Supporting the People and Places That Keep DFW Music Moving
Mullen & Mullen launched its Music Project in 2024 because independent venues were closing and the people doing the work needed more than another sponsorship logo. What began as a 12-show concert series has grown into JAMBALOO: a free annual festival, two $20,000 prizes and a year-round platform built around music from Dallas–Fort Worth.
The idea is simple. Put real resources behind artists and venues. Bring more people through their doors. Give great local work the attention it deserves. Then keep showing up after the final song ends.
THE IMPACT SO FAR
What the project has helped make possible
100+
ARTISTS PRESENTED AT THE FIRST JAMBALOO FESTIVAL
280%
REPORTED INCREASE IN FESTIVAL-WEEK ATTENDANCE
150%
REPORTED INCREASE IN PARTICIPATING VENUE SALES
$3.5M
ESTIMATED LOCAL ECONOMIC IMPACT
$20K
ANNUAL JAMBALOO VENUE PRIZE
OVER 50
FREE SHOWS AND EVENTS PRESENTED
The numbers are important because they show that supporting music is not an abstract gesture. It brings people into independent rooms, creates work, supports nearby businesses and gives artists a larger platform.
HOW IT STARTED
From 12 shows to something much bigger
The Mullen & Mullen Music Project began in 2024 as a series of 12 concerts created to support independent venues and bring more attention to the musicians performing inside them.
The project arrived at a difficult time. Important North Texas rooms had closed, operating costs were rising and the people holding the local music economy together were being asked to survive on increasingly narrow margins.
Those venues are more than places to see a band. They employ bartenders, production crews, security teams, photographers, designers, promoters and countless other people whose work is tied to a healthy night-time economy. They also give artists the stages where careers begin.
The first series showed there was an audience for something larger. That became JAMBALOO: a festival and year-round initiative designed to support the entire ecosystem rather than one artist, one room or one night.
THE FESTIVAL
A free week of music across DFW
The first JAMBALOO festival took place in February 2025, presenting more than 100 artists across four independent venues. Every show was free, giving audiences a reason to cross city lines, visit unfamiliar rooms and take a chance on artists they may not have seen before.
In 2026, the festival expanded dramatically. From February 7 through February 15, JAMBALOO presented nearly 30 free shows and events across more than a dozen venues and community spaces, alongside late-night DJ programming, panels, a symposium, student performances and pop-up busking around Deep Ellum.
JAMBALOO is not built around one building. Its strength comes from moving people through the region and showing how much is already happening across Dallas, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie and the neighborhoods between them.
A REGIONAL FOOTPRINT
Recent JAMBALOO venues and spaces
The 2026 festival programmed music, panels and community events at a wide range of independent venues, record stores, bars, theaters and public spaces, including:
AM/FM Dallas • Club Dada • Deep Ellum Art Co. • Firehouse Gastro Park • Granada Theater • Josey Records • LadyLove Lounge • Low Doubt Bar • Manhattan Project Beer Co. • Ruins • Spinster Records • The Cicada • The Free Man • The Post at River East • Three Links • Tulips FTW
The festival also included performances in and around Deep Ellum’s public spaces. The list will continue to change as JAMBALOO grows, but the purpose remains the same: give audiences more reasons to enter independent rooms and more reasons to return after festival week.