History

Foundation develops, preserve Texas music 
By Caitlin Clark

The Cheatham Street Music Foundation is the product of decades of music made at the Cheatham Street Warehouse, and is dedicated to protecting, preserving and developing Texas music.

The foundation is a part of owner Kent Finlay's vision for Cheatham Street, a San Marcos icon that has helped launch the careers of several music legends. Finlay's vision for a music venue in San Marcos dates back to his days at Southwest Texas State College, now Texas State University.

Born in a small town in west Texas, Finlay said music was always very much a part of his life. While attending school at San Marcos, Finlay noticed the town did not have an active music scene. After graduating, Finlay decided to fix the problem himself, and began looking for the perfect building to put his music hall.

Finlay was unimpressed with the brand new spaces in strip centers real estate agents were showing him. He finally found his perfect honky tonk space in an old warehouse on Cheatham Street along the railroad tracks in San Marcos.

"I plugged my guitar into an amp and then strummed, and thought 'this is it',"Finlay said. "That old wood is just magic when it comes to making warm, beautiful sounds."

Cheatham Street Warehouse officially opened for business in June 1974, and Finlay began booking local artists such as George Strait to play at the venue. The careers of many artists were launched at Cheatham Street, where they were allowed to play original songs – something Finlay said was not common at the time. Strait went on to be one of country music's most successful recording artists in history. Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn also played at Cheatham Street.

Cheatham Street Music Foundation is a non-profit organization "dedicated to developing, promoting, preserving, and perpetuating Texas music." Born of the decades of music made at the legendary Cheatham Street Warehouse, the foundation is involved in the art, craft and business of songwriting, Finlay said.