The list goes on: 42 new songs demoed; 71 professionally engineered sound recordings; 9 music videos released; 131 U.S. tour stops. Now it’s time to celebrate!

Friday, December 4, a packed line-up will raise the roof on Austin’s iconic Paramount Theatre in celebration of the songs, recordings, videos, performances and much more that local nonprofit Black Fret has seeded in the Central Texas live music industry since it awarded $100,000 in grants at 2014’s inaugural Black Ball.

The grants are back again at the 2015 Black Ball, with at least ten grants of $10,000 each to be awarded. The 2015 grant recipients will be revealed at the Black Ball, during the nominee performances. Yes—the envelope, please! (A note on dress code: it’s Austin. Cinders, you may go to the ball, no fancy gown required.)

This year’s event starts at 6 p.m. and will feature performances by many of the 2015 Black Fret grant nominees including Flying Color’s front man, singer/songwriter Casey McPherson, Dan Dyer, East Cameron Folkcore, Jazz Mills, Migrant Kids, Mother Falcon, Nakia, Ruby Jane, Tameca Jones and The Digital Wild.

As for the impact on the artists Black Fret seeks to support, 2015 grant nominee Ruby Jane says, “Being a Black Fret nominee, for me, means being a part of a greater vision… A vision of a world where artists and performers have better support systems and better means of achieving their goals.”

Chantell Moody of The Digital Wild added, “Black Fret helps dreams become realities. To meet a group of people who want to help you follow your dreams is the best thing that could happen for artists like us. The Black Fret family gives a unique opportunity to artists that is unlike anything we have seen before.”

Black Fret is a public charity headquartered in Austin, TX whose mission is to empower musicians to create and perform great new music. The membership organization is an innovative evolution of the age-old symphony patronage model that is focused on supporting popular local music.

In only its second year of operation, Black Fret is already having a significant effect. The inaugural class of Black Fret grant recipients are now “unlocking” their grant dollars by writing, recording and performing new music and by providing community services to other area nonprofits.

December 4 is going to be one of those long, wonderful nights you won’t forget.