Los Lonely Boys include Las Cruces in new tour

Could Las Cruces one day be home to an omnibus festival of film, live music and related events similar to South by Southwest in Austin, Texas?

Austin is a larger city by far and SXSW is approaching its 38th year, but Las Cruces International Film Festival founder Ross Marks cited that event as a direction he would like to see his project stretch.

“This is our tenth year now,” Marks said in an interview. “Attendance has grown. Industry attention has grown. It’s grown beyond my wildest dreams. It’s the biggest film festival in the country put on by a university.”

LCIFF’s home base is New Mexico State University’s Creative Media Institute, where Marks is a professor and frequently works with colleagues, students and former students as a filmmaker in his own right. This year’s festival was held in April with screenings, workshops and events featuring celebrity guests such as Ron Perlman and Eric Roberts at multiple venues around the city.

Los Lonely Boys publicity photo Ringo, Henry and Jojo Garza comprise Los Lonely Boys.

At 7 p.m. on Sept. 20, the festival will present its first music concert: Los Lonely Boys behind one of the most familiar rock singles of the 2000s, will play a full show at the Grapevine Plaza, the outdoor venue associated with the Picacho Peak Brewing Co. at 3900 W. Picacho Avenue.

“Heaven,” the band’s Grammy-winning debut single in 2004, was a Billboard Top 40 hit that topped Billboard’s adult contemporary chart for 16 weeks and also found a country music audience. The trio’s slinky blend of Tejano, conjunto, blues and rock has sustained five studio albums, more Grammy nominations and decades of performances, minus a three-year hiatus from 2019 to 2022. The band consists of brothers Henry, Jojo and Ringo Garza.

Marks made his acquaintance with the band when he sought permission to use “Heaven” in his 2021 movie, “Walking with Herb.” The movie, based on a novel by Las Crucen Joe Bullock, was filmed in and around town with George Lopez, Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and Billy Boyd among its cast.

At that time, Marks said he was already interested in expanding LCIFF into concerts, but needed a mid-sized venue, something between the Pan-American Center’s 13,000 seats and the Rio Grande Theater’s 400. As it happened, Grapevine Plaza – which had served as a film location for two of his movies (“Santa’s Cousin” and a film he is co-producing, “Brewmance”) – fit neatly.

Marks said that after “getting my feet wet” with his first concert, he has tentative plans to stage a larger concert as part of the 10th anniversary LCIFF next April.

The Sept. 20 Los Lonely Boys concert is a benefit for the festival as well as the American Collegiate Talent Showcase scholarship program New Mexico State University, founded by Barbara Hubbard. Tickets range from $65-$80 general admission to $150 for VIP seating or $1,000 for a private table. Ticketing and more information is available at HoldMyTicket.com and seating is limited.