ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque is on the international stage this week during Balloon Fiesta, and a local band got to share some of that spotlight, opening up for country music star Lee Brice.

“I tried not to get my hopes up. She messages me one day, and she said, ‘Congratulations. You are going to be playing for Music Fiesta,'” recalled lead singer Brandon Saiz.

On Saturday afternoon, a big milestone approached for local artist Brandon Saiz and his band of five years.

“Last year, we played at the Balloon Fiesta entertainment stage, not the Music Fiesta stage, and I remember looking over there and kinda saying, ‘One day, I want to play that stage,'” said Saiz.

This year they made it happen, taking the main stage at Music Fiesta ahead of country music star Lee Brice.

“It’s kinda crazy to go from one year just to see how much you can expand your own self,” said Saiz.

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They were given a chance to perform before an artist they’ve long paid tribute to.

“We had been playing ‘One of Them Girls’ in our set for the longest time,” said Saiz.

For their Music Fiesta performance, Saiz said they wanted to show off not only their own music, but also the communities they represent.

“We’re going to be playing a few Spanish songs, just because, you know, it’s New Mexico, and I kinda wanna showcase internationally our music as well,” said Saiz.

While he said he was a little nervous before the performance, he was determined to put on a good show.

“Let’s go out, let’s not try to do anything we haven’t done. Let’s go out and do what we’ve done to get us here,” said Saiz.

He said he owes his success to all his fellow New Mexicans.

“New Mexico fans are extremely dedicated, you know, if you’re dedicated to them they’ll be dedicated back to you, and that’s exactly what they’ve done,” said Saiz.

Saiz couldn’t say exactly what’s coming up, but he said the band has a few more exciting gigs coming if you happened to miss Music Fiesta.