Well, that was pretty fast. It's tempting to say we knew someone would step in, but bureaucracy does often drag its feet. Not so, in the case of Blues on the Green, which after a month-long roller coaster is back on Austinites' summer schedules.

Austin City Limits Radio, which runs the festival, posted an update on February 16 via its website and an X post. The simple note announced that the festival is back on track thanks to more funds from H-E-B and a resolution in Austin City Council sponsored by District 1 Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison.

Blues on the Green is set to "open to the public in Zilker Park as planned," the announcement says. "We continue to talk to partners, sponsors, and others as we plan to bring this event to life this year. We'll be ack with more info soon. In the meantime, thank you to everyone for your continued support."

On January 17, ACL Radio made waves with the sudden announcement that the free music series on the Great Lawn at Zilker Park was canceled in its entirety, due to financial hardship. Many commenters on social media asked why the festival would not simply charge a nominal fee or ask for help from the City of Austin. It only took until February 5 for a group of council members to draft something up.

The resolution (see Item 23) is not exclusive to Blues on the Green, but does use the free music festival as its main anchor in a bid to expand options around free and low-cost entertainment.

The draft that was adopted mentions not just the "vibrancy" of Blues on the Green and similar events, but their:

• value as cultural identity builders
• incentives to "engage [Austin residents] with their city in meaningful ways"
• ability to gather a diverse crowd
• advantages for economic development
• opportunities for students to learn about the music industry

The latter point specifically mentions the new Music Business Certificate Program at Huston-Tillotson University, which is open to all adult learners, whether they are students or not. (Here's what this CultureMap writer learned in the certificate program.)

Finally, the resolution comes to a number of directives, including that the City Manager (currently Jesús Garza) should "negotiate with the organizers of Blues on the Green regarding the potential of becoming a City co-sponsored event." It also tasks the City Manager with identifying more, similar opportunities and creating an application process for similar events to request City co-sponsorship.

Council Members Natasha Harper-Madison, Paige Ellis, Zohaib ''Zo'' Qadri, and Ryan Alter co-sponsored the resolution.

CultureMap is following this story for updates.