24th Annual Accordion Kings & Queens is Here! June 1st 6:30pm-11:00pm Miller Outdoor Theatre
featuring performances by: The Hometown Boys Rosie Ledet & the Zydeco Playboys Czechaholics 2012 Big Squeeze Champion Peter Anzaldua and the 2013 Big Squeeze finalists with Avizo
Saturday, June 1, 2013 6:30pm to 11:00 pm Free and open to the public! Miller Outdoor Theatre 6000 Hermann Park Dr, Houston, TX Facebook Event Page
Tickets for covered seating are FREE and can be picked up the day of the show with purchase or renewal of a Texas Folklife membership.
I’ve been attending this festival since 1997 when I was a
social worker at St. Peter-St. Joseph Children’s Home in San Antonio’s south
side. My sister, Cecilia, was writing
her undergraduate honors thesis on Tejano music and would fly down from
Stanford to do her “research.” I was her
“research assistant” and would take vacation from work to attend five straight
days of “fieldwork.” Those were the
days.
But through it all there’s always been one obligatory stop
in the calendar year to pay homage to the conjunto maestros, to visit with all the other pilgrims who make the trek
from throughout the state, from Louisiana, California, Virginia, Chicago, Monterrey,
Holland and Japan! This is where I see
friends, músicos and colegas who I may not have kept in touch
with throughout the year. I get to
relax, breathe, and just revel in the music, visit San Antonio spots where the
after parties brew with even more conjunto music late into the night. I reconnect and recharge the batteries of the
soul.
Thoze Guyz
Each year is unique and special and 2013 did not
disappoint. Highlights included the “New
Directions in Conjunto Music” show on Thursday night, where my favorites were Thoze Guyz from Sweetwater,
Texas. Texas Folklife staff members,
including Program Manager Sarah Rucker, were thrilled to see one of our Big
Squeeze champions, Nachito Morales, land a coveted spot on the TCF
line-up. Nachito (only 17 years old) and
his brothers Rudy (11 on bajo) and Cheke (8 on drums!), together with another
Big Squeezer, Michael Lopez Ramos on bass, already recorded their first album
as Los Morales Boyz and are turning heads.
Other personal highlights included hearing some of my
favorite artists – Eva Ybarra, Los Desperadoz, and a surprise appearance by
Oscar Hernandez with Bene Medina. I
enjoyed reading essays by Rogelio Nuñez and Abel Salas in the festival’s
magazine, Tonantzin. I always meet great
new people at the TCF, and this year that included pilgrims from Cajun country
Eddie Bourque and fiddle repairer Tom
Pierce, and history professor Daniel Margolies from Virginia. The four of us discussed roots music revival
movements over carnitas listening to
Santiago Jimenez Jr. on Sunday morning.
Santiago Jimenez Jr. at Carnitas Uruapan
As always, it was great to see our dear friend Gilbert Reyes
from Hohner Accordions and Reyes Forum, Eduardo Diaz from the
Smithsonian Latino Center, Rudy Lopez from Conjunto Heritage Taller, Sheila Lee
of Heritage Arts Productions, Karlos Landin from Karlitos Way Accordions, festival
fixture Joe Lopez from Gallista Gallery, Lupito Acuña, Venessa Hill and Ric Vasquez shooting
away on their cameras, and my amigas
Linda Escobar and Chumbe Salinas who organized another great international afterparty at
Ruben’s Place. I also enjoyed seeing all the Brew
Crew members support their favorite bands. I was grateful to my friend Alex Avila who accompanied me during the drive from Austin, although he witnessed me getting a speeding ticket! Ugh. A big congrats to Maricela Olguin who showcased her Sweet
Chela’s deserts at the festival; I loooved that strawberry shortcake…
I leave you with a musical taste of this festival with maestros Oscar Hernandez and
Bene Medina. (please excuse the terrible videography; it's the music that matters...)
At the risk of leaving out anyone else who is dear to me and that I connect with at the festival, I’m including more highlights in pictures on our Facebook page. Please visit us and “like” us!
We are asking for your support in funding the completion of our first ever "Accordion Kings & Queens Live" CD. Pledge rewards are listed below.
The 2012 stellar lineup including Grammy award winners Mingo Saldivar, Los Texmaniacs with Max Baca and David Farias, and Flaco Jimenez. Other performers on the CD include Dora & Her Zydeco Entourage, the Ennis Czech Boys, the 2012 Big Squeeze contest finalists – Peter Anzaldua, Omar Garza, Luis Gonzalez, Michael Ramos - and the reigning 2011 contest champion, Nachito Morales with Los Morales Boyz. The CD will include special bonus tracks of the grand finale jam between Flaco, Mingo, the Texmaniacs, and the newly crowned 2012 Big Squeeze champion Peter Anzaldua.
Pledge $5 or more
A personalized thank you note from Texas Folklife's executive director.
Estimated delivery: Jun 2013
Pledge $15 or more
Be one of the first to receive a copy of the CD with free shipping. Estimated delivery: Jun 2013. Add $5 to ship outside the US
Pledge $35 or more
2 tickets for preferred seating at the 24th annual Accordion Kings & Queens show on June 1, 2013. PLUS: a copy of the CD with free shipping. Estimated delivery: Jun 2013. Add $5 to ship outside the US
Pledge $60 or more
Complimentary or Renewal of Texas Folklife membership for one year PLUS: a copy of the CD and 4 tickets for preferred seating at the 24th Annual Accordion Kings & Queens show on June 1, 2013.
Estimated delivery: Jun 2013.Add $5 to ship outside the US
Pledge $100 or more
A Texas Folklife t-shirt and a copy of The Big Squeeze on DVD. PLUS: a copy of the CD, 4 tickets to Accordion Kings & Queens, and a complimentary or renewal of Texas Folklife membership. Estimated delivery: Jun 2013. Add $5 to ship outside the US
Pledge $250 or more
A thank you on our website and up to 10 tickets to Accordion Kings & Queens PLUS: and a copy of the CD, a Texas Folklife t-shirt, a Big Squeeze DVD, and a Texas Folklife membership.
Pledge $500 or more
A special thank you from the stage of the 2013 Accordion Kings & Queens PLUS: a copy of the CD, up to 10 tickets to Accordion Kings & Queens, a Texas Folklife t-shirt, a Big Squeeze DVD and a Texas Folklife membership.
Pledge $1,000 or more
A special thank you on our website and the stage at Accordion Kings & Queens PLUS: a Texas Folklife t-shirt, a copy of the Big Squeeze DVD, a copy of the CD, 10 tickets to Accordion Kings & Queens, and two Texas Folklife memberships
