Theatre & Literary Arts

Registration for TEXFest 2026 is open! Lock in on our price of $200 for TNT Members or $240 for Non Members by registering now! Registration for TEXFest 2026 includes - PERFORMANCES – Theatres across the state bring one acts to be adjudicated by theatre professionals. WORKSHOPS – Workshops to help you run your theatre from theatre folk across the state. Submit your request to present a workshop to our Programs Manager – Preston Isham - preston@texastheatres.org ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS – Discussing issues relevant to the current climate. NETWORKING – Theatrical vendors available to help you navigate the many options in running your business. STATE AWARDS – Nominate someone from your theatre who you think deserves state wide recognition COMPETITIONS – Submit your set/prop/promotional designs from shows within the last 18 months LUNCH MEETINGS – Quad and Annual Membership meeting to discuss issues involving your area. LIVE AUCTIONS – Help the TNT Endowment, Operating costs and Internship by participating in the ongoing auctions throughout the festival And so much more! Learn more about TEXFest 2026 at www.texastheatres.org/texfest-2026 SEE YOU IN ODESSA!  

The traditional Tex-Mex style of norteño was fused by Little Joe (born Jose Maria DeLeon Hernandez) with influences of country music, blues, and rock to create the up tempo hybrid known as "Tejano." Together with his band, Little Joe Y La Familia, his music has reached far beyond the Texas and Mexico borders and has been one of the most popular Tex-Mex bands in the music industry. Little Joe has been entertaining more than 50 years and has been described as the "KING OF THE BROWN SOUND". Jose Maria DeLeon Hernandez "Little Joe" was born to Salvador "La Cotorra" Hernandez and Amelia DeLeon Hernandez in a three wall dirt floor car garage in Temple, Texas on a cold stormy night on October 17,1940. The seventh of 13 children, Little Joe began playing music in 1953 with his cousin David Coronado's band, David Coronado & the Latinaires. Two years later, he performed his first paid gig with the band at a high-school sock hop in Cameron, Texas. In 1958, Little Joe made his recording debut with the song "Safari," released by Torrero Records in Corpus Christi, Texas. The following year, Little Joe's brother Jesse joined the band on bass and vocals. […]