A Note From the Editor

It's been a few weeks since our beloved longtime editor Allen Chen left us for north Texas. We sincerely miss him, and are so thankful for the groundwork he laid here - not just for the site, but for our community in general. His tireless efforts have been an inspiration to many, and my delay in giving him a proper farewell here is a testament to how much he did. Trying to keep up with all he did is a full-time job in itself. I'm honored to have such big shoes to fill. We send all our best to Allen and hope Austin hasn't seen the last of him.

In other news, we have a new role here at Austinist, born from another tireless volunteer's hard work and dedication to what we do. Many of you know Adi Anand, and are familiar with the breadth of influence in town as a writer, promoter, friend to local musicians and general badass. Since first joining the site in 2006, he's written hundreds of stories and supported at least as many local artists. In addition to that, he's made a name for himself as a an event planner, a radio host at Breakthrough Radio, a blogger at Transmission, organizer at Austin Music People, and the man behind Austinist's own Indieroke karaoke parties. That's just the tip of the iceberg - Adi's strength doesn't come from a need to do stuff, it comes from a completely pure and wonderful love for our music scene and the other hard-working people that make it run. That's why we're so happy to announce that we've created a position especially for him here, one that fits his areas of expertise perfectly and offers him a chance to stay more directly connected to the community he loves so much. Please join us in celebrating Adi's new role as Events Coordinator, where he'll manage the execution of Austinist's dozen or so events throughout the year, our sponsorships and happy hours. No doubt you'll still see him writing from time to time, and he couldn't leave this family if he wanted to - Adi, we love you, never change.

In other news, the esteemed Adam Schragin has stepped up to fill my role as music editor and if his management of our SX coverage is any indication, he'll be making me look bad in no time. Additionally, Nick Courtright is managing all the site's interviews, and Samantha Pitchel is our new theater editor.

Have any questions or concerns? Feel free to email me: editor@austinist.com. Thanks and have a wonderful SXSW!