The 2018 San Antonio Ragtime Festival—an official SA 300 Partner Event presented by Castle Ragtime Company (Castle Rag. Co.)—will feature musicians from San Antonio and across Texas. Taking place on Saturday, April 7th at Brick at the Blue Star, The San Antonio Ragtime Festival is a celebration of musical heritage: both the city’s and the country’s. Admission is free and open to the public. Beginning at 11am, a combination of ragtime pianists, bands, and volunteers will keep the music playing until 8pm.

Headlining the festival is The Matt Tolentino Trio from Dallas. A lover of history, Tolentino has his various bands all over the country performing popular music from the 20s and 30s. For our event he will be leading a trio and will perform a unique set especially with our festival in mind.

Playing a mixture of jazz, blues, and ragtime The Dirty River Dixie Band will also lend their talents to our festival with a special performance of their own. The festival will also feature Laura Niland and the Yellow Rose Accordion Band playing Spanish-tinge compositions. A yet-to-be-announced  group of local musicians will play blues and Americana including some music by Robert Johnson, who famously recorded his blues guitar in San Antonio in 1936.

Of course, no ragtime festival would be complete without ragtime piano. Members of the San Antonio Ragtime Society will be performing throughout the day. Special performances of San Antonio compositions are also on the schedule. We also invite anyone interested in playing ragtime piano to join us. Contact us in advance to ensure a time to play.

Visit the official San Antonio Ragtime Festival website for more information. An official schedule will be released soon.  The festival is still looking for vendors to join the event. Visit saragfest.com/partners to apply. Special thanks to Genaro Design and Brick at Blue Star for making this event possible.