The Tiarras and Chief Cleopatra are among the 20 artists representing Austin at the music festival
By Sarah M. Vasquez
Photo courtesy of Gaby Deimeke
The Tiarras and Chief Cleopatra are among the 20 artists representing Austin at the music festival.
Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is where Tiffany Baltierra discovers new bands and different music genres. Before she attends the annual festival at Zilker Park, she creates a playlist of the bands on the lineup and plans out who wants to see. Now that her band, The Tiarras, is scheduled to perform on Saturday during Weekend Two this year, she’s been thinking about how the festival goers will be thinking about her band.
“My hope is somebody out there like me is adding us to their playlist and getting excited to see us,” Tiffany says.
The Tiarras comprises three sisters – Tiffany, Tori and Sophia – formed as The Tiarra Girls in 2010, when the youngest was 10-years-old. They found themselves grouped with Tejano bands during those early years, despite not really fitting in with that genre. They’ve since gained a following from their Latin-inspired blend of pop, rock, soul, reggae and blues with messages of empowerment. Now in their 20s, the sisters recently dropped “Girls” from their name and go by The Tiarras.
Photo courtesy of Gaby Deimeke
“It didn’t resonate with us, and we were growing up,” Tori says of the name change.
It also felt like the right time for the band to explore different themes and their experiences through their music. The Tiarras started recording an album with producer Michael Ramos and are excited to share it.
“The album will be a bookmark for this time in our lives and also show people what we’ve been going through, what we’ve been feeling,” Tori says.
The Tiarras are among the 20 acts representing Austin, including PromQueen, The Moriah Sisters and Chief Cleopatra. According to Book More Women, 27.1% of the lineup are women and 1.4% are nonbinary compared to the 71.6% of the lineup that are men. Tory says that the band feels the weight of not only representing women at the festival, but also Latinas. They see the disparity, so they’re very grateful to have the opportunity to represent at ACL. While they’re playing an early set, they feel those that have given them support and love through the years are going to flock to the stage to watch them perform.
“I think that moment is not just for us but for everyone else who has followed us and been with us,” Sophia says. “It’ll be a great celebratory day and we’re so excited.”
Chief Cleopatra is also excited to perform on Sunday during the festival’s first weekend. The soul rock artist is still pinching herself that she gets to play at the same festival she’s seen some of her favorite artists perform at, such as Midlake in 2010.
Chief Cleopatra
Photo courtesy of Ismael Quintanilla III
“I did a meet and greet with [Midlake], and I was so nervous to meet them,” Cleo says. “I couldn’t even talk to them like I normally would with my other musician friends.”
Cleo moved to Austin in 2012 after she took a year-and-a-half break from music. She struggled to find the right people to play with in San Marcos, so naturally Austin – the “Live Music Capital of the World” – seemed like a good fit. Cleo’s band started to come together after she reconnected with guitarist Leonard Martinez.
Fellow Austin musician, Walker Lukens, reached out to collaborate with her; which resulted in the 2022 album, “Luna.” Through Lukens’ connections, Cleo was able to work with Bright Light Social Hour – a band she has truly enjoyed watching through the years, – on the song, “Fortuity,” which they performed with her and Lukens in KUTX’s Studio 1A Sessions.
“It was just this amazing thing that got put together for it,” Cleo says. “I’m still in disbelief that they’re on one of my songs, to be honest with you. I feel like I forget that, and when I think about it, I’m like damn, that’s pretty cool.”
The solo artist has performed in much smaller, intimate venues at South by Southwest Music Festival and Hot Summer Nights, so getting to perform on a large stage at ACL is a big deal for her.
“It’s just a star studded event to see all these bands, to see all these people walking around and enjoying the music, and not having any cares in the world,” Cleo says. “It’s so important to me that I’m able to play ACL this year because that experience alone is priceless.”
Chief Cleopatra plays at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 6, during Weekend 1, and The Tiarras plays at 12:05 p.m. on Saturday, October 12, during Weekend 2. For more information, visit chiefcleopatra.bandcamp.com and thetiarras.com.
Chief Cleopatra
Photo courtesy of Ismael Quintanilla III