JAMBALOO, a music-industry philanthropy initiative funded by Mullen & Mullen Injury Law, is set to announce details of its next Free Week festival and Music Prize competition on September 22, along with additional programs supporting the Dallas-Fort Worth music community. The initiative was founded by personal injury lawyer Joe Morrison and music production manager Corey Pond in response to venue closures and eroding infrastructure for local artists in the region.
Since launching just over a year ago, JAMBALOO has run a weeklong Free Week festival featuring more than 100 artists across 30 venues, established a $20,000 prize to help keep an independent venue open, and created an annual $20,000 prize for DFW’s best independent album. The initiative also launched JAMBALOO.live, a year-round outlet covering the region’s independent music scene, and received the 2025 Obelisk Award for Best New Arts Initiative, according to the announcement.
Organizers describe JAMBALOO as an alternative to one-off event sponsorships, aiming instead to fund interconnected parts of the local music ecosystem, including venues, artists, education, mental health support and journalism.
Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Jim Capalbo, capcopr.net.