We are so excited to announce that Rancho Alegre will be presenting a short showcase of Tejano and Conjunto music during Folk Unlocked, this year's virtual conference presented by Folk Alliance International! Many thanks to the Texas Music Office for the invitation!
Our big siblings over at Texas Folklife will be presenting a showcase on the following evening, and while we are focusing on mature and seasoned performers, while Texas Folklife will spotlight alumni from its popular Big Squeeze statewide youth accordion contest. The online performances will be intimate duets or solos.
Performing for Rancho Alegre are accordionist Brenda Martinez, bajo sexto master Oscar Garcia, bandleader and producer Rick Fuentes of Brown Express, superstar Shelly Lares, and Conjunto veterans Jerry and Luis Peña of Los Arcos Hermanos Peña. The showcase is from 7pm to 9:30pm central time, Wednesday February 24.
For its youth-oriented showcase, Texas Folklife will present Cajun music by Donovan Bourque, polka by Mason Nesvadba, zydeco by Keyun Dickson and Conjunto/Tejano by Los Morales Boyz. The showcase is from 7pm to 9pm central time, Thursday, February 25.
Billed as “the world’s largest gathering of the folk music industry and community,” the annual conference presented by Kansas City-based nonprofit organization Folk Alliance International draws thousands of artists, agents, managers, publishers, labels, festival/venue presenters, promoters, and media from around the world each year. Under normal circumstances, the conference is a week long intensive, in-person experience featuring professional workshops and performances. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, this year, the conference is completely virtual. The Rancho Alegre and Texas Folklife showcases are the only Tejano and conjunto music on the schedule this year.
These showcases are available for the public to watch online. Viewers can get tickets to not only these showcases, but to all of the virtual performances in all genres in the entire conference for a donation of any amount. Get tickets here.