In Texas, the State Fair isn’t just a place to gorge yourself on fried Coke (seriously, they’ve elevated fried food to an art form) and ride the Scrambler until your head explodes, it’s also a great place for an accordion history lesson. “The Accordion and its Roots in Tejano Music” will be one of the showcase exhibits at this year’s fair, which starts Friday in Dallas and runs until October 22nd. The exhibit will feature artifacts, photographs, video and performances highlighting the role of the accordion in Tejano music.
The centerpiece of the exhibit will be a display of vintage accordions on loan from private collections, which include 1940s-era Hohners played by Narciso Martinez and Los Donneños. There will also be numerous accordion workshops and performances at the fair, including appearances by El Conjunto Bernal, Conjunto Motivo Hermanos Martinez, Barajo de Oro Conjunto, Los Texmaniacs, Joel Guzman, and Mingo Saldivar.