2024 Mexico Rock ‘n Blues Fest January 19-27, 2024 Is Just Days Away Now And We’ve Got The Latest Changes & Additions For You!

It’s Rockin’ ‘n Bluesin ‘n Causin’ Time Soon Again In Zihuatanejo, Ixtapa, Playa Linda and Troncones, MEXICO. Tequila Rock ‘n Blues Explosions Fest is back!

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English Text Version Below

December 6, 2023  Our Contact Info

Contact: Bob Rempel, Managing Chairperson. Residence & Office Address: Ixtapa-Zihua, Mexico. Phone/W.A:+52 755 101 5989  Emails: tequilabluesfest@gmail.com & bobrempel@gmail.com  Website: https://tequilabluesrock.com FB: https://www.facebook.com/tequilabluesfests/  Advance Fest Tickets For Each Event And Venue:  https:/tequilabluesrock.com/festivaltickets/

The Paraiso Society organizing group presents the Tequila Rock ‘n Blues Explosions Festival and our new Generations Unite theme in Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa and Playa Linda and Troncones Mexico on January 19-27, 2024. 

We Have Made Major Positive Changes, For Our Fans, To Our Performer Lineup…As We Continue To Work Get “Better and Better”, Our Key Words For 2024-2026.  

View Our December 6 Promo Video For January 19-27, 2024 Tequila Rock ‘n Blues Explosions Fest For An Overview of Performers and Special Shows And Tributes:  https://youtu.be/Gu6iqvKd27M

Today, We Are Pleased To Announce Two Additions To Strengthen Our First Regional Event, January 25 in Troncones, plus the January 26 event in Zihuatanejo and January 27 Fest Closing Event In Ixtapa.  

We Have Added Cliff Stevens of Montreal, Canada, with 5 Albums of original Blues Rock to his credit, multiple European tours, plus being one of the foremost interpreters of living legend Eric Clapton’s music worldwide. Website:  CliffStevens.com  

and we have added bluesman Brandon Isaak, now of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, originally The Yukon, with 3 Albums Recorded, multiple European tours as well, and just recently with 4 Nominations in 2023 For Canada’s Prestigious Maple Blues Awards.  Website: https://brandonisaak.ca

Cliff Stevens

Cliff Stevens Performance Video

Brandon Isaak

Brandon Isaak Performance Video

Plus Morelia Mexico’s Chile Vudu 3 Piece power trio, led by Norbert “Bones” Aguilar on lead vocals, is now joining us, starting opening night November 19 for our sold-out show. They are presenting separately a “Beatles at Shea Stadium 1965” Set and the “Highway to Hell and Back” Set with the music of AC-DC and more power rock. 

Chile Vudu

Today, Also Announcing A Sell-Out For January 19 In Zihuatanejo at Madana Bar and Restaurant, Zihuatanejo, Our Earliest Ever, And Now A Second Show Added on January 22 With An Equally Strong Lineup As Will Appear On January 19 At Madana Bar On Opening Night.  

Also To Highlight A Purchase At One Time For A Group of 19, For January 20 in Ixtapa at Ricardo’s Restaurante and Bar.  Our Largest Group To Date Since We Began in 2018. They Said, “We Read About The Fun In The Reviews And Don’t Want To Miss Out”  A Big Fun Night Ahead In Ixtapa on the 20th As Well!

Today, We Also Announce The Appointment Of Our 2024 Music Director, And Headline Performer, Charlie Jacobson.  He is a fan Favorite from Previous Fests, from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada Know All The Musicians And The Music The Fans Love. A multi-instrumentalist and accomplished guitarist.  Charlie will work with the Fest Director to ensure that all our Headliners have great backing musicians. Plus perform as a Headliner as well.

We Announce We Have Added the Top 40 Classic Rock Trio, 3 For The Show from Hamilton Ontario Canada To Our First Ever By The Beach Rock ‘n Blues All Afternoon Margaritavile Palooza…Shindig…Fiesta.  They Open the Playa Linda Coco Ixtapa Beach Klub 1-6 Pm Afternoon at 1:00 pm. At Coco Ixtapa Beach Klub at Playa Linda, near Ixtapa.

To Add Even More Sizzle To That Afternoon, Our Key Headliner Bex Marshall, of London England, who is with us the entire Fest period, will Honor Tina Turner, who passed away in 2023, with a one-time special Tribute Set That Afternoon. 

We Are Confident In Taking Our Current Lineup To Our Fans For Some Great Fun Nights Ahead.  But If There Is An Opportunity To Improve It Even Further,  We Advise Our Fans That We Are Still Holding One Or Two Places In Our Performer Lineup For the Right Music, And The Right Big Hearts To Join Our Tequila Rock ‘n Blues Explosions 2024 Performer Family/Familia,  If We Identify Some Great Fits.

We Are Truly A “Come Together” Event For Performers and Fans That Feel That Way About The Power of The Music of Our Lives To Help Create More Good Where We Are…while having big fun and enjoying one of the best Winter Paradises possible.   The Events Of The Past Few Weeks As We Describe Below Have Reinforced That For Us.

Now The Backstory And More Information Below

Nobody heard the big Explosions on November 15 in the Tequila Rock n Blues Explosions Fest office.  Not an explosion of Rock ‘n Blues music.  An explosion of bad news with potentially very damaging results to the 2024 Festival. We were reeling, not rocking.  

Two unrelated headliner performers, our biggest ever, on the same day if you can believe that coincidence, asked for a deferral to our 2025 or 2026 Festivals for medical reasons. We want to make that work.  Two others have subsequently just gone AWOL, gone missing on us, astounding yes, but true, and that means they are not coming for 2025 or 2026 either. 

An Aside About How This Could Happen To A Growing Fest With A Loyal Fan Base.  We are an Old School style operation here. Maybe to a fault. Great Music for Worthy Causes By Volunteers. Handshakes And Verbal Agreements As We Look For the Right Combination Of Performers With Big Hearts Who Want Some Downtime and Fun Time In Mexico In Late January.  “A big learning experience” is what Fest Director Bob Rempel called it.  And we love even more the pérformers and fans and partners that Have our Back too.

It took a few days to process all this and decide our strategy. No tequila-mezcal was necessary for a fan-friendly approach that helped the Fest stay on target to keep achieving its “Better and Better 2024-2026 strategy and fundraising goals. Go back to basics, go back to first order priorities was the advice we received.  But, no denying it, a shot or two of tequila or mezcal did not hurt in helping us get back to glass-half-full thinking.

Now here we are today, a few weeks later, feeling better and more confident than ever.

We are pleased to announce today:

-In light of the regrettable cancellations by Performers we have promoted for months to our fans, any ticket holder for 2024 who wishes to defer their ticket to either 2025 or 2026 will be able to do so, by informing us of the same by Written Communication before January 19 midday.  No penalties or fees. This will allow us to put 2024 fans in those seats. 

-In the meantime, on January 19 at Madana Restaurant, the Rock and Blues back room we all affectionately call “Small Room, Big Fun” has Sold Out. A second show for Zihuatanejo with all or most of the first weekend Fest performers has been scheduled for Monday, January 22. Same time, same location.

The second weekend January 25, 26, 27 events have grown considerably stronger with performers

-Cliff Stevens of Montreal, Canada with 5 blues rock albums to his credit will join us January 25-27.  In Cliff’s case not only has he got 5 albums of original music, he is also known as the “Canadian Slowhand”.  He is considered one of the foremost Eric Clapton music interpreters worldwide.  More on Cliff:  https://www.thesoundcafe.com/post/a-conversation-with-montreal-bluesman-cliff-stevens

-Brandon Isaak, of North Cowichan, BC, Canada, with three blues albums to his credit and just recently 4 Maple Blues Award Nominations for 2023 will also join us January 25-27.  When you see Brandon you can affectionately say “Hey Bluesman”.  He love the title and his recorded music and live performances show it. In November performed at a “Sold Out”  show at the famous Blue Frog Studios in Vancouver, Canada.  website social

More on Brandon:  https://edifyedmonton.com/culture/performing-arts/brandon-isaak-saint-of-swing-boss-of-blues/

The first weekend will now allow us to feature our first International performer (non-USA-Canada-Mexico) to a much great degree. Bex Marshall of London, England.

She has a great pedigree.  Selected as the voice of “Janis Joplin”  by Big Brother and the Holding Company’s original lead guitarist Sam Andrew who originally brought Janis into Big Brother in San Francisco, from Texas, for their European Tour in 2014, her voice and guitar skills will amaze everyone.  We have scheduled a special Tribute Homage to Tina Turner

Bex with Big Brother original lead guitarist and band leader Sam Andrew, 2014

Recently we announced Charlie Jacobson as our Musical Director ensuring all performers    He will now assume a front-line performance role as a Headliner as well.  Charlie is a fan favourite from previous years, an excellent guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, and has a great rock and blues mix of originals and covers.  We may even get a little Bob Seger tribute from Charlie.  He’s working on something he told us.

We have moved the Beatles’s “1965 at Shea Stadium” and the Highway to Hell AC-DC sets, 30 minutes each at different times in the evening, to the first weekend.  They will be presented by Norbert Aguilar and his Chile Vudu band of Morelia, Mexico whose brief walk-on performance in 2023 told us we had to bring him back.  Now back with his power trio band!

Unofficially we’re calling it Margarita Sunday.  Our Margaritaville.  Beach Rock takes over January 21 at the Beach, (Playa Linda’s Coco Ixtapa Beach Klub, 1:00 pm start all afternoon) will be headlined and opened by a special one time only performance of the very well known Hamilton, Ontario Canada, 3 For The Show.  Top 40 Classic Rock music.  3 Guys Who Love Their Classic Rock.  They also perform in Canada’s biggest CCR/John Fogerty Tribute Band called Mystic Highway Band.  Plus Fest Performers on stage all afternoon until about 6 pm.  Steps away from the Ocean with a big dance floor just for the occasion.

Trebor Villa of Morelia will assume a more prominent front-line role, with his early Bob Dylan set, his Jimi Hendrix and other classic rock music. as will Marianna Gajma, Mexico’s next shining vocal star. Her stage presence and engaging personality will win you over quickly we’re sure.  Both will be with us throughout the entire Festival January 19-27, 2024

Mariana Gajma

Please Check The Latest Revised Schedules On Our Website or Facebook Page For All The Changes.  

And that’s all Folks, the January Events are next. 

Venues, locations, times stay the same. The fundraising goals stay the same. 5 hours each night of great Fun, the great Live Music of our lives.  Originals and cover songs by Performers from all over Canada, Mexico and now the United Kingdom, with many albums to their credit, plus great Tributes to present in honour to the icons of rock and blues.  

And Yes You Can Wear The 2024 Shirt Too-Sleeved or Sleeveless, Saying You Survived the 2024 Rock ‘n Blues Explosions And Loved It. It’s Available Now In Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo by special delivery arrangement or at the Fest Events in January.

The Fundraising Goal:

All Donors in 2024 also automatically go to the head of the line in our public Wall of Honor, recognizing all Donors to the Centre For Senior Animals, Kid & Rockin’ Good Times in the yearly order they are received. 

December 6, 2023 

Contact: Bob Rempel, Managing Chairperson. Residence & Office Address: Ixtapa-Zihua, Mexico. 

Phone/W.A:+52 755 101 5989  Emails: tequilabluesfest@gmail.com & bobrempel@gmail.com  

Website: https://tequilabluesrock.com FB: https://www.facebook.com/tequilabluesfests/  Advance Fest Tickets For Each Event And Venue:  https:/tequilabluesrock.com/festivaltickets/

The Paraiso Society organizing group presents the Tequila Rock ‘n Blues Explosions Festival and our new Generations Unite theme in Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa and Playa Linda and Troncones Mexico on January 19-27, 2024. 

We Have Made Major Positive Changes, For Our Fans, To Our Performer Lineup…As We Continue To Work Get “Better and Better”, Our Key Words For 2024-2026.  

View Our December 6 Promo Video For January 19-27, 2024 Tequila Rock ‘n Blues Explosions Fest For An Overview of Performers and Special Shows And Tributes:  https://youtu.be/Gu6iqvKd27M

Today, We Are Pleased To Announce Two Additions To Strengthen Our First Regional Event, January 25 in Troncones, plus the January 26 event in Zihuatanejo and January 27 Fest Closing Event In Ixtapa.  

We Have Added Cliff Stevens of Montreal, Canada, with 5 Albums of original Blues Rock to his credit, multiple European tours, plus being one of the foremost interpreters of living legend Eric Clapton’s music worldwide. Website:  CliffStevens.com  

and we have added bluesman Brandon Isaak, now of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, originally The Yukon, with 3 Albums Recorded, multiple European tours as well, and just recently with 4 Nominations in 2023 For Canada’s Prestigious Maple Blues Awards.  Website: https://brandonisaak.ca

Cliff Stevens

Cliff Stevens Performance Video

Brandon Isaak

Brandon Isaak Performance Video

Plus Morelia Mexico’s Chile Vudu 3 Piece power trio, led by Norbert “Bones” Aguilar on lead vocals, is now joining us, starting opening night November 19 for our sold-out show. They are presenting separately a “Beatles at Shea Stadium 1965” Set and the “Highway to Hell and Back” Set with the music of AC-DC and more power rock. 

Chile Vudu

Today, Also Announcing A Sell-Out For January 19 In Zihuatanejo at Madana Bar and Restaurant, Zihuatanejo, Our Earliest Ever, And Now A Second Show Added on January 22 With An Equally Strong Lineup As Will Appear On January 19 At Madana Bar On Opening Night.  

Also To Highlight A Purchase At One Time For A Group of 19, For January 20 in Ixtapa at Ricardo’s Restaurante and Bar.  Our Largest Group To Date Since We Began in 2018. They Said, “We Read About The Fun In The Reviews And Don’t Want To Miss Out”  A Big Fun Night Ahead In Ixtapa on the 20th As Well!

Today, We Also Announce The Appointment Of Our 2024 Music Director, And Headline Performer, Charlie Jacobson.  He is a fan Favorite from Previous Fests, from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada Know All The Musicians And The Music The Fans Love. A multi-instrumentalist and accomplished guitarist.  Charlie will work with the Fest Director to ensure that all our Headliners have great backing musicians. Plus perform as a Headliner as well.

We Announce We Have Added the Top 40 Classic Rock Trio, 3 For The Show from Hamilton Ontario Canada To Our First Ever By The Beach Rock ‘n Blues All Afternoon Margaritavile Palooza…Shindig…Fiesta.  They Open the Playa Linda Coco Ixtapa Beach Klub 1-6 Pm Afternoon at 1:00 pm. At Coco Ixtapa Beach Klub at Playa Linda, near Ixtapa.

To Add Even More Sizzle To That Afternoon, Our Key Headliner Bex Marshall, of London England, who is with us the entire Fest period, will Honor Tina Turner, who passed away in 2023, with a one-time special Tribute Set That Afternoon. 

We Are Confident In Taking Our Current Lineup To Our Fans For Some Great Fun Nights Ahead.  But If There Is An Opportunity To Improve It Even Further,  We Advise Our Fans That We Are Still Holding One Or Two Places In Our Performer Lineup For the Right Music, And The Right Big Hearts To Join Our Tequila Rock ‘n Blues Explosions 2024 Performer Family/Familia,  If We Identify Some Great Fits.

We Are Truly A “Come Together” Event For Performers and Fans That Feel That Way About The Power of The Music of Our Lives To Help Create More Good Where We Are…while having big fun and enjoying one of the best Winter Paradises possible.   The Events Of The Past Few Weeks As We Describe Below Have Reinforced That For Us.

Now The Backstory And More Information Below

Nobody heard the big Explosions on November 15 in the Tequila Rock n Blues Explosions Fest office.  Not an explosion of Rock ‘n Blues music.  An explosion of bad news with potentially very damaging results to the 2024 Festival. We were reeling, not rocking.  

Two unrelated headliner performers, our biggest ever, on the same day if you can believe that coincidence, asked for a deferral to our 2025 or 2026 Festivals for medical reasons. We want to make that work.  Two others have subsequently just gone AWOL, gone missing on us, astounding yes, but true, and that means they are not coming for 2025 or 2026 either. 

An Aside About How This Could Happen To A Growing Fest With A Loyal Fan Base.  We are an Old School style operation here. Maybe to a fault. Great Music for Worthy Causes By Volunteers. Handshakes And Verbal Agreements As We Look For the Right Combination Of Performers With Big Hearts Who Want Some Downtime and Fun Time In Mexico In Late January.  “A big learning experience” is what Fest Director Bob Rempel called it.  And we love even more the pérformers and fans and partners that Have our Back too.

It took a few days to process all this and decide our strategy. No tequila-mezcal was necessary for a fan-friendly approach that helped the Fest stay on target to keep achieving its “Better and Better 2024-2026 strategy and fundraising goals. Go back to basics, go back to first order priorities was the advice we received.  But, no denying it, a shot or two of tequila or mezcal did not hurt in helping us get back to glass-half-full thinking.

Now here we are today, a few weeks later, feeling better and more confident than ever.

We are pleased to announce today:

-In light of the regrettable cancellations by Performers we have promoted for months to our fans, any ticket holder for 2024 who wishes to defer their ticket to either 2025 or 2026 will be able to do so, by informing us of the same by Written Communication before January 19 midday.  No penalties or fees. This will allow us to put 2024 fans in those seats. 

-In the meantime, on January 19 at Madana Restaurant, the Rock and Blues back room we all affectionately call “Small Room, Big Fun” has Sold Out. A second show for Zihuatanejo with all or most of the first weekend Fest performers has been scheduled for Monday, January 22. Same time, same location.

The second weekend January 25, 26, 27 events have grown considerably stronger with performers

-Cliff Stevens of Montreal, Canada with 5 blues rock albums to his credit will join us January 25-27.  In Cliff’s case not only has he got 5 albums of original music, he is also known as the “Canadian Slowhand”.  He is considered one of the foremost Eric Clapton music interpreters worldwide.  More on Cliff:  https://www.thesoundcafe.com/post/a-conversation-with-montreal-bluesman-cliff-stevens

-Brandon Isaak, of North Cowichan, BC, Canada, with three blues albums to his credit and just recently 4 Maple Blues Award Nominations for 2023 will also join us January 25-27.  When you see Brandon you can affectionately say “Hey Bluesman”.  He love the title and his recorded music and live performances show it. In November performed at a “Sold Out”  show at the famous Blue Frog Studio in Vancouver, Canada.  website social

More on Brandon:  https://edifyedmonton.com/culture/performing-arts/brandon-isaak-saint-of-swing-boss-of-blues/

The first weekend will now allow us to feature our first International performer (non-USA-Canada-Mexico) to a much great degree. Bex Marshall of London, England.

She has a great pedigree.  Selected as the voice of “Janis Joplin”  by Big Brother and the Holding Company’s original lead guitarist Sam Andrew who originally brought Janis into Big Brother in San Francisco, from Texas, for their European Tour in 2014, her voice and guitar skills will amaze everyone.  We have scheduled a special Tribute Homage to Tina Turner

Bex with Big Brother original lead guitarist and band leader Sam Andrew, 2014

Recently we announced Charlie Jacobson as our Musical Director ensuring all performers    He will now assume a front-line performance role as a Headliner as well.  Charlie is a fan favourite from previous years, an excellent guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, and has a great rock and blues mix of originals and covers.  We may even get a little Bob Seger tribute from Charlie.  He’s working on something he told us.

We have moved the Beatles’s “1965 at Shea Stadium” and the Highway to Hell AC-DC sets, 30 minutes each at different times in the evening, to the first weekend.  They will be presented by Norbert Aguilar and his Chile Vudu band of Morelia, Mexico whose brief walk-on performance in 2023 told us we had to bring him back.  Now back with his power trio band!

Unofficially we’re calling it Margarita Sunday.  Our Margaritaville.  Beach Rock takes over January 21 at the Beach, (Playa Linda’s Coco Ixtapa Beach Klub, 1:00 pm start all afternoon) will be headlined and opened by a special one time only performance of the very well known Hamilton, Ontario Canada, 3 For The Show.  Top 40 Classic Rock music.  3 Guys Who Love Their Classic Rock.  They also perform in Canada’s biggest CCR/John Fogerty Tribute Band called Mystic Highway Band.  Plus Fest Performers on stage all afternoon until about 6 pm.  Steps away from the Ocean with a big dance floor just for the occasion.

Trebor Villa of Morelia will assume a more prominent front-line role, with his early Bob Dylan set, his Jimi Hendrix and other classic rock music. as will Marianna Gajma, Mexico’s next shining vocal star. Her stage presence and engaging personality will win you over quickly we’re sure.  Both will be with us throughout the entire Festival January 19-27, 2024

Mariana Gajma

Please Check The Latest Revised Schedules On Our Website or Facebook Page For All The Changes.  

And that’s all Folks, the January Events are next. 

Venues, locations, times stay the same. The fundraising goals stay the same. 5 hours each night of great Fun, the great Live Music of our lives.  Originals and cover songs by Performers from all over Canada, Mexico and now the United Kingdom, with many albums to their credit, plus great Tributes to present in honour to the icons of rock and blues.  

And Yes You Can Wear The 2024 Shirt Too-Sleeved or Sleeveless, Saying You Survived the 2024 Rock ‘n Blues Explosions And Loved It. It’s Available Now In Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo by special delivery arrangement or at the Fest Events in January.

The Fundraising Goal:

All Donors in 2024 also automatically go to the head of the line in our public Wall of Honor, recognizing all Donors to the Centre For Senior Animals, Kid & Rockin’ Good Times in the yearly order they are received.