Tickets have been selling at a good pace and most of the RV hookups are sold for next week’s West Texas Western Swing Festival at The Coliseum.
Organized by the Snyder Chamber of Commerce, this year’s event will begin Wednesday with the annual burgers and beans supper in the Westerner Room. First United Methodist Church is preparing the supper for $10 a plate. All proceeds will benefit the family of Briella Hernandez, who is being treated at St Jude Children’s Hospital for a brain tumor.
“We are still getting calls for tickets and RV spaces,” said Josh Ortegon, the chamber’s events coordinator.
Chamber President/Chief Executive Officer Linda Molina said 30 of the 120 RV spots were left and all of the 50 amp spots were rented.
Fourteen vendors will be set up on The Coliseum floor and lobby area this year, Ortegon said.
He said many of the vendors that have attended previous festivals will be back this year, but some new vendors have also registered for the four-day event. He said the new vendors will be selling jewelry, clothing and “As Seen on TV” items.
Tickets are still on sale at the chamber office and will be sold at the door beginning Thursday. A single session pass is $23 and a four-day pass is $60.
Following Wednesday’s burgers and beans supper, an informal jam session will be held in The Coliseum. Two sessions of the festival will be held Thursday through Saturday. The first session will begin at noon and the second is at 6:30 p.m.
The festival’s first-day lineup includes Justin Trevino, Tommy Hooker and Rance Norton. Trevino has released 13 albums since 1998 and has been featured at the Snyder festival over the years. Hooker has been performing since 1967 and has been featured with many groups. Norton, who will be one of the youngest performers on the Snyder stage, released his first album at the age of 17.
Friday’s line-up will include Ted Scanlon, Jeff Woolsey and Jody Nix. Scanlon formed his band, the Desperados, in 1976 and received the duo/group of the year award from the Academy of Western Artists in 2004. Woolsey formed his first band at the age of 19, which was named the band of the year in the Houston area in 1994. Nix is no stranger to Snyder, having played at the festival and other events in Scurry County. He was inducted into the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame in 1996.
Saturday’s lineup will be Bobby Flores, Billy Mata and Jake Hooker. Flores, who has played at The Coliseum several times, received a Grammy Award in 2003 for his performance on Freddie Fender’s La Musica de Baldemar Huerta album. Mata started his recording career in the 1970s and is known as the Ambassador of Western Swing. Hooker began recording in 1998 and has performed in Snyder several times.