Texas Heritage Songwriters Association

Texas is a special place. Even its shape is iconic, serving as a symbol of independence, friendship, strength, pride, risk-taking, firsts, and bests. Texas' self-styled culture is unique in ways that are respected and envied around the world. It is incumbent on each generation of Texans to maintain this rich heritage for generations to come.

Texas songwriters, past and present, reflect in rhythm and rhyme, the essence of our culture; they are the poets of their time and have become the symbolic troubadours of our State.

The mission of the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association, in the interest of Texas cultural preservation, is to honor and celebrate Texas songwriters who have played an important role in defining and interpreting Texas' distinctive culture.

Our Beneficiaries

Health Alliance for Austin Musicians:

HAAM provides uninsured, professional musicians in the Austin-area with low-cost primary health care services, basic dental care and mental health counseling. Austin is the "Live Music Capital of the World," yet many professional working musicians are self-employed and rarely have access to health insurance. Without insurance, they can't afford preventive health care, including primary medical care, basic dental services and mental health counseling. HAAM services include mental health counseling provided by SIMS Foundation, primary health care provided by Seton Healthcare Network and dental care services provided by St. David's Community Health Foundation. The mission of the HAAM is to provide access to affordable health care for Austin's uninsured musicians, focusing on prevention and wellness.

The Center for Texas Music History:

The Center for Texas Music History (CTMH) at Texas State University is the only university-based program in the state offering a full range of college courses and research and publishing projects covering the entire spectrum of Texas music history. The CTMH was founded in September 1999 and already has compiled an impressive list of accomplishments, including courses through the History Department, The Journal of Texas Music History, The Handbook of Texas Music, The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum Collaborations, Texas Music History "Unplugged", Travelin' Texas, music CDs, Texas Music Bibliography On-Line, community outreach programs, publicity campaigns and the acquisition of important new collections to the university's archives.

The Wittliff Collections:

TxHSA invites recognized artists to discuss placing their works and memorabilia to be professionally archived through the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University-San Marcos. This internationally known repository includes the Southwestern Writers Collection, which among its diverse holdings embraces a rich variety of Texas music - from country and Western Swing to blues, rock-and-roll, conjunto, and Tejano. The archives are made available to students and scholars, and they ensure future generations are not only made aware of their region's creative heritage, but have a source to research it.

Founded by Bill and Sally Wittliff in 1986, the Wittliff Collections have become a distinguished and steadily growing archive charged with preserving and providing access to the papers and artifacts of the Southwest's principal writers, filmmakers, and musicians, and to the images of seminal and renowned photographers of the Southwest and Mexico. Equally dedicated to public programming, the Wittliff Collections present major exhibitions from their archives, welcome tours and classes, and host lectures, readings, and a variety of other events on the top floor of Texas State's Alkek Library.