Austin’s Music Scene: Mitch Baranowski of Thunderhouse Media

Join us Saturday, Sept. 26, at 6:30 p.m. as we welcome Dallas natives Mitch Baranowski and Todd Deatherage back home for a special evening celebrating Austin’s Music Scene: Your Guide to the City’s Most Iconic Artists & Venues, the award-winning new field guide from Thunderhouse Media benefiting the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM). Todd came up in the Deep Ellum scene before landing in Austin, where in addition to his solo work he now fronts the traditional country band The Merles. Todd will perform a short acoustic set and sit down with Editor-in-Chief Mitch Baranowski for a Q&A about the book, his own musical journey, and what makes Austin’s music scene so special. Tickets Signed Copy + Live Performance: $40 Extra copies of “Austin’s Music Scene” will be available for purchase and signing, as well as The Merles new album. About Mitch Mitch Baranowski is founder and editor-in-chief of Thunderhouse Media Group, an Austin-based independent publisher on a mission to share stories of true grit. A fourth-generation Texan (and Dallas native) who started his career as a journalist, Mitch traces his love of music to cotton-farming grandparents who once ran a dance hall in the Brazos River Valley. Thunderhouse’s first title, “Austin’s Music Scene: Your Guide to the City’s Most Iconic Artists & Venues,” is the first comprehensive field guide to the Live Music Capital of the World, featuring profiles of more than 160 established and emerging artists across seven genres. It earned top honors at the 2026 IBPA Book Awards, including Best Gift Book. Published in partnership with the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, half of all net proceeds support HAAM’s mission to give working musicians access to affordable care. About Todd Dallas native Todd Deatherage has been writing Americana-tinged music since the late ‘90s, blending twangy roots-rock with indie-pop influences from Gram Parsons to Tom Petty. He cut his teeth in Deep Ellum with his band The Calways, opening for the Old 97’s, Wilco and Reverend Horton Heat, before a stint in NYC’s East Village rock scene shoulder-to-shoulder with then-unknown acts like Lucero and My Morning Jacket. He now lives in Austin; in addition to his solo work he fronts the traditional country band The Merles, releasing their new album “Two Steppin’ in the Moonlight” in September 2026.