By Cool Kel
As a local Austinite, I’ve been attending SXSW for 25 years. This year, I’m embarking on a weeklong journey of reviewing only musical acts I know nothing about.
Zenal Nortex, The Grupo Ferrary Show and Andrea Daniela (again)
I was so captivated by Houston’s Andrea Daniela’s performance that I went to see her encore performance at Hotel Vegas the following week. Once again, she blew the roof off the joint. Once her set ended, I scootered down East Sixth to catch Zenal Nortex at Lefty’s Brick Bar.
Zenal Nortex is an Austin-based Norteño band that plays a crowd-pleasing mix of Tejano, Ranchera, Corrido and Cumbia. The venue was sparsely populated when they took the stage, but by the middle of their set, several couples took up residence on the dance floor.
Zenal Nortex’s percussionist stepped out from behind his set frequently to hype up the crowd, microphone in hand.. His shouts were a vibrant contrast to the understated demeanor of the fronting guitarist/vocalist. The six-piece also includes a traditional drummer, bassist, trombonist, and a master accordion player. While Zenal Nortex could easily own the bar circuit with their practiced chops and deep repertoire, they have enough catchy originals to make strides in the wider music scene as well.
I made it back to Hotel Vegas for the last song-and-a-half of The Grupo Ferrary Show, a Houston-based Cumbia act that had the crowd whirling and twirling to their entrancing jams. Kudos to SXSW for including more Tejano, Cumbia and other artists from genres rooted in the region and local communities like the headliners I saw: The Animeros, Los Juanos, Andrea Daniela, Zenal Nortex, and more. From Houston to Mexico, one of the best things about living in Tejas is the music.