Tommy Tarango isn’t new to the Odessa-Midland area.
The San Angelo native country singer, who has travelled all over the southwest performing at numerous different gigs, will be joining Odessans in celebrating the Fourth of July at Firecracker Fandango.
The event will take place at 6 p.m. on July 2 in downtown Odessa.
Coming back to Odessa, he’s always enjoyed a big audience in the Permian Basin in previous trips.
“I’m really excited,” Tarango said. “I’m looking forward to having a good time with everybody out there. I’m always excited to perform for everybody in the Odessa-Midland area. Every time I get to go there, it’s exciting to sing and perform.”
He’s performed at both private and public events as well in Odessa. The support he gets in the area is his favorite part about singing in Odessa and Midland.
“The people are really nice,” Tarango said. “It’s always a good time. i do a lot of weddings and quinceaneras and birthday parties. The crowd out there is always excited to see me.”
Ever since he was 5-years-old, Tarango knew he wanted to be a musician. It wasn’t until he was 9-years-old when he started playing guitar.
“I’ve basically been doing this all my life,” Tarango said.
He comes from a line of musicians in his family including his grandfather (Thomas Tarango) and his father (Thomas Tarango Jr.).
“Music’s been in my family for a long time,” Tarango said. “My grandfather and my dad were the ones that got me started in music. My grandfather helped me learn how to sing and play guitar. I’ve been in the music business since I was little.”
Tommy Tarango has been fortunate enough to be able to play at the famous Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn.
“That was an awesome experience,” Tarango said. “I was really excited and to get to perform out there was a different experience. A lot of big artists like Johnny Cash have had the privilege to perform on that stage and to get to perform on the same stage as the stars was a big deal for me.”
Tarango said he performed at the Grand Ole Opry when he was only 14-years-old as a part of a talent contest.
He graduated from San Angelo Lake View High School in 1999.
Over the years, Tarango has been performing at numerous gigs all over Texas and New Mexico.
“Basically, every weekend I’m booked up somewhere,” Tarango said. “Probably half of the year, I’m on the road. I’m on the road nearly every weekend so I’m doing hundreds of shows or 200 shows.”
He’ll also perform in other places around the south.
“Pretty much, wherever they call me, we’ll go,” Tarango said. “The other week, they wanted me to go out towards Aransas Pass. We’ve traveled everywhere. I’ve been to Nashville and Atlanta and Mississippi.”
Tarango travels to different places with his family.
“That’s the neat thing about it,” Tarango said. “We all travel together. I get to see them not just during the weeks but also the weekends. We stay together pretty much all the time so that’s a big plus.”
Tarango has two kids (son Austin Cash Tarango, 7, and Leslie Ann Tarango, 6) and a wife (Jeanette Tarango).
Both of his kids are starting to pick up singing and are wanting to perform on stage just like their dad.
“They’re catching on pretty quick,” Tarango said. “I can’t wait to watch them perform on their own some day. We’re working with them on singing and playing instruments. They love the music business too. They’re following daddy.”
Tarango writes most of his songs but he’ll also do some covers of rock songs as well.
“I’m planning to release an album next year of all the songs that I’ve been writing,” Tarango said. “I’m just writing and I’ve done some cover songs like ‘Empty Glass’ (originally by Pete Townsend).” I went in and re-did it. It’s a good song. It’s one that I get requested all the time. That’s the reason we recorded it. I’ll be releasing a few more cover songs to the public. Next year, I’m looking at doing all original songs on an album.”
When it comes to writing music, Tarango says he’ll sit down and try to write about fun stuff and other things that people will go through.
“I just sit down and put everything in one picture and try and go from there,” Tarango said. “I’ll try to make it fun. It’s a neat experience because you get to write not only about you but you also get to write about other people and what they’re going through.”
While he still sings mostly country, Tarango says his style of music has changed a little bit over the years.
“When I started singing, it was all in English,” Tarango said. “It was all country but the more that I started doing shows, especially around the Odessa-Midland area, people started asking me about doing Spanish music so I started doing some Tejano and mixing it up a little bit. Next thing I knew, my business was taking off. That’s what keeps me very busy. I don’t just sing in English. I also do Spanish and that gets everybody going.”
He’s excited to get the opportunity to play with Rick Trevino at the Firecracker Fandango in Odessa.
“I hope everybody comes out and has a good time,” Tarango said. “I’m looking forward to performing with Rick Trevino. I grew up listening to him in the 90s. It’s great to be able to perform with him. I’m looking forward to seeing a great crowd.”
Downtown Odessa Executive Director Casey Hallmark is also eager to have Tarango return to perform as well as Trevino.
“We’ve had Rick Trevino on the hook for two years,” Hallmark said. “We’ve been trying to get him out. To have him finally able to come is exciting. We really wanted someone more local for our opening act and that’s why we turned to Tommy Tarango. We’re excited to have both out here.”
For more information about Firecracker Fandango, visit tinyurl.com/yhu2h9rf.
If you go
- What: Firecracker Fandango.
- Where: Downtown Odessa.
- When: 6-10 p.m., July 2.
- Admission: Free.
