Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Jacobs.
Hi Catherine, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always had many different interests and a torn love between my hometown of Houston and the city where I went to college, Los Angeles. This has moved me back and forth between the two cities for the past decade as I have explored different career opportunities. I started my post-college career as a server in the Foundation Room at the House of Blues in Houston and now am starting Houston’s own music showcase, AbsolutelyHTX.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting this showcase during this present career transition surprisingly came together really nicely. I reached out to a few different venues that I was interested in and got really lucky with connecting with Dan over at Brasil right away. He was immediately very supportive of the showcase and excited to host another event at Brasil. After securing a venue I hired someone online to make the logo I envisioned – “Absolutely” was the first name that came to me when I got the idea to start the showcase – and I made an Instagram account. Then I started reaching out to different music artists I know along with connections in and adjacent to the industry to see where my first lineup might come together from.
People were all really supportive from the get-go and the event seemed to connect with a lot of people at just the right time. Some of the artists I reached out to were feeling ready to get out there again after not performing in a while. I had one friend agree to professionally run the sound and another jumped on-board to make the website. The night of, my uncle, who is a professional camera man, filmed the whole thing, and I’ve been sharing those videos online. A couple of issues came up on the night of the event that I had to take in stride. An artist bailed at the last minute and my payment hardware turned out not to be prepared the right way. I also had some issues with the merch store I created and so I’ll have to choose another host for that. But overall, things came together really smoothly. I’m glad it was an easy start, because if it hadn’t been I don’t know how far I would have gotten. How simply things came together makes me feel like this is a good thing for a lot of people, and I’m happy I get to be a part of that.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
In between college and starting this showcase I have taught band, music history, and choir at New West Charter School in Los Angeles, worked as a photographer and production assistant, wrote and produced songs with pediatric cancer patients with the Houston nonprofit Purple Songs Can Fly at Texas Children’s Hospital, worked as a production assistant, assistant director, and director on Houston music videos (“Sicko Mode” by Drake and Travis Scott, “Want Me” by Sugar Joiko), and built relationships with local musicians as a singer-songwriter performing at open-mics.
The idea to start AbsolutelyHTX came after a recent trip to the SXSW 2026 conference in Austin, TX where I took away the message that the local live music scene will shape and define the near future of the music industry. I thought, I have always struggled to get my music recorded and produced and out to an audience, but community building is something I can do. I can bring together the people I know and reach out to people I don’t know and see what happens.
Throughout the years I have touched in and out of many different industries, from the music industry to fine art, healthcare, film production, and education. Each field came with its own appeal, blessings, and challenges, and for me, it’s still a mystery how to build a stable career in the arts. I’ve worked many odd-jobs along the way, including working at a print shop, photographing red carpets and fraternity parties, and driving for Uber. Throughout the way I built my own photography business, took up acting again, and began training to be a pilates instructor. I am currently represented by Pastorini-Bosby Talent Agency and completing my Pilates instructor certification between Sheppard Method Pilates Studio (Westwood, CA) and Cedar Street Pilates (Bellaire, TX).
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I grew up here in Houston, TX where I spent my time singing, making silly home videos with family and friends, playing violin and the xylophone in school band, playing soccer, and performing in musicals, cheerleading, and studying. From high school I went to UCLA as an undeclared major and after taking a Music History class on music in the 60s in the spring quarter of my freshman year I decided to transfer into the Herb Alpert School of Music and get my BA in Music History. I got a minor in music industry and wrote my senior thesis on the film scores for Vertigo and Shutter Island. During college I spent most of my time singing with my acapella group Random Voices but also interned at AEG and for a production company called Preferred Content, volunteered in student government and on the student run JazzReggae Festival, interned on the Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary music documentary, Crossfire Hurricane (HBO), and was a member of the Red Bull Wiings Team, among other activities. I’ve always had a variety of closely related yet competing interests and the tendency to get bored easily, and I’m eager for things to tie together and establish roots.
AbsolutelyHTX is a stepping stone for me into the next chapter, whatever it holds. It’s my goal that I can continue to create a community where music lovers, musicians, musical artists, and industry players can come together to share in and build up the Houston music scene.
https://absolutelyhtx.com/
AbsolutelyHTX is a music showcase featuring live music from regional artists. It is currently hosted every third Thursday at Brasil in Montrose at 2604 Dunlavy St., Houston, TX 77098. The next show is June 18th, 2026, at 7PM and will feature performances by Ross, Jewelz Melody, BRNN, Brook B., Dizzy Izzy, Mina Grand, and Gilbert’s Soul.
Upcoming 2026 Shows:
June 18th
July 16th
August 20th
September 17th
October 15th
Pricing:
- AbsolutelyHTX tickets – $10
- Photography – from $200
- Pilates – $35/hr
Contact Info:
- Website: https://catherinereneej.smugmug.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherinereneej/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinereneej/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@catherinereneej
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/catherinereneej
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/absolutelyhtx/
Image Credits
Channel Purple Photography | IG @channel_purple | https://www.instagram.com/channel_purple/
