A concert featuring Joe Lopez was canceled on Tuesday by the venue after backlash from the community. The event scheduled for September at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth received multiple complaints after the Tejano concert was announced earlier this month.
Billy Bob’s Texas made the announcement via social media saying, “The Joe Lopez y Grupo Mazz concert scheduled for September 18, 2021, has been canceled. Billy Bob’s Texas remains committed to the citizens of Fort Worth and will continue to take the feedback and concerns of our community seriously.”
The concerns over the performance deal with Lopez, who is a convicted sex offender that was paroled in March 2018 after he served 12 years of his 20-year prison sentence for multiple sex offenses involving his 13-year-old niece in 2004. The 70-year-old singer has always maintained his innocence and is working towards exoneration.
Lopez made his return to the stage in 2019 with the announcement of his Freedom Tour that began in Houston and the initial performance received criticism from victims’ rights advocates.
Lopez was co-founder of legendary Grupo Mazz with late Tejano icon Jimmy Gonzalez, one of the most popular groups in Tejano music, recording hit songs “No Te Olvidare,” “Estupido Romantico,” “Ven Devorame Otra Vez”, “Que Me Lleven Canciones,” and many more.
Like Tejano Nation on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with everything Tejano. Listen to new Tejano music first with our playlists on Spotify and Soundcloud.