Maldonado Corn Maze hosts Labyrinth Music Festival

   The first annual Labyrinth Music Festival will take place Oct. 26-28 at the Maldonado Corn Maze in La Union, N.M. with 31 musical acts from Colorado and the El Paso/Las Cruces region set to perform.

Jarrod Guaderrama, producer and festival promoter, was driving back from Summer Camp Music Festival in Illinois when he got the idea for a different kind of music festival, in a unique location and overnight. He pitched it to the Maldonado family and two weeks later they started moving forward, he said.

Guaderrama said that part of what makes Labyrinth Music Festival different from other festivals is the corn maze setting and their camping accommodations. So far all 600 pre-sale passes have been sold and Guaderrama said he expects about 800 to 1,000 people to attend.

Guaderrama, who’s band Technicolor Tone Factory will be performing, said the planning process has taken the majority of his time. They have been planning the festival for four months, he said.

“It’s been quite an experience, there’s a lot more than you think goes on in a music festival—that I even thought would go on,” Guaderrama said. “There’s all kinds of steps and you have to talk to the city. There’s really a lot to do and one of the biggest and hardest things is definitely booking the bands.”

The bands will begin performing Oct. 26 with locals Snappy Crotch Kicks at 4:15 p.m. and close with Sonic Geometry at 2:45 a.m. The following slew of performances will begin on Oct. 27 at noon with Psypha Unknown and end at 2:45 a.m. with Wake Up, Stranger.

“We have a great lineup,” Guaderrama said. “We have hip hop, some Latin music, heavy metal, we’ve got screamo, deejays, we’ve got electronic music...We’ve got every style of music at the festival so everyone who attends will find some kind of niche or something to like.”

Local band Sightseers are scheduled to perform Oct. 26. Ferny De Leon, UTEP graduate in chemistry and bass player for the band, said the band plays a different style of music and makes use of uncommon instruments like the melodica. This will be their first performance at a music festival and he said their aim is to paint a picture for the audience through their music. The band also prepares to open with a Halloween inspired piece.

“It’s Halloween weekend and it’s going to be in a maze, hopefully everybody’s going to be dressed up in costumes so we’re going to write a Halloween type intro, a spooky sounding type song to star the set,”  De Leon said. He also said the band is ready to play for a larger audience.

“It’ll be fun. We’re trying not to worry about being nervous or anything like that, because for us playing the music is just fun and we like to share it with everybody, and if people like it that’s even better.”

Aside from the musical performances, there will also be carnival rides, laser tag, hay rides, a pumpkin patch and a bonfire, among other attractions.

Guaderrama said one of his biggest concerns, and part of why he decided to push for a festival that allowed camping, was to prevent attendees from driving home while drunk.

“El Paso has a lot of music festivals and events, but there’s not an overnight option and I’m all against drunk driving so I wanted to create something in the El Paso area that allowed people to camp so that they could have a really good time, get drunk...and be able to stay here and not be at the risk of getting in trouble or hurting someone,” Guaderrama said.

Jessica Castañeda, freshmen pre-business major who plans on attending the festival, finds the location and the camping a plus.

“It sounds really cool. I want to go experience the music and all of the different attractions,” Castañeda said. “I work nearby and I’m always on that side of town so it’s nice that they’re having such a big event there, and I’ve never been to the corn maze so I’m looking forward to it.”

Guaderrama said that the support from the bands and the community has made the festival a success and he plans on continuing the festival in the coming years, making it bigger with better funding and sponsors.

“I really do want to focus on El Paso’s local scene and try to get as many local acts,” he said. “They’ve done a lot of support. They’ve sold tickets, they’ve promoted and they’ve done a great job and I think from the combined effort of all the bands and the group effort we’ve all put in, it’s going to be a really successful music festival.”

Two-day passes are $20, $12 for a one-day pass and $10 extra for a camping pass. Passes may be purchased at the Maldonado Maze or from the participating bands. For more information on the festival and the bands performing, visit facebook.com/Labyrinthmusicfestival.

Andrés Rodríguez may be reached at prospector@utep.edu.