DON PITTS
Founder and President
After 30 years in the music and entertainment industry, Don Pitts launched Sound Music Cities to help emerging and established music and entertainment cities find practical solutions to sound issues and grow their music economy. Having garnered the nickname “The Sound Whisperer” from his tenure as the head of the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department’s Music and Entertainment Division where he reduced sound complaints by over 70%, Don brings his experience and passion for creating vibrant music cities to Sound Music Cities and its clients. While with the City of Austin, Don’s leadership fueled programs to increase prosperity for musicians, music businesses, and music venues—all important when building a sustainable economic engine.
Originally from Nashville, Don has gone far and wide in the music industry, doing everything from managing bands and venues, to handling entertainment relations for Gibson Guitar, to co-founding the North American Music Cities Summit, to working in the public sector. His strategic perspective lies at the cross-section of these experiences—lending him the ability to navigate and bring together the political and industry landscapes.
Have just one conversation with Don and it will become evident that he has a special combination of political know-how, street-smarts, and active listening skills—three things that help when beginning to connect the dots over the course of a large music ecosystem project. He always brings a fresh, unbiased perspective and listens for patterns and themes unique to your city. Above all else, Don works alongside clients as a partner, digging deep into the foundational issues that make or break a sound music economy. And at the end, he’ll give you a clear, actionable path forward.
When he’s not advising clients on music-related business or devoting his time to enhancing the quality of the Austin music/musician experience, Don is adding to his collection of rare and vintage western shirts or walking the trails with his family and black lab Konjo.
Consultants and Advisors
KAT JONES
Director of Operations & Strategy
Kat is an experienced and accomplished creative leader who brings an innovation and design perspective to organizations pushing boundaries to improve people's lives. Kat works to understand complex concepts and disparate evidence and then translates those data into insights that reframe opportunities, visualizations that drive better decisions, and stories that open understanding and engagement.
Previously Kat served as Deputy Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation leading an Insights Team that delved into complex systems, human behavior, geospatial data, modeling, analytics, and storytelling to generate data-driven insights to improve delivery strategies. The team’s work often involved reframing seemingly intractable problems to gain a new understanding that clarifies a way forward. Before joining the foundation in 2020, Kat served as the director of strategy and missions for the Design Institute for Health, a radical collaboration between the Dell Medical School and the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin aimed at using design-led approaches to improve the way people get and stay healthy. Earlier, she founded and led Milkshake, a strategy and brand consultancy that created and shaped brands that build community. Trained as a medical illustrator, Kat works to understand complex concepts and then translate them into a story that many can comprehend.
Kat graduated from the University of Michigan with a BFA in fine arts and a BGS in zoology and earned an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in biological and medical illustration.
RIANE YATES
Data & Visualization Consultant
Riane Yates brings a unique blend of experience in public policy research, product development, data analytics, and previous work in the music industry. Riane started her professional career as the Product Manager at LoudMouth Rentals, where she introduced a new sound and lighting production company into the Austin market and managed 2000+ live events. Currently, Riane leads the product team at The Digital Advance - a public affairs company that specializes in digital strategy and public opinion research - where she spearheads the team's development of propriety research tools and client deliverables. Prior to that, Riane was a Manager on the Product Strategy team at Indeed where she vetted, designed and developed new product offerings to diversify Indeed's product suite & better penetrate underperforming customer segments. Throughout her career, Riane has honed a deep understanding of urban ecosystems and the crucial role of data in shaping public policy and community initiatives. Riane graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA in Urban Studies, then earned her MS in Public Policy from The New School where she specialized in applied quantitative methods and data visualization.
PETER SCHWARZ
Music Census Consultant
Peter brings almost four decades of experience as a musician and a business leader to the team. He recently completed a long-term commercial music industry plan for the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department, Music and Entertainment Division. He was previously for 14 years the executive-in-charge of all of Ray Benson’s holdings, including Asleep at the Wheel and Bismeaux Records. He oversaw album releases and artist management for Carolyn Wonderland, Willie and the Wheel, Raul Malo, A Ride With Bob, Texas Tornados, Wheeler Brothers, Aaron Behrens, and the 2015 GRAMMY-winner Still The King. Earlier experience includes festival coordination, arts programming, album producing, touring musician and composer (as a member and manager of Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys), protégé of master Cajun fiddler Dewey Balfa, and longtime musical collaborator with his father, Tracy Schwarz, of The New Lost City Ramblers. Schwarz is a graduate of Harvard College (BA) and the McCombs School of Business (MBA).
BOBBY GARZA
Sound and Noise Regulatory Policy Consultant
Bobby Garza has spent the last 20 years at the intersection of the music and events industry and public policy. Most recently, Bobby led the Creative & Experience Team at Forefront, where he was responsible for leading the creative design, event management and brand activation efforts for the company’s portfolio of events. Prior joining Forefront, Bobby was the General Manager for Transmission Events, a multi-faceted events company producing more than 800+ live music shows a year across Texas and producing some of Austin’s most well-respected festivals in the industry, Fun-Fun-Fun Fest and Levitation Austin.
Before working in the music and events industry, Bobby spent the first 15+ years of his career working in public service in Austin, Texas – both at City Hall and the State Capitol. He served as the Chief of Staff to Council Member Mike Martinez from 2006-2013 where he led the Council Member’s policy direction and staff and was responsible for issues across a wide range from parks and music to public safety and budgets.
In his spare time, Bobby is a musician and passionate advocate for parks. He currently serves on the board of the Austin Parks Foundation, the Special Events Task Force for the City of Austin and previously served on the Parkland Events Task Force. He lives in South Austin with his two sons, Gael and Mauro.