Founded in the early ’80s by frontman Oscar De La Rosa and keyboard/accordionist Armando Lichtenberger, Jr., La Mafia has been one of Tejano music’s biggest acts for nearly thirty years. The award-winning group has had a colorful career featuring scores of hits, a high-profile rivalry with Grupo Mazz, legions of fans, and has enjoyed a level of success few groups are able to attain. Since the mid-90s, La Mafia has had a nearly-perennial presence on Grammy Award ballots, including back-to-back Grammy wins for “Best Mexican-American Performance” in 1997 and 1998 for their albums Un Million de Rosas and En Tus Manos, and Latin Grammy wins in 2005 for “Best Album Grupero” for Para El Pueblo and 2006 for “Best Tejano Album” for Nuevamente.
Los A-T Boyz, driven by la familia Rodriguez, began a couple of decades ago as Alma Tejana. Later adopting the A-T Boyz moniker, brothers Raphael (saxophone) and Paquito Rodriguez (accordion) masterfully work the stage along with their father Paco Rodriguez on bajo sexto and brother Fernando on drums and percussion. Rounding out the lineup are Raymond Garza (keys and accordion), Adam Garza (bass), Omar Acuna (congas), and Chris Rivera (harmony vocals). Their sound draws from almost every genre, allowing their creative spirit and radiant energy to shine through during every performance and on every recording. Almost everyone sings, and they all love to perform.
Long story short: Expect a packed house. Oscar and the guys don’t come to town all that often, so die-hard fans will be out in force. Musically, this is ’80s-’90s keyboard-driven Tejano with some extra spice added by the A-T Boyz.
