On Friday March 14th, Reno Perez took the stage at Aussie’s during SXSW 2014 for Music Madness ATX and drew in a large crowd who heard the call of the Blues in the midst of all the SXSW madness and responded. His three piece band entertained for slightly more than an hour, and after the last note the audience screamed for more.
A classically trained Mariachi and a formerly ranked heavyweight Muay Thai Kickboxer, Reno has toured with Country great Johnny Rodriguez, serving as his musical director as well as lead guitarist. He has shared and opened the music stage with many others like Country legends Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, as well as Blues icons Bobby Blue Bland, Rocky Benton and the late Pinetop Perkins. Reno has written and performed in national commercials, including Miller Lite and a Pepsi Cola collaboration with Ricky Martin.
“I’ve always played the Blues. It takes a lot of pain and anguish to understand what the Blues even are. A friend of mine once said that you have to put your music to the fire. You’ll either make it through or you’ll burn. ”