heath said. "It used to be a lot easier in the past because this was done every year. People knew what it was. It was kind of just an expected thing."
Previous Harvest Moon festivals, hosted every fall, boasted artists such as Willie Nelson, Parker McCollum and Pat Greene. The June Shine Band, whose members consist of UT students, opened for Randy Rogers. The band's singer and guitarist J.R. Chambers said the band never played for a bigger or more fun crowd than the one at Harvest Moon. He said he feels honored to perform at the festival given its iconic past artists.
"It's a win-win for us because we get to go and help out ... but we also get to get some exposure and to play for a big crowd like that," economics senior Chambers said.
Greenberg and Heath were a part of the first Cowboys class returning four years ago. The organization only had 25 members at the time, but now boasts 75. Greenberg said he saw this year's Harvest Moon as a significant milestone for the group and a product of the Cowboys' hard work to rebuild the organization.
"Getting to enjoy the fruits of the hard labor and having a blast at an awesome event with a great band was a special moment for all the members of the Cowboys, but definitely for the first class back," Greenberg said. "Extending the legacy that has come before us, upholding our core values going forward, and doing it through the lens of Harvest Moon was very, very cool."
