AUSTIN, Texas — Twenty-five to life normally insinuates something bad, like prison time – in the yard. However, in the case of Ken Jackson – 25 to life insinuates his time in Texas, more specifically central Texas and Austin. Recently, I spent time with Ken and dug deep in Austin’s culture and music scene and how it has changed over the last few decades…and, just like you may have guessed – a lot has changed, but some things will always remain the same here in the Capital City.
What You Need To Know
- Ken is a native Texan through and through, and lived in Austin for more than 20 years
- Ken and his wife operate Austin Choice Reality
- Ken is a die-hard Rufus du Sol, Dom Dolla, and Foo Fighters fan
- Ken loves to see live music, both locally and in various venues throughout the country
I first met Ken at a Secret Disco Society rooftop event during SXSW at the Canopy Hotel, after which I spent some time learning more about him, his passions, and what makes Austin so unique.
Ken, a childhood native from Edinburg, Texas (think south, WAY south) attended Texas A&M University where he met his future wife, Keri. After graduation, Ken and his wife re-located to central Texas in 2004 as he had many family members here which led to an obvious choice of where to put down some roots. He and his wife operate Austin Choice Realty here locally, and Ken also build and develops websites through his web agency (Sort of like the Secret Disco Society site *Wink Wink*)
If you are like me, sometimes you wonder ‘Do the die-hard locals here in Austin REALLY like us transplants?’ – The short answer is, sort of – but Ken helped shine perspective on this. “You know, there are legit concerns about losing what makes Austin, Austin” Ken described “Austin still has that gritty music scene that everyone knows and loves, but with more styles of music coming in like EDM, there’s more options for folks and I think that’s truly a great thing!”.
Ken has a way with words that inspires you to see the silver lining of what he is articulating, with a friendly warning to remember what Austin is known for and, why some of us moved here. “The city has its own identity – and it will morph and evolve to change for the better. I’m happy the city has gotten the attention it has, and more and more artists and talented individuals are calling Austin home”.
Indeed Ken, everyone, say it with me – KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD!
It will come as no surprise then, that Ken and his wife are BIG music people. I mean BIG. “Yeah man music has always been part of our life. Even back when my wife and I were first dating, we loved going to concerts – back in the day that was mostly alternative rock, but now we take in a lot of EDM shows and festivals both here locally and all over as I’ve always had a passion for electronic music.” Ken detailed with enthusiasm. “Music’s always been a part of my life, having played the piano since I was 5!”
You can tell by listening to Ken talk about music that it runs deep to his core and is a big part of who he is and what he likes to do for fun. His passion and desire for live events evoked contagious excitement that will make you want to book a flight to a show and dance alongside him all night.
So, it’s no surprise that Ken and Secret Disco Society would cross paths.
“In my own friend circle, I really like to curate events and things to do”, Ken explained. “Through a mutual friend, I came across Tanner and Brooklyn and Secret Disco Society”. Ken continued to explain how much that sense of community resonated so deeply around what they were doing with Secret Disco Society. “I’ve always valued authenticity and being vulnerable, and gathering people across shared interests and passions is where it’s at – I love connecting with people and community is big for me.” He says. “Once I had a chance to sit down with Tanner after having attended some Secret Disco Society events, it all just resonated so well with me – I knew I wanted to help wherever I could and we bounced ideas about how we could bring the human element of the community, the artist, and venue to life, so I’m excited to be able to help any way I can and support the re-launch of the 2.0 version of SecretDiscoSociety.com”
I second that Ken, one of the best things about Secret Disco Society is just that, the society. Us. We. The People. It brings together all walks of life centered around one common love for music and events. When you see Ken at a future event, make sure to ask him about his love for EDM and all things live music – and I promise you, you will understand how truly special it is to him along with his love for this great city we all call home.