Monthly Archives: July 2009
Premios Texas to feature top Latino artists – Aug. 13
The fifth annual Premios Texas takes place Thursday, August 13, 2009, in Austin, Texas, but festivities start the day before with the “Concierto bajo las estrellas” – a free concert and meet-and-greet autograph party featuring some of the celebrities who are up for awards the next night. The Wednesday concert/fan event begins at 5 p.m. in Austin’s Long Center for the Performing Arts.
Artists on hand will include:
* La reconocida modelo y conductora Sissi
* Makano nominado como Mejor Artista Hip-Hop/Urbano y Mejor Artista Revelación
* Tati, nominada como Mejor Artista Revelación
Among the artists scheduled to perform this year at the Premios Texas are Olga Tañón, merengue artist and 19-time “Premio Lo Nuestro” winner, three-time Latin GRAMMY and two-time GRAMMY winner; Makano, Panamanian reggaeton artist who holds the number one spot on the Billboard Latin Charts; Bobby Pulido, platinum-selling Texas native and long time Tejano music favorite; K-Paz de La Sierra, top-selling duranguense band and fan favorite; Yahir, popular male vocalist and reality TV superstar from Mexico; and El Guero y su Banda Centenario, another chart-topper of the duranguense music genre; Reyli, Latin pop artist whose album has climbed the U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Tracks and gone double platinum in Mexico; and Vallejo, the Austin-based rock band will kick-off the show.
New video from Tejano y Mas one-year anniversary bash
It’s a little delayed but hope you enjoy the coverage from the June 25, 2009, Tejano y Mas one-year birthday bash at Club Rio in San Antonio!
REVIEW: Kalimba rocks GCS, Stefani and Lush open the show
Kalimba rocks as Univision camera rolls...
Mexican pop rocker Kalimba will leave you with a smile on your face long after he’s left the stage.
(If you aren’t familiar with Kalimba, visit his MySpace.)
Ford Focus sponsored the private concert last Thursday and 95.1 FM in San Antonio promoted the event that took place at Graham Central Station. Fans could only win tickets and the club was packed with devoted Kalimba followers.
Stefani with Lush!
I shouldn’t have been smiling after I had waited for several hours in heels while squished among strangers in the front row, but I was. I forgot about my achy feet as soon as Kalimba hit the stage at around midnight. The best description I can think of for those who don’t know him is a mini Lenny Kravitz with a passionate wail (both his voice and his guitar!) and endless energy. He needs that energy, too, because his action-packed performance has him moving everywhere at once it seems. Whether he’s belting out a ballad, bouncing around with a tambourine, having a “strum off” with his fellow guitarist, and even jumping off the stage to get closer to the crowd, he never stops.
Tejano fans will surprised to know that Stefani Montiel, who performed in Las Vegas the next day, was on hand to open for Kalimba. She appeared with her band, Lush, which performs pop and international covers. She did great but the crowd was antsy for Kalimba so they weren’t as enthused as they should have been!
Big winners @ 29th annual Tejano Music Awards
Here’s a recap of last night’s award show. We have no pics or video because I volunteered in the media room and was unable to do the Tejano Beat coverage I would have liked. I will share backstage insights and highlights however, so enjoy!
Elida Reyna won top female vocalist and during her acceptance speech, she recognized the young female artists and reminisced about her first performance at the TMAs in 1994 with her blue dress that she said people continually remind her about via YouTube videos.
Jay Perez took the Male Vocalist of the Year award and gave a shout out to Ruben Ramos, saying it was an honor for him to watch Ramos win the Entertainer of the Year award. During his speech, Jay said as a kid who grew up in the Cassiano Homes of West side San Antonio, he never dreamed he would be in the position he is now. He thanked the fans and said he was proud to leave a legacy for his children and his family with his award-winning career.
Ramos boldy but graciously picked up his well-deserved Entertainer of the Year award and thanked the “guerrillas” in his band, The Mexican Revolution. In his speech, Ramos said his band was the best – and giving a friendly jab to fellow nominees Jimmy Gonzalez and Grupo Mazz! Ramos and the Revolution’s performance that night did convince the audience of that and Ramos showed why he was selected as the winner of that award.
Gonzalez and Grupo Mazz – who were the first performers of the night – picked up the most awards of any artist/group with three, including the biggie, Song of the Year, for “Retrato Quebrado;” Album of the Year – Group for “The Legend Continues” and Crossover Song of the Year for Aunque Se Burlan de Mi.”
Overall, despite the inevitable bumps and mixups that go along with an awards show production, I enjoyed the show and was impressed. Read the rest of this entry
Summer awards season: TMAs on Friday, Premios Texas on Aug. 13
The summer awards season is here with the 29th annual Tejano Music Awards set for Friday, July 17, 2009, in San Antonio’s historic La Villita Assembly Hall. Although the show has fluctuated in size and venue in recent years, the TMAs is the longest-running awards show in the Tejano industry. This year, highlights include performances by Tejano greats like Shelly Lares and Jay Perez and an anticipated, exciting debut performance from A.J. Castillo, a charismatic accordionist/vocalist with a unique soulful squeezebox sound. To get a taste of A.J.’s style, check out his just-released video for his song, “Todo Me Gusta de Ti.”
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE TEJANO, LATIN POP, TROPICAL ARTISTS AND MORE!
Another awards show this summer is Premios Texas 2009 set for Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009, in Austin, Texas. This is only the show’s fifth year but it has grown tremendously with this year’s show featuring an impressive lineup of top Latin acts like Olga Tanon, K-Paz de la Sierra, Bobby Pulido and more. It was also just announced that the show will air nationally on Galavision, the country’s leading Spanish-language cable network. The gala event will take place at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for Performing Arts in Austin, Texas, and will broadcast nationally on Galavisión on Sunday, August 23rd at 8:00 pm ET/PT (7:00pm CT). For more info, go to premiostexas.com.
Vote online for your favorite artists in the following categories:
Tejano Beat with Paula DeAnda and Frankie J!
Today, Tejano Beat interviewed 19-year-old pop star Paula DeAnda whose vocals wowed us 
during her performance at the Los Magnificos car show at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio. This tiny Latina’s voice filled the room and had the crowd roaring. Paula talks to TB about her life in Corpus Christi and what the music business has been like for her so far.
Following Paula onstage was soulful, sexy crooner Frankie J – who started out with the original Kumbia Kings – and now leads a promising solo career. After singing a set that included his hit “Obsession (No Es Amor)” and his remake of “More than Words,” Frankie jammed out to Michael Jackson’s classic “Rock With You” and recognized the late icon as a major inspiration.
Frankie J talked to us about his time with the Kumbia Kings and he gives us a closeup look at the tattoo that he has to commemorate his time with KK. He talks about his upcoming CD titled, “If These Walls Could Talk.”
Listen to the latest singles from Paula DeAnda and Frankie J. on their MySpace sites. Follow Paula on her Twitter site – although she admits she’s a bit behind on updating it. She spent the weekend getting some R&R at Schlitterbahn! Catch up with Frankie J on Twitter, too! He’s been tweeting about his Texas visit this weekend.
A special thank you to Los Magnificos for media access to today’s event and to EDO Entertainment, management for Paula DeAnda and Frankie J, for exclusive access to the artists. This was our first car show and it was fun!
