Manuel ‘Cowboy’ Donley Tribute in Austin on Sept. 28

A heartfelt tribute to the legendary Manuel “Cowboy” Donley is scheduled for Saturday, September 28, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in East Austin at Parque Zaragoza, 2608 Gonzales St. This special event will feature performances by musicians, including family members, celebrating his groundbreaking contributions to Tejano music.

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Manuel “Cowboy” Donley, a trailblazer in Tejano music, represents a transformative moment in the genre. The tribute will include a two-hour performance with a short intermission. Sylvia, Phillip, and Lupe Donley will share memories and perform songs they performed with their father, along with the orchestra featuring Donley’s own arrangements for horns.

Special appearances include Trio Los Vigilantes, an Austin-based group preserving the Mexican trio tradition, who will perform boleros with Sylvia Donley. Kim Simpson, a renowned Austin-based singer-songwriter and host of The International Folk Bazaar on KOOP Radio, will serve as one of the emcees. Simpson had the fortune to perform with Donley on KUTX in 2014.

The event will also feature a 12-piece orchestra with various horn musicians who played with Donley, including Felipe “Tiburon” Borrero heading up the horn section and Jerry Silva, one of Donley’s Estrellas. The horn section will feature Donley’s traditional lineup of an alto sax, tenor sax, and two trumpets.

Donley was a pioneering figure in the evolution of Tejano music. He was a multi-talented musician, skilled in playing various instruments, including the guitar, trumpet, and saxophone. He began his musical journey in Austin, Texas, where his family relocated from Durango, Mexico, when he was a child.

Donley’s achievements have been recognized through numerous honors, including his induction into the Tejano Music Hall of Fame in 1986 and receiving the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in 2014, which recognized his enduring impact on American musical traditions.

This tribute is a collaboration between The Donley Family, the ESB-MACC, the Austin Tejano Music Coalition, and is produced by Christopher Mares. The project has been financed in whole or in part by the City of Austin’s Live Music Fund Event Program.

The public is invited to celebrate the memory and music of Manuel “Cowboy” Donley. For more information, visit AustinTexas.gov/ESBMACC.

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