Grupo Frontera to Perform at This Year’s RodeoHouston

Posted on January 10, 2025 by Tom Castaneda

Grupo Frontera is heading to Texas’ biggest rodeo…

The Regional Mexican band will perform at this year’s RodeoHouston as it takes over NRG Stadium in the Lone Star State’s biggest city on March 4-23, 2025.

Grupo Frontera will perform on Sunday, March 16 as part of Go Tejano Day.

This year’s lineup is packed with both country and Latino performers, with Carín León joining Grupo Frontera on the lineup alongside country music luminaries including Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn, as well as hot-shot newcomers like Zach Top and Warren Zeiders.

Also on the bill is the genre-fluid hitmaker Post Malone, who made an indelible foray into country music in 2024 with his Billboard 200 chart-topping collaborative country album F-1 Trillion, which included the six-week Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “I Had Some Help” with Morgan Wallen and “Pour Me a Drink” with Blake Shelton.

Beyond music, the longstanding festival will feature an array of activities for RodeoHouston attendees, including light shows, drone shows, a carnival, animal rides, a petting zoo, an array of food and beverage vendors and much more.

Tickets for RodeoHouston will go on sale starting January 16 at rodeohouston.com, in two waves through AXS. Wave 1 tickets for March 4 – March 13 performances go on sale at 10 a.m. (with the waiting room opening at 9:30 a.m.), and Wave 2 tickets for March 14 – 23 performances go on sale at 2 p.m. (with the waiting room opening at 1:30 p.m.).

Here’s the RodeoHouston concert lineup:

March 4: Reba McEntire – Opening Day
March 5: Riley Green – Armed Forces Appreciation Day
March 6: AJR
March 7: Bun B Birthday Bonanza – Black Heritage Day
March 8: Bailey Zimmerman
March 9: Carín León
March 10: Brad Paisley – First Responders Day
March 11: Zach Top
March 12: Lauren Daigle – Community Day
March 13: Jon Pardi – Volunteer Appreciation Day
March 14: Journey
March 15: Warren Zeiders
March 16: Groupo Frontera – Go Tejano Day
March 17: Charley Crockett
March 18: Post Malone
March 19: Old Dominion
March 20: Cody Jinks
March 21: Parker McCollum
March 22: Brooks & Dunn
March 23: Luke Bryan

NBC Picks Up Five Additional Episodes of “Happy’s Place,” Starring Belissa Escobedo

Posted on November 22, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

There are more happy times in Belissa Escobedo’s future.

NBC has handed a Back 5 order to Happy’s Place, starring the 26-year-old Latina actress and Reba McEntire.

By picking up five additional episodes of the multi-camera comedy, Happy’s Place will have an 18-episode total, which is considered a full-season order by today’s network standards.

As a precursor to the episodic order, NBC recently picked up five extra scripts of Happy’s Place, a move used by the broadcast networks on shows they are bullish on.

Likely boosted by McEntire’s coach role on The Voice, Happy’s Place has been a Friday breakout.

Its premiere, which improved the 8PM timeslot by +90% in total viewers and +88% in adults 18-49, logged a solid 4M linear Live+Same Day viewers that has grown to 14M cross-platform viewers. The series, which reunites several key creative auspices of McEntire’s previous sitcom, Reba, also registered the best new comedy launch on Peacock ever.

In Happy’s Place, McEntire’s Bobbie inherits her father’s tavern, named Happy’s Place, and is surprised to discover that she has a new business partner, Isabella (Escobedo), a twentysomething half-sister she never knew she had.

Created by Kevin Abbott and Julie Abbott, the series also stars Reba‘s Melissa Peterman as well as Pablo Castelblanco, Tokala Black Elk and Rex Linn.

Kevin Abbott executive produces with McEntiren.

Happy’s Place is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

NBC Gives Series Order to “Happy’s Place,” Starring Belissa Escobedo

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Belissa Escobedo has found her happy(’s) place…

NBC has given a series order to Happy’s Place, starring the 25-year-old Latina actress and Reba McEntire.

The comedy sees McEntire play Bobbie, who inherits her father’s restaurant and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had.

In addition to McEntire and Escobedo, the multi-cam series also stars Melissa Peterman, Pablo Castelblanco, Tokala Black Elk and Rex Linn.

Writer Kevin Abbott executive produces with Michael Hanel, Mindy Schultheis, Julie Abbott and McEntire.

It’s produced by Universal Television.

Happy’s Place, which reunites McEntire with members of her Reba team, was the first pilot of the season to be ordered, in January.

Escobedo’s previous credits include Blue Beetle, Hocus Pocus 2, The Baker and the Beauty and American Horror Stories.

JoAnna Garcia Swisher Launches Production Banner THP Entertainment

Posted on March 19, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

JoAnna Garcia Swisher is hoping to bring more joy to the world…

The 44-year-old half-Cuban and part-Spanish American actress, producer, television host and entrepreneur is expanding her lifestyle platform The Happy Place with the launch of her production banner THP Entertainment, which she will co-run alongside longtime business partner and co-founder, Kate Gordon.

Garcia Swisher is known for her roles on Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias, ABC’s Once Upon a Time and Reba McEntire’s eponymous comedy series for the CW. Gordon is an entrepreneur with extensive experience in talent management, sports/media production, digital content creation and e-commerce product development.

Garcia Swisher and Gordon launched The Happy Place as a lifestyle digital and social media platform that celebrates the spaces, places and moments that bring joy and a sense of community to all visitors.

The site has reached close to a million subscribers and their social media accounts have reached over 4.8M in the last month alone, according to THP. The production banner is an expansion of the site’s book club THP Reads that will focus on bringing select stories to life through TV and film.

First up on the scripted slate is THP Reads March 2022 pick, Ladies of the House, produced with Black Label Media. The romantic drama will re-team Garcia Swisher with Sheryl J. Anderson, the creator/showrunner of Sweet Magnolias. Based on the novel by Lauren Edmonson, the series follows the wife and adult daughters of a Senator as they navigate the treacherous balance of personal and public lives after the Senator dies in compromising circumstances.

“The Happy Place is a destination where you come to be inspired and to feel connected through our mutual life experiences. We are constantly in awe of this inclusive community that embraces our desire to celebrate life’s moments, both big and small.” Garcia Swisher and Gordon said in a joint statement to Deadline. “THP Reads has become something that we enjoy together, month after month. It felt like a natural extension to bring this collective excitement surrounding books we read to life on screen in a way we can all be proud of and excited about.”

Swisher currently stars in Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias as ‘Maddie Townsend.’ The show is in production on its fourth season, and she will also return as the host of The Ultimatum: Queer Love. In film, she most recently starred in Vince Vaughn’s Christmas with the Campbells.

Pablo Castelblanco to Star in Reba McEntire’s Untitled NBC Comedy Pilot

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Pablo Castelblanco is on the Reba-ound…

The Colombian actor has been cast in Reba McEntire’s untitled NBC comedy pilot.

Castelblanco is among a roster of new cast additions that Tokala Black Elk and Rex Linn.

The pilot follows Bobbie (McEntire) who inherits her father’s restaurant and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had.

Belissa Escobedo will star as Bobbie’s half-sister and Melissa Peterman will play a bartender at the tavern who wishes she was Bobbie’s sister.

Castelblanco will play Steve, the accountant for the tavern who does his work at the bar. He has OCD and doesn’t like change.

Castelblanco most recently starred as Gabriel Tovar, a series regular role, on ABC’s Hillary Swank-led drama Alaska Daily.

His additional credits include HBO’s Room 104, Netflix’s Dear White People and Scream Queens for Fox.

On the big screen, he was the lead of the independent feature Ganymede.

Belissa Escobedo to Star in Reba McEntire’s Still-Untitled NBC Comedy Pilot

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Belissa Escobedo has lined up her next project…

The 25-year-old Latina actress and Blue Beetle star has been cast in Reba McEntire in her as-yet-untitled NBC multi-cam comedy pilot.

The project is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

The pilot follows Bobbie (McEntire) who inherits her father’s restaurant and is less than thrilled to discover that she has a new business partner in the half-sister she never knew she had.

Escobedo stars as Bobbie’s sister Isabella, an enthusiastic 20-something, who has studied psychology and loves to analyze people. She is thrilled to start working at the tavern and is full of “great” ideas about how to bring it to life.

Escobedo’s star continues to rise following two major roles in DC Entertainment/Warner Bros’ Blue Beetle, where he portrayed the titular character’s (played by Xolo Maridueña) sister Milagro, and Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2 where she popped off the screen—no easy task when you’re starring opposite Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, who returned as the Sanderson sisters.

Additional credits include the ABC dramedy The Baker And The Beauty alongside Carlos Gomez, Lisa Vidal and Victor Rasuk; Ryan Murphy’s FX anthology series American Horror Stories, the Catherine Hardwicke-directed Quibi limited series Don’t Look Deeper and the American High films Sex Appeal (Hulu) and Sid Is Dead.

Café Tcvba to Perform During This Year’s Hollywood Bowl Summer Season

Posted on February 7, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Café Tcvba is bowled over…

The Mexican Latin Grammy-winning band will be taking the stage as part of the official 2023 Hollywood Bowl Summer Season.

The legendary band will reprise their electrifying collaboration with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, showcasing the catalog that led The New York Times to call them “the greatest rock band in Mexico” and “possibly even the world.”

Café Tcvba will perform on Friday, July 21 and Saturday, July 22.

Janet Jackson will open the official summer season with a performance of her Together Again Tour on June 10.

In addition to Café Tcvba and Jackson, the season will include dates from Jill Scott, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, The Beach Boys, Kool & The Gang, Sparks, Café Tcvba, Portugal. The Man, Maggie Rogers, Louis Tomlinson and more.

Prior to the summer season, the Bowl will also see shows fromReba McEntire, Phish, Andrea Bocelli, Shania Twain and a special celebration for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday.

The LA Phil has announced concerts and events running through September 24 with additional artists including Jacob Collier, Buddy Guy, Air Supply, Culture Club, Herbie Hancock, My Morning Jacket and Gladys Knight.

“As we look to the next hundred years at the Hollywood Bowl, I am honored and excited to share a season which, to me, speaks of a beautiful future ahead,” says LA Phil music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel in a release. “From timeless music by Mendelssohn, de Falla and Verdi, to modern-day classics by John Williams and Duke Ellington, to the soul-filling sounds of our Pan-American Music Initiative, to the singular energy of Café Tacvba, each of these programs takes us on the kind of magic journey that can only begin at the Bowl.”

The Bowl will also feature several films in concert including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and 2001: A Space Odyssey. There will also be a sing-a-long for Sound of Music and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Concert that will showcase the music and animation of Disney over the past century including highlights from Snow White to Encanto.

The famed Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival will take place June 17-18 with Kamasi Washington, Leon Bridges, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Digable Planets, The Soul Rebels with Big Freedia, Samara Joy, West Coast Get Down and more.

Dudamel will also conduct the LA Phil in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and, alongside famed Hollywood movie composer John Williams, will share the podium for three special evenings of Maestro of the Movies: John Williams with the LA Phil including a selection of films clips on the big screens.

The LA Phil is also partnering with KCRW to present genre-spanning concerts: Reggae Nights XXI featuring Beres Hammond and Steel Pulse, Portugal. The Man with Chicano Batman and Say She She, Maggie Rogers with Alvvays, Los Auténticos Decadentes and more.

“There is no place like the Hollywood Bowl on a summer night, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back for another unforgettable season of music led by the extraordinary vision of Gustavo Dudamel,” said LA Phil chief content and engagement officer Renae Williams Niles.

Check out the full schedule here.

McCreery to be a Presenter at the American Country Countdown Awards

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Scotty McCreery is ready for his countdown close-up…

The 21-year-old part-Puerto Rican country crooner and American Idol champion is among the presenters announced for the first ever American Country Countdown Awards, joining hosts Florida Georgia Line at the December 15 event.

McCreery joins a roster that includes Sara Evans, Hunter Hayes, Maddie & Tae and Kip Moore.

Musicians Thomas Rhett, Chase Rice, Cole Swindell and Chris Young, as well as NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and 2014 National League MVP Clayton Kershaw, actors Terry Crews of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Emily Kinney of The Walking Dead, and Miss America 2015 Kira Kazantsev will also present.

The show will air live on FOX at 8:00 pm EST and PST with a tape-delay.

The American Country Countdown Awards is based on country music’s longest-running radio countdown show of 41 years, “American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks,” and will honor country artists based on album sales and radio airplay.

Kenny Chesney will be on hand to accept The Groundbreaker Award and Reba McEntire will accept the NASH Icon Award. Performers will include Kelly Clarkson, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Brett Eldredge, Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood.

Tickets to the American Country Countdown Awards, are available for purchase here.

The American Country Countdown Awards is produced by dick clark productions.

Shakira Reaches Global Partnership Agreement with Activia

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Shakira has an activia new endorsement deal…

The 37-year-old Colombian superstar and The Voice coach has signed a global partnership with Activia to support its new “Dare to Feel Good” campaign.

The campaign, which launches March 16, uses Shakira and her track “Dare (La la la)” to promote the yogurt company’s “Feeling good starts from the inside” tagline.

It features the singer-songwriter dancing in an enchanted forest.

This will be Activia’s first-ever integrated global communication campaign, encompassing over 50 countries. For Shakira, it will be the latest in a series of global partnerships, including her current deal with Oral-B and Crest 3D.

The Activia ad was filmed in Barcelona, where Shakira currently lives, and begins airing globally March 16.

The campaign was developed by Vinizius Young & Rubicam Barcelona, and directed by Jaume de Laiguana, who has previously worked with Shakira.

Beyond the spot, the campaign includes the launch of a new global website that will house exclusive campaign content.

Another Activia U.S. campaign, “Activia Tummies. Happy People,” features Reba McEntire, Laila Ali and health expert Travis Stork. The brand is no longer working with its longtime spokesperson, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Rodriguez to Appear on Kelly Clarkson’s NBC Christmas Special

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Jai Rodriguez will have a cautionary Christmas…

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican/Italian American actor and musician is among the stars joining Kelly Clarkson for her upcoming holiday special Kelly Clarkson’s Cautionary Christmas Music Tale, according to NBC.

Rodriguez, best known as the culture vulture on Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, joins Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, William Shatner and Blake Shelton as guests for the night.

Clarkson’s special will celebrate the season with a comedic musical take on the traditional Christmas morality tale, and will feature songs from her just-released Christmas album, Wrapped in Red.

The special, slated to air Wednesday, December 11 at 10:00 pm, will also include Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, Jay Leno, Matt Lauer, Danica Patrick, Heidi Klum and Ken Jeong.

Rodriguez most recently starred opposite McEntire on her ABC comedy series Malibu Country.

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