Photo: Johnny Degallado performs at 2019 Rancho Alegre Conjunto Music Festival | Credit: Mariaelena Arocha / Tejano Nation
AUSTIN, TX – After a highly-publicized, desperate appeal for funds after losing city funding, Austin-based nonprofit organization Rancho Alegre today announced its lineup for the 2023 Rancho Alegre Conjunto Music Festival (RACMF). The event is free admission and all ages are welcome and will take place the weekend of April 28-30, 2023.
“The people have spoken,” commented Baldomero “Frank” Cuellar, Rancho Alegre Executive Director. “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.”
“While we didn’t meet our goal of $35,000, we did raise enough through a combination of sources to put on one heck of a Conjunto showcase over three days and at three different venues in three different parts of Austin,” he added. “It’s a great mix of locals, legends, and longtime favorites from all over the state, all thanks to the creativity of booking coordinator Monica Castilleja.”
As in previous years, the organization has sought out and secured some of Austin’s best live music venues to host its presentations of traditional accordion-driven Texas music, with great results. The festival begins Friday, April 28 at Central Machine Works in East Austin, continues Saturday, April 29 at GiddyUps in South Austin, and wraps up Sunday, April 30 at the iconic Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater in downtown Austin.
The Rancho Alegre lineups have always been diverse and have featured talent from all over the state who don’t usually get a shot to play in Austin or at bigger festivals. The lineup for 2023 is no exception.
Friday, April 28 – Central Machine Works (4824 E Cesar Chavez) – 7 to 10pm:
CruzSante (Austin)
Headliner – Los Texas Wranglers (Austin)
Saturday, April 29 – GiddyUps (10210 Menchaca Rd) – 8pm to midnight:
Los Cucuys de Rodney Rodriguez (Rio Grande City) – Record release party for upcoming LP “Tanto Tanto” on Rancho Alegre Records
Chano Cadena y Su Conjunto (Alice)
Headliner – Mark Weber y Los Cuernos (San Antonio)
Sunday, April 30 – “Johnny Degollado Day” – Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater (801 Red River St) – 4 to 10pm Two Stages:
Conjunto Puro Corazon (San Antonio)
Conjunto Los Pinkys featuring Susan Torres (Austin)
Flavio Longoria y Los Conjunto Kingz (San Antonio)
Los Hermanos De Leon (San Antonio)
Conjunto Baraja de Oro (Waxahachie)
Mando y La Venganza (Corpus Christi) featuring special Tejano guest Art Tigerina (Austin)
Headliner – Los Arcos Hermanos Peña (Dimmitt)
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 ranchoalegre.org.
The Rancho Alegre Conjunto Music Festival is supported in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts, Lovemytejano.com, Fern Landscapes, Tex Tune Automotive, Austin Manual Therapy Associates, Texas Folklife, JF Mechanical, Gottfried Alexander Law Firm, Sassy Media, and Gonzalo Rodriguez Quality Home Building and Maintenance. Production partners include Compadresmusic, Full Gallop, and 2nd Gate Productions.
About Rancho Alegre
Rancho Alegre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Conjunto music. Projects include digitizing analog recordings, interviewing legendary and up-and-coming artists, maintaining and constructing a historical record of Tejano and Conjunto music, connecting artists with professional and business services and resources, affordable merchandise for bands, speaking to schools and universities, and presenting the annual Rancho Alegre Conjunto Music Festival and various events throughout the year. Further information about the organization’s year-round projects are available at ranchoalegre.org or the free Rancho Alegre mobile app.
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