As ACL, Mala Luna, Sound on Sound Fest, and Day for Night looms, a brand new music festival has been announced for its inaugural debut in the Alamo City: Botánica Music and Arts Festival.
The March 3 - 4 festival in the Six Flags Fiesta Texas parking lot will host music from electronic music trio Major Lazer, rappers Logic and Blackbear, and San Antonio-by-way-of-Brownsville artist Carlton Zeus. More headliners and and supporting acts will be announced in November, according to a recent press release.
Financed by local investors (and former Rackspace giants) Graham Weston and Lew Moorman, the festival’s management and production team includes music industry professionals who’ve previously worked for some heavy hitters in the promotions game including Live Nation, Circuit of the Americas, Insomniac and Universal Music Group to name a few.
A couple of folks in the group have also produced and founded other music festivals like Voodoo Music & Arts Experience, Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) and South By Southwest, soooo it looks like they might have more than an idea of how to run this shit.
“I know firsthand from my years at Rackspace that our city is in a tough battle for young talent,” said Graham Weston in a press release. “Young people often decide where to locate based on lifestyle choices, and shared music experiences can be a big part of that. Other cities have clearly benefited from large, locally owned, mainstream music-fests, and our hope is that Botánica can be that kind of festival for San Antonio.”
“San Antonio is really at a special moment in time. I think all of us that live here can feel it,” added David Heard, one of the Botánica founders and owner of Tech Bloc in the press release. “This festival was inspired by the tremendous growth, energy and creative shift happening all across our great community. Our hope is to build a landmark music event for, by, and of the people of San Antonio and South Texas. We feel like the time is now and that San Antonio is ready."
TBH, we’re pretty stoked for more music, and with San Antonio Music Showcase literally days away I think it’s clear San Antonio is in support of more live shows.
And if you've been paying attention to the shifting landscape of our music scene, with a surge of of new local talent over the years, new venues popping up or getting revamped, and local festivals like Mala Luna and Maverick continue to thrive, I think it's clear we're ready for more.
One concern we have is making sure there’s continued local flavor in the mix, which seeing “Necio Cumbia” rapper Carlton Zeus on the ticket, they’re off to a good start. The other concern: Is this the beginning of our end?
Are we about to fall into the same shit that Austin has fallen into in the last 15 years. Meaning, if this festival is one extra push to get more young professionals (yuppies/yupsters) to move to our city, does that mean we won't be able to afford our mortgages? Will the price of bean and cheeses sky rocket? If anything we'll at least be able to watch Chino Moreno and the Deftones launch us into a new era of overpriced luxury apartments near the Pearl before we have to worry about all of that.
Here's the flyer with artist currently confirmed for the inaugural fest:
Tickets go on sale Friday, September 29 at 10am with two-day GA tickets ranging from $119-$159, and VIP tickets going from $399-$499. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit botanicamusicfestival.com.
