AUSTIN, Texas — Austin-based nonprofit organization Rancho Alegre announced its lineup for the 2025 Rancho Alegre Conjunto Music Festival (RACMF), scheduled for April 25 at Central Machine Works and April 26 and 27 at the Doris Miller Auditorium in East Austin. The event is free admission and all ages are welcome.
Conjunto is an accordion-driven Texas roots music genre born in south Texas at the end of the 19th century and is a fusion of German rhythms like polkas, waltzes, and shottices with Mexican folk songs sung in Spanish. Conjunto, the traditional root of modern Tejano music, has been the soundtrack of the lives of Mexican-Americans for generations and could be heard all over Austin’s east side for decades. With three days of purely Latine music, the RACMF is one of Austin’s largest Latine music events
“We are excited to return to both Central Machine Works and the Doris Miller Auditorium this year. Central Machine Works is one of the hottest venues in town and one of the few who enthusiastically book all kinds of music. We love bringing Conjunto music to their regular crowd and also introducing our audience to this great home-grown venue,” says Rancho Alegre Executive Director Baldomero “Frank” Cuellar.
“The legendary Doris Miller Auditorium is one of Austin’s hidden gems, whose music legacy is unparalleled in a city where historic venues are disappearing every year,” added Cuellar. “Ever since I was a kid growing up in East Austin, I’ve loved this building and its role in presenting black music when Austin was still segregated. It’s an honor to present Conjunto on the same stage that welcomed such legends as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Tina Turner. We loved having our festival there last year, so we’re excited to return.”
The RACMF 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.
Friday, April 25th, 5:30 to 10pm, Central Machine Works (4824 E. Cesar Chavez, Austin, TX 78702):
- Belen Escobedo y Panfilo’s Güera (San Antonio)
- Conjunto Baraja de Oro (Waxahachie)
- Headliner – Los Enmascarados (Kingsville)
Saturday, April 26th, 1 to 10pm (doors open at noon), Doris Miller Auditorium (2300 Rosewood, Austin, TX 78702):
- Conjunto Los Pinkys (Austin)
- Los Alacranes (Corpus Christi)
- Conjunto Los Leones (Laredo)
- Flavio Longoria y Los Conjunto Kingz featuring Juanito Castillo (San Antonio)
- Conjunto Impulso de Ernesto Cadena (San Diego, TX)
- Headliner – Los Cucuys de Rodney Rodriguez (Rio Grande City)
Sunday, April 27th, 1 to 10pm (doors open at noon), Doris Miller Auditorium:
- Max Ancira (Houston)
- Conjunto Los Amores (Laredo)
- Felipe Perez y Sus Polkeros (San Antonio)
- Cindy Ramos y Su Conjunto (Laredo)
- Ruben Rivera y Loz Noblez (Alice)
- Headliner – Bobby Salinas y Los Mas Bravos Del Valle (McAllen)
The festival will also feature lifetime achievement awards for Ramiro Gonzalez, Bene Medina, Janie Esparza of Janie’s Record Shop, and Austin’s own Thomas Hernandez of Turntable Records. The lineup and set times may change without notice.
Emcees for the event include longtime radio host Steve Barber, Austin Conjunto legend Julian Limón Fernandez, and reality TV stars Daniel and Cathy from A&E’s Inmate to Roommate series.
Complete details, including set times, are available on ranchoalegre.org.
The Rancho Alegre Conjunto Music Festival is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the Texas Music Office, The National Endowment for the Arts, Lovemytejano.com, Tex Tune Automotive, Austin Manual Therapy Associates, Texas Folklife, JF Mechanical, Gottfried Alexander Law Firm, 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 a podcast, a nonprofit record label, digitizing analog recordings, interviewing legendary and up-and-coming artists, contributing to the 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 is available at ranchoalegre.org or the free Rancho Alegre mobile app.
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