Austin’s Aloft hotel has become a neighborhood spot that is locally relevant and encourages both Austinites and visitors to play and stay at this spot in the beating heart of downtown.

No wonder then that, in November, Project: Aloft Star held its finale at the hotel in the Live Music Capital of the World; a finale that saw the sister duo REYNA claim their well-deserved yet hard fought for first prize. Milwaukee-by-way-of-Texas sisters Vic and Gaby Banuelos first appeared with their shimmering ‘80s-inspired pop debut single ‘Spill Your Colors’, attracting over 20K streams in its first day.

Designing Project: Aloft Star as a high-powered launch incubator to make the road more friendly for rising musicians, Aloft Hotels, (Marriott International’s brand for music lovers and music makers), and Universal Music Group, a world leader in music-based entertainment, partnered together. The result: a competition giving artists around the world a chance to kick-start their careers as well as the Project: Aloft Star Tour, a five-city tour celebrating emerging artists at Aloft Hotels.

To inspire budding performers to enter the competition, Aloft took some of UMG’s hottest breakthrough artists on the road, hitting the great music cities in North and Central America to host intimate music performances in their signature W XYZ® bars.

Aloft Hotels transformed hotel lobbies into casual, comfortable concert venues to showcase the standout emerging talent. The free performances kicked off in June with Years & Years in Philadelphia, continuing through New Orleans (Tank and the Bangas in August), Asheville (Bea Miller in August), Costa Rica (Fatima & Stanaj in September) and Denver (BANNΞRS in October) before culminating in Austin November 1 for the finale. 

Read more about Aloft Austin and Upstairs at Caroline from a previous visit by Texas Lifestyle Magazine here.

Cover | Project: Aloft Star winners REYNA. Photo Poonah Ghana

Rhonda Jenkins is an Austin metro and New Orleans blogger and contributor.