ART AND BARBARA SQUIRES
SOUTHWEST CONCERTS
100th Anniversary Countdown Paramount Theatre Continued!
And now for a story that no more than two dozen people know! May I introduce you to Art and Barbara Squires, who formed Southwest Concerts in the 1960’s in Houston, Texas. Without them there might not be a Paramount Theatre, today.
Married 60 years, this husband/wife team of producers were responsible for thousands of concerts and Broadway touring shows that appeared in numerous markets throughout the U.S. I met Art and Barbara, and their nationally respected concert booker, Michael Dunham in early 1976, barely one year after Chuck, Steve and I took over the Paramount lease. We co-promoted somewhere around 120 shows, together, which generated cash flow, heat and publicity at a time when we were trying to find our identity as a historic performing arts theatre.
The Paramount did not have the funds to make deposits to big name acts in those early years. Further, the theatre did not have the muscle with agents and managers to attract these marquee acts to Austin. Art and Barbara provided both in abundance and with great heart and a belief in what we were trying to accomplish.
It is hard to say, with any certainty, if the Paramount would have galvanized the Austin community to sprint to the support of the revival and salvation of the theatre without Art and Barbara’s commitment that superseded any real financial profits for them worth even talking about. If you could see the list of these incredible acts that might never have found their way to the Paramount stage without their active and dedicated partnership, you would never believe it. I have that list.
To the most unsung heroes of the Paramount, with which the Austin community is totally unawares, I say, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart” to Barbara and Art Squires. Were I not to write this post, you would never know there contribution to the rejuvenation of the Paramount and its proliferation as a premiere touring stop for the world’s biggest stars. If you want to know what class is, call me and ask. God love you both from the three of us!
