AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Rancho Alegre Conjunto Music Festival is officially set for the last weekend of April, thanks to grassroots fundraising efforts after the fest lost the city funding it has relied on for nearly a decade.
The festival is organized by the local Rancho Alegre nonprofit and celebrates the historic genre of Conjunto music in Austin. The music, played with a button accordion and bajo sexto, is commonly heard in South Texas and Northern Mexico and is considered the root of Tejano music.
The festival has been a part of Austin’s music scene for more than 30 years. Since 2014, the spring festival has relied heavily on funding from the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts Division. But their 2023 application was denied.
In a release, Rancho Alegre previously said it was seeking a “hail mary,” trying to raise $35,000 by the end of AmplifyATX, which is Austin’s annual day of giving, to fund the festival.
The festival wasn’t able to reach the $35,000 goal, but it did reach nearly $20,000 raised through multiple resources, which is enough to put on the festival its website said.
“The people have spoken,” said Executive Director Baldomero ‘Frank’ Cuellar, “Thanks to local media coverage and the unprecedented support from our friends, families, strangers, bands we’ve hired, and many others who gave through AmplifyATX, the Rancho Alegre Conjunto Music Festival lives to see another day and Austin won’t lose its only Conjunto music event this year.”
The festival will be held April 28-30 at different venues in Austin. Here’s the lineup:
Friday, April 28 at Central Machine Works, 7-10 p.m.
- Headliner – Los Texas Wranglers, of Austin
- CruzSante, of Austin
Saturday, April 29 at GiddyUps, 8 p.m. – midnight
- Headliner – Mark Weber y Los Cuernos, of San Antonio
- Los Cucuys de Rodney Rodriguez, of Rio Grande City, Texas – Record release party for upcoming LP “Tanto Tanto” on Rancho Alegre Records
- Chano Cadena y Su Conjunto, of Alice, Texas
Sunday, April 30 “Johnny Degollado Day” at Stubb’s, 4-10 p.m.
- Headliner – Los Arcos Hermanos Peña, of Dimmitt, Texas
- Conjunto Puro Corazon, of San Antonio
- Conjunto Los Pinkys featuring Susan Torres, of Austin
- Flavio Longoria y Los Conjunto Kingz, of San Antonio
- Los Hermanos De Leon, of San Antonio
- Conjunto Baraja de Oro, of Waxahachie, Texas
- Mando y La Venganza, of Corpus Christi, featuring special Tejano guest Art Tigerina, of Austin
Sunday will also feature a lifetime achievement award for Linda Escobar, vendors, and food.
The lineup may be subject to change, without notice. The exact set times will be posted on the festival’s website.
