Among the events on this week’s accordion calendar, there’s one that stands out: the 2007 International Accordion Festival in San Antonio, TX. Held just a few blocks from the Alamo, this fantastic festival boasts two full days of concerts, workshops (led by many of the performers), open mike sessions, and once-in-a-lifetime accordion jams. It kicks off on Friday night with a concert featuring Santiago Jiménez Jr., Chango Spasiuk, and Brandan (an ensemble from the Canary Islands).
One of the great things about this festival is the wide variety of genres it encompasses. Styles represented this year range from Irish (Johnny B. Connolly) to Creole (Ed Poullard and Lawrence Ardoin) to Quebecois (Yves Lambert) to Bulgarian (Yuri Yunakov) to rock (Those Darn Accordions) and everything in-between. There are some interesting workshops on tap, as well, including “Cowboys and Accordions”, “Native American Accordions”, and “Accordions, Rocked Up.”
Best of all, admission is free! I know some of our readers will be attending this year’s festival; we’re looking forward to hearing your reports. Take lots of photos (and videos) too!