HOME Has a Ball

Housing nonprofit for Austin musicians to honor blues icon Marcia Ball

Marcia Ball is one of the organization's founder, and will be the first honoree for this annual fundraiser.

Photo courtesy of Marcia Ball

Local music legend Marcia Ball will be honored a new annual benefit concert for keeping Austin performers housed. Housing Opportunities for Musicians and Entertainers (HOME) will host HOME with the Armadillo: An Evening Celebrating Marcia Ball on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at the Paramount Theatre.

Each year, the nonprofit for housing aging Austin musicians will throw a "fundraising celebration honoring one legendary Texas musician," according to a press release, and it's starting with a board member. Ball is a five-time Grammy nominee and is known for her blues piano and vocals. She is an energetic performer with a forceful voice, and has been performing in Austin since 1970 when she started the band Freda and the Firedogs.

Ball's work in the community is as important as her music career in this celebration. She's been with HOME since the beginning, and she even hosted the first meeting at her kitchen table in 2012. According to the nonprofit, the original goal was to keep the then 84-year-old blues legend Miss Lavelle White housed. The organizers raised money for her to spend on rent, gathered furniture for her apartment, and made sure she felt supported. The project then grew from there.

Although Ball is being honored, she will not perform. The 76-year-old musician announced in late October that she will be retiring after an ALS diagnosis. She is experiencing difficulties with her voice and is receiving treatment at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).

Other performers will bring lots of music to the Paramount, including "friends, collaborators, and admirers." CultureMap will share news of the full lineup when it becomes available. Guests will also see video tributes and hear stories about Ball's life.

Tickets (starting at $35) are available at austintheatre.org. VIP tickets will offer early access, a private reception, and the best seating.

HOME has support from an Old Austin institution for this event. Armadillo World Headquarters, formerly a venue and now a preservation project, is helping to organize. Funds raised will go toward direct housing support, grants to help in emergencies, and other long-term assistance.

“Marcia Ball has always embodied the heart of Austin music — generous, joyful, and deeply rooted in community,” said HOME vie president Eve Monsees. “It feels right to begin this annual tradition by honoring the woman who started it all.”

live music concerts musicians nonprofits housing elder care

Moody Price Tag

Austin's Moody Center is the highest-grossing midsize venue of 2025

Moody Center/Facebook

Moody Center exterior

Austin's core arena, Moody Center, has ranked as the highest-grossing venue of its size in the world, according to Billboard's calculations. This is the second year in a row that Moody Center was at the top of the list; it was briefly pushed into the No. 2 spot by Dickies Arena in Fort Worth in 2023.

Moody Center, with 15,000 seats, was compared to others with a capacity between 10,001 and 15,000, making Moody Center as big as any in its league.

It's an annual comparison for the entertainment magazine, wrapped up in its other year-end charts including the Hot 100 chart for songs ("Die With A Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars was No. 1) and the Billboard 200 for albums (The Life Of A Showgirl by Taylor Swift).

According to the venues chart, Moody Center grossed $89.8 million from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. It hosted 854,000 paying visitors, across 94 shows. That means each show averaged about $955,300. However, a press release from Oak View Group, which manages Moody Center, counted 140 ticketed events this year, not including home games for the University of Texas basketball teams. It is possible that Billboard only counted concerts.

“This milestone is a testament to the incredible music fans who continue to show up in record numbers," said Moody Center general manager and Oak View Group Austin president Jeff Nickler in the release. "Along with our loyal regional audience, our data shows that fans from all over the country are choosing to travel to Austin to see their favorite artists at Moody Center.”

As Austin's main venue for big-name performers, Moody Center has hosted lots of notable shows this year, including Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Charli XCX, Phish, Mumford and Sons, Alabama Shakes, Ice Cube, Lainey Wilson, and many more. Still coming in 2026, concertgoers can look forward to seeing Lady Gaga, Doja Cat, Florence and the Machine, Demi Lovato, Nine Inch Nails, Louis Tomlinson, The Neighbourhood, Twice, and others.

Moody Center was also the center of a high-profile, but niche scandal this year, as Oak View Group's co-founder and former CEO Tim Leiweke was indicted in a bid rigging scheme from the venue's early days. Leiweke allegedly made a deal with another CEO to trade future subcontracting deals from Oak View in exchange for the competing company rescinding its bid to manage and develop the arena. President Donald Trump pardoned Leiweke in December, five months after the indictment.

Moody Center was not the only Texas venue to make the Billboard list, which was dominated by the Lone Star State. American Airlines Center in Dallas and Dickie's Arena in Fort Worth were No. 5 and 6, respectively. Then two venues in Houston, NRG Stadium and Toyota Center, were No. 9 and 10.

The highest-grossing venue in the world of any size was The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada, thanks to its high ticket prices. It grossed $420.5 million, which was significantly more than the runner-up, Madison Square Garden in New York ($294.8 million gross).

Billboard list of highest-grossing venues in 2025 with capacities of 10,001-15,000:

Moody Center — Austin, TX — $89.8M
OVO Hydro — Glasgow, Scotland — $89.6M
Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Atlanta, GA — $89.2M
Hallenstadion — Zurich, Switzerland — $82.8M
American Airlines Center — Dallas, TX — $76.7M
Dickies Arena — Fort Worth, TX — $74.3M
Bridgestone Arena — Nashville — $73.7M
Co-Op Live — Manchester, England — $73.6M
NRG Stadium — Houston, TX — $71.6M
Toyota Center — Houston, TX — $56.5M

venues economy live music concerts sports