By Michael Swanger michael@dmcityview.com

Cinco de Mayo concert a homecoming for Valdez

With 40 years of professional experience under his belt, singer-guitarist Tony Valdez has had his share of special moments on stage. But few performances, if any, perhaps will be more rewarding for the 55-year-old musician when he plays Saturday in front of his home crowd.

Valdez, a native of West Des Moines’ Valley Junction, says his Large Group’s headlining show on 5th Street that caps the day-long Third Annual Festivale Cinco de Mayo will be a memorable one.

“As a Mexican-American it’s a great honor to get to do this,” Valdez says, “and it’s a big thrill to get to play in the area I grew up in. This is my neighborhood. I grew up three blocks from where we’ll be playing.”

Though Valdez calls West Des Moines home, he says Saturday’s show is a homecoming of sorts, an opportunity to reconnect with extended family and friends. He says the best part of the event is watching generations of West Des Moines families interact with one another.

“I dig seeing people I haven’t seen in years,” Valdez says. “It’s great to see some of the pioneers of the early Valley Junction days with their families and grandchildren.”

Saturday’s concert is also a family affair for Valdez, whose cousin Vince Valdez, another Valley Junction native, plays percussion in the Large Band and will emcee the day’s events. Vince Valdez is also preparing a slide show featuring historic photographs of local Latino families that will be shown throughout the day.

“It’s going to be a neat addition to the day,” Tony Valdez says.

Over the years, Valdez and his Large Group have played Cinco de Mayo celebrations throughout the metro, including a stint for a few years in downtown Des Moines at the former Nacho Mammas restaurant. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over the French in The Battle of Puebla in 1862. Over the years, it is perhaps better known for its celebration than for what it celebrates. Last year was the first time Valdez’s band played in Valley Junction to celebrate it and they drew a large crowd.

“We were thrilled they asked us back to play,” he says.

Seeing The Tony Valdez Large Group is becoming a seasonal affair. Valdez says the group mostly plays summertime festivals, events that can accommodate and afford the ensemble that includes horn and Latin percussion sections — a rare commodity on the local music scene.

Inspired by his hero Carlos Santana, Valdez formed the Large Group in 2000 to pursue the Latin-rock and R&B sound he pined for, allowing him to cover a range of artists like Santana and Marvin Gaye. Incidentally, the band’s mesmerizing cover of “Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen” segueing into “Oye Como Va” — just like Santana’s classic album “Abraxas” — was a defining moment of last year’s show.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to have a band like that and to have the fire of a percussion section,” Valdez says. “I’m blessed that some of the best musicians in town make the time and effort to play with me.”

When Valdez isn’t playing with his Large Group, he performs with a smaller ensemble, The Retro Rockets, or as a solo artist. Later this year, he hopes to release a DVD of the Large Group’s 2006 televised performance of the “Third Thursday” jazz series recorded live at Iowa Public Television.

In the meantime, Valdez is readying himself for Saturday’s show and another season of outdoor performances. A schedule can be found at www.tonyvaldez.com.

“It’s all about getting the people involved and dancing to where you can see the energy,” he says. “When you make them feel like they’re having a good time it kicks back to the band.”

Blues Challenge results

The Yetti Bluz Band and Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts advanced to the finals of the 2007 Iowa Blues Challenge following last week’s second preliminary round of competition held at Blues on Grand. The two Des Moines bands edged out Lady Blue (featuring Tina Haase Findlay) and Case of the Blues. The Smokin’ Mojo Kings from the Quad Cities will compete against the Des Moines finalists May 18 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Johnston for cash, gigs and other prizes including the chance to represent Iowa at the 2008 International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
As an aside, a blunder in coverage of the Iowa Blues Challenge last week by The Des Moines Register’s Datebook caused a stir when an anonymous author of the paper’s “Cool Show Alert” wrote the day of the second preliminary round that Lady Blue was “the current first-place band,” “the second place band is Case of the Blues,” Matt Woods and The Thunderbolts “is in third place” and the Yetti Bluz Band was “the final band.” Scores were not to be announced until after the second round, prompting calls from angry fans and musicians. The Central Iowa Blues Society, organizers of the event, called the participants to tell them they had not released the early results, noting that The Register errored in writing “first-place,” “second-place,” etc., in lieu of saying “the order” of the bands slated to perform that night. Said one musician to Cityview about the Datebook’s irritating gaffe: “The rest of my band didn’t see it because like most people they don’t read the Datebook. But it’s par for the course for them to screw up something like this and cause everyone a headache.”

Scene notes

Longtime Ames Campustown live music venue Peoples Bar and Grill will close its doors May 31 after 18 years of hosting live music. Owner Tom Zmolek, who is opening a second Peoples location in downtown Des Moines this month, says in an open letter on Peoples’ Web site [www.peoplesrocks.com] that the lease on the Ames building has expired and the owners want to open a restaurant in the space. A “Celebration of Music” will be held during May to bid farewell to the Ames venue. On May 27, The Nadas will perform the last concert there. … The Dan Knight Trio performs Friday at 8 p.m. at the Salisbury House. Tickets are $25. Call 274-1777. … The Westminster Fine Arts Series presents its final concert of the season with a performance by the Westminster Oratorio Choir, orchestra and soloists on Saturday at 7 p.m. Admission is free. … On Sunday, the Iowa Youth Ballet will perform two shows at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. at Ames City Auditorium. … Country music legend Kenny Rogers plays Prairie Meadows’ Events and Conference Center on May 10 at 7 p.m. Tickets, $55-$84, are on sale through Ticketmaster. … Jon Roninger’s May 12 show at the Ritual Café has been canceled. … Des Moines rockers Stuck With Arthur will unveil their new CD May 25. … The Second City Comedy Troupe plays July 21 at Stephens Auditorium. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster. CV

Comment on this story | Return to top