Lafreniere Park was a sea of red, white and blue as thousands of folks gathered for the annual Uncle Sam Jam, ready to see performances from Grammy-nominated Wilson Phillips and English rock musician John Waite.
2026 marked the 31st year of festivities, and during the country’s sestercentennial it proved to be a bit of a challenge, planning-wise, officials said.
“This year was a little tough because it’s the 250th of the country. The entire country is excited. So getting live acts became a challenge,” said Councilmember Arita Bohannen. “But we pulled off a great lineup, as we always do.”
Along with headliners Phillips and Waite, the lineup included Louisiana band Bird and DJ Slim McGraw, who performed at the Hondo Rodeo in April.
“We realized that this was, you know, maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity to be, you know, headlining for Winston Phillips and John Waite.” said Jacob Tobler, band member in Bird, “It’s surreal for me because a bunch of my family was in the military. My cousin is in the Air Force right now. So just to be there, you know, be here celebrating that, it’s really cool.”
Many attendees said the welcoming crowd is what keeps them coming back each year.
“Everybody is so nice. Everybody,” said Leslie Zamora, attendee of 20 years, “you know, when you sit next to him, you’re like, hey, you know what’s up? And you find out their names and where they’re from.”
The event was free and open to all ages, with additional purchases for a VIP experience and parking passes available.
