The warmth of a South Texas spring is upon us, and while the bath of the on-coming heat will likely last the remainder of the year, we can count on a particular, magical underground music and arts experience to help keep the vibes cool and the fun in full flex. Enter: GALAX Z FAIR– now in its third year.
The music & arts experience has remained one of South Texas’s best kept festival secrets, drawing waves of enthused, impassioned supporters of the underground arts to the downtown McAllen area. This year, though, the all ages event has expanded to two days, with the main, heaviest presentation of talent happening March 10th, and a freshly added soirée happening Thursday, March 13th. Despite the growth, the vibe is alive and the song remains the same: underground, unsponsored, and deep in quality acts. Headliners for 2014 include Dominican born hero of underground neo-r&b, Twin Shadow (March 10th), and the electric folk-punk legends, Against Me! (March 13th).
If you aren’t, get familiar with these:
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The March 10th date is this year’s heaviest presentation. In addition to Twin Shadow, the day long party, starting at 5pm, also features a line up of headliners in their own respect: Miniature Tigers (Brooklyn NY), Power Trip (Dallas, TX), Perfect Pussy (Syracuse, NY), Speedy Ortiz (Amherst, MA), TOPS (Montreal, Canada), and many more touring and regional artists, including a special art installation at Suerte called the Artist Realm, which will feature visuals by Tuff Town, Joshua Castillo, and more.
If you’re planning to attend this immersive, multi-genre experience, please dress comfortably, as this year’s heaviest date will take on a fun, multi-venue dynamic. Throughout the afternoon and into the night, festival goers will have the option of choosing and walking between stages at select venues showcasing different lineups. This year, participating venues include the Historic Cine El Rey, the Fall Back Records Stage at Thirsty Monkey, the Artist Realm at Suerte, and the Ouch, My Ego! stage at the Flying Walrus.
A discounted Two-Day Pass is available at Melhart’s Music in McAllen and online at galaxzfair.com for only $40.
Single-Day Passes are also available at both Melhart’s and galaxzfair.com.
Day of show tickets will only be available at Cine El Rey’s box-office.
Here is the full schedule for both dates:
Monday, March 10th in downtown McAllen, TX:
Festival start: 5pm
CINE EL REY
05:30 – 06:00 – ZORAH
06:15 – 07:00 – PINKY SWEAR
07:15 – 08:00 – JUNGLE BODIES
08:15 – 09:00 – TOPS
09:15 – 10:00 – SPEEDY ORTIZ
10:15 – 11:00 – MINIATURE TIGERS
11:15 – 12:30 – TWIN SHADOW
FALL BACK RECORDS STAGE @ THIRSTY MONKEY
06:45 – 07:30 – KЯUX
07:45 – 08:30 – BIG UPS
08:45 – 09:30 – CUTTERS
09:45 – 10:30 – DEEP WOODS
10:45 – 11:30 – PERFECT PUSSY
11:45 – 12:30 – CRIATURAS
12:45 – 01:45 – POWER TRIP
THE ARTIST REALM @ SUERTE
5:30pm – 1am: Visual arts: TUFF TOWN, GWYN F. DELLA CROCE, 4RT F4RT, JOSHUA CASTILLO, DAVID ALVAREZ, TRAVIS TRAPP
5:30pm – 1am: – Literary arts: Brian Allen Carr & Fernando Flores* (*presenting Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas Vol. 1)
9:00 – 9:45pm – Musical arts: DIOSDELGHETTO (live)
12:30 – 2:00am – After-party arts: THE COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS (Dj Set)
OUCH, MY EGO! STAGE @ THE FLYING WALRUS
10:00 – 10:30 – THE ROTTEN MANGOS
10:45 – 11:15 – PILE
11:45 – 12:15 – GRMLN
12:30 – 01:00 – BOOM!
01:15 – 02:00 – GUANTANAMO BAYWATCH
Thursday, March 13th in downtown McAllen, TX
CINE EL REY
08:30 – 09:00 – TBA
09:15 – 09:45 – CHEAP GIRLS
10:00 – 10:30 – LAURA STEVENSON
10:45 – 11:45 – AGAINST ME!
For questions or concerns, please hit up: tigersbloodmcallen@gmail.com
