Those looking to view some of the finest local art in the upper Rio Grande Valley will get the chance on Friday, Feb. 1 at the McAllen First Friday Art Walk. A number of pieces will be on display at galleries and art spaces in downtown McAllen. Here’s a list of participating venues:

Nuevo Santander Gallery; 717 N Main St
Jac-Lin

I just received a press release about a new art exhibition in Brownsville called “Strange.” Read all about it below …

Strange’, an exhibition of paintings, drawings, and ceramicsby Rio Grande Valley artists Puente, Chris Leonard,Oscar Alvarez and Philip Field opens with a reception for the artists on 24 January from 6 to 9 pm. The exhibition will run until 29 February.

Strange’ an exhibition of paintings,drawings, ceramics and computer enhanced graphis images by four Rio Grande Valley artists, will open with a reception for the artists at 6:00 pm on Thursday, the 24th of January at Galeria 409 at 409 East 13th Street in historic downtown Brownsville.

Self taught Brownsville natives Oscar Alvarez and ‘Puente’ will exhibit works alongside UTPA art professors Phillip Field and Chris Leonard from McAllen.

Gallery owner Mark Clark proudly boasts that these four are undoubtly the strangest artists currently working in South Texas and challenges anybody to produce an artist inside or outside of an insane asylum) with a body of work that is stronger or stranger than the one that he
has assembled here. “You gotta see it to belive it”, says Clark.

Oscar Alvarez paints large oils from his imagination to deal with the stress of his day job in a mortuary. Puente was forbidden to draw at age six by her parents because she negelected her school work and now depicts an imaginary story book work that resembles Hansel and Gretel on peyote. Chris Leonard creates animals in oil paint and clay that personify Walt Disney’s worst nightmares while Phillip Field depicts mundane scenes from his home life in digital technicolor. In his dream world, Field’s wife is a skinny, hairless red rat. The exhibition runs from January 24th to March 2nd. Gallery hours are from 12 to 5 Wednesday through Saturday and admission is always free. For information or directions phone 455 3599.

2008 is here and Spring Break is fast approaching. Louie’s Backyard has announced a few of the big acts music fans can look forward to catching on South Padre Island this Spring Break.

According to WhosYourPadre.com, Paul Wall, Cartel, Rooney, The Crash Moderns, All Time Low and Forever the Sickest Kids will hit Louie’s in March. Not a bad start, but it’s pretty heavy on the indie/teenemo side. I hope we’ll see some more decent hip-hop acts hit local stages come March.

Check out the list here for more info on the bands and check out Rooney’s video for “When did Your Heart Go Missing?’ below.
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Photo of Rooney courtesy of www.myspace.com/rooney

Stream our bi-weekly Web video series The V Cast to find out about some of the great A&E events happening this month in the Rio Grande Valley. Reporters Crystal Olvera and Melissa McEver hosted The V Cast today at the Valley Morning Star newsroom in Harlingen. Click the links below to find out more about some of the January events mentioned in the video.

Learn more about tejano singer Michael Salgado’s upcoming performance here.

Read our interview with Austin trumpeter Jeff Lofton, who performs today and Saturday in McAllen.

Check out the listing for the Saturday Night Shockers‘ upcoming Brownsville gig.

Metal band Knock em Dead plays McAllen on January 9. Read our interview with vocalist Hamlet Garcia here.

Learn more about the Treaures of Tutankhamen exhibit in Brownsville here.

View our listing for the Manichaus “Start” group art exhibit and performance.

Learn more about Harlingen’s Jackson Street Market Days.

Read about Rey Leal’s ‘My Time in Iraq’ photo exhibit.