About

“This music is not a dusty museum relic, but a vital heartbeat for a group of folks who truly have one foot on either side of the border and live a daily code-switching identity.” — NPR Alt. Latino

 

Max Baca and Los Texmaniacs are the Past, Present, And Future of Conjunto Music. Conjunto music may be a familiar sound to residents of Texas, but its worldwide appeal can be surprising. Combine a hefty helping of Tex-Mex conjunto, simmer with several parts Texas rock, and add a daring dash of well-cured blues and R&B riffs, and you’ve cooked up the tasty Grammy-winning Los Texmaniacs groove. Max Baca is a legend on the bajo sexto, a twelve-string guitar-like instrument, and his nephew, Josh Baca, is fast attaining legendary status on the accordion, with those two instruments creating the core of the lively conjunto sound. Los Texmaniacs are the new worldwide kings of Texas Roots music, feeding the masses with only the best in musical fare, cooked up from a wide-ranging experience touring and recording with Flaco Jimenez of Texas Tornados fame, Los Super Seven, and even the Rolling Stones. While Max Baca has participated in eleven Grammy-winning projects, the band themselves won their first Grammy in 2010 and a nomination for their last Smithsonian Folkways recording in 2019, Borders y Bailes - featuring Lyle Lovett and Rick Trevino. 

Their newest release, Corazones and Canciones, is a 15-song collection of generation-spanning Mexican-American classics from all over the US (Los Canciones), the album celebrates the love, joy, and the ineffable feeling that music can evoke, while simultaneously shining a light on the importance of Mexican-American music within the overall American Roots tradition. This music makes clear that Mexican-American music is American music with life-affirming energy and passion. Ranging in sound from dancehall and conjunto polka-beats to romantic Tejano guitar (all accented by La Marisoul’s booming, soulful vocals, and Los Texmaniacs’ exuberant playing), each song was chosen for its heart, emotional potential, and ability to connect people across age, place, and time (Los Corazones). Whether playing an intimate house concert or as an acoustic trio to rocking stage/theater/street dances the band always entertains and educates. This music is not a dusty museum relic, but a vital heartbeat for a group of folks who genuinely have one foot on either side of the border and live a daily code-switching identity.