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SXSW in San Antonio? Business owner hopes to bring smaller-scale alternative

"I would say a good third of the people that are going to be performing with us, they were performing at SXSW," said Adrian Martinez, owner of Smoke BBQ.

SAN ANTONIO — In a world fixated on what could go wrong, Adrian Martinez focuses on what could go right. After the cancellation of a massive musical event, Martinez is giving some people a chance to look on the bright side.

"The idea behind this is a collaboration between small business owners and local artists to do something special at a time that people need to be uplifted," Martines the business owner of Smoke BBQ said on Monday. 

Smoke is more than a restaurant. In four days, its four different bars will be the venue for what Martinez is describing as a smaller alternative to South by Southwest. 

"With the cancellation of South by Southwest we had so many artists that worked with us before here at venue that said, 'Adrian we're canceled we have nothing to do' and so I said, 'why not here at Smoke?'" he asked. 

"I would say a good third of the people that are going to be performing with us, they were performing at South by Southwest." 

On Friday, March 13, Martinez is planning for roughly 30 artists to take over every single corner of this venue, with its biggest acts performing at its outdoor amphitheater.

The events official title in the Smoke BBQ Music Festival.  

"We're trying to pull off an event with for about 1,000 to 1,500 people," Martinez said.  

A small sample of SXSW Martinez hopes will bring this city a little optimism in a time of uncertainty. 

Martinez is still looking for additional artists to perform. If interested, you can reach the business owner at Adrian@smokedowntown.com 

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