New options, familiar traditions and Lonestar: Your guide to the Tucson Rodeo

Roughly 24 hours before the start of the 98th La Fiesta de los Vaqueros Tucson Rodeo, chairman of the rodeo board Jose Calderon can barely be heard on his cell phone, it is so windy on the rodeo grounds.

But this is par for the course for a rodeo that has dealt with much worse weather over the years.

Come rain or shine, the rodeo will kick off on Saturday at 2 p.m., with gates opening at 11 a.m. and a Kids Rodeo starting at 12:30 p.m.

“We’re in chaos mode because of the wind right now,” Calderon said. “But, gosh darnit, I’ll tell you one thing, we’ve got the best volunteers in the world. We know we’re on a countdown. We know at 11 when those gates open up, we’ll be ready. The stock is here, cowboys are pulling in, great vendors, great food — over 95 vendors this year — with a concert on Saturday. Can’t wait.”

Country band Lonestar, which shot to worldwide fame in the late 1990s with their three-times platinum 1999 album, "Lonely Grill," will perform the rodeo’s first official concert in nearly two decades at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, part of the committee’s goal of expanding the rodeo’s entertainment offerings.

But while the committee listened to fans who were hoping for more than just buckles, bulls and broncs, don’t expect the Tucson Rodeo to become the Cheyenne Frontier Days anytime soon.

“We’ve kept it very traditional,” Calderon said. “Our rodeo hasn’t really changed, and we don’t want to disrupt that. We don’t want a bunch of carnival acts.

"Tucson is the Old West. There’s something that really feels like that here. We get a lot of people from back east or all over the world, and they’ve seen the acts, the events, the concerts. People love that we’re a good, old-fashioned rodeo.”

In addition to enhanced entertainment options, the rodeo this year will introduce the Bunkhouse Beer Garden and “grazing” tickets.

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“A lot of people don’t want to sit in the stands for the whole rodeo,” Calderon said. “We put up a big tent, a table, some TVs, and people can feel like they’re watching their rodeo at a bar or at home.”

As far as the competition goes, the rodeo is expecting some of the top cowboys and cowgirls in the sport, not too long after the best in the world competed at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas in December.

“Tucson and San Antonio are right after the New Year, and cowboys want to get a big jump on the year,” Calderon said. “Tucson is a destination rodeo for them. But the only way it works is if you get the best stock contractor, and we feel that Bennie Beutler and Sons is the best out there.”

Calderon and the all-volunteer committee have been working for more than six months to get things ready for the eight-day event.

“We did something different this year, starting in early September,” he said. “We have a great group of committee members and volunteers, and this year, we want to be out here in March, working these grounds. There are so many little things to make sure of. We have some repairs and new structures. We’re going to get an early jump on it.

"But this is all-volunteer. I’ve got my full-time job and my family. But you’ve got to have a commitment and passion for it and the support from family so that, come February, it’s just magic. All the work comes together for a fantastic show.”