There’s no blue moon, just a scheduling coincidence that brings three music festivals to Waco this weekend.

These three fests will pack in the live music: 22 bands from Central Texas, Austin and beyond, bringing various flavors of rock and country music.

Margarita & Salsa Festival

5 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Aug. 28, Heart O’ Texas Fair Complex; $27 in advance, $32 at the gates, $150 for VIP tickets. Gates open at 5 p.m. Call 776-1660 or go to www.ticketmaster.com for tickets.

Bands: Texas Renegade (above), 6 p.m.; Wade Bowen, 7 p.m.; Eli Young Band, 8:30 p.m. and the Randy Rogers Band, 10 p.m. Kristen Kelly and the Modern Day Drifters will play between sets for VIP ticketholders.

What it is: 15th annual fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation’s Texas Chapter, Heart of Texas Branch. Between 8,000 and 10,000 people usually attend the event, which combines hot Texas country music and food and drink competitions.

This year’s version adds a Best Rum Drink contest to the festival’s previous margarita, salsa, guacamole and queso competitions, plus prizes for Best Bartender and booth decoration.

Arthritis Foundation special events and program director Rachel Martinez said four new restaurants, including Chuy’s Mexican Restaurant and Ninfa’s Restaurant, have entered this year’s competitions, joining fest regulars such as Don Carlos Mexican Restaurant, Mi Tequila, the Elite Circle Grill and El Chico Mexican Restaurant.

The Randy Rogers Band (right) makes another headlining appearance at the fest, arriving four days after the release of the group’s new CD “Burning the Day.” Bandleader Rogers, speaking by phone while touring through Idaho, said the album has the group revisiting its musical roots. “It leans a little more country, but we’re definitely a country rock band. It’s kind of a throwback to how we started.”

Rogers wrote more than 30 songs for consideration and eight made it into the result. Fans already have responded to “Burning’s” first single, “Too Late For Goodbye,” which has hit No. 1 on the Texas Music Chart.

Festival attendees can expect to hear a lot of the album plus the Randy Rogers Band’s hits during the band’s evening capping set. With a new album out, the name of the game is support and promotion. “We’re trying to grow this thing,” Rogers said.

River Rat Music Festival

Noon Friday to 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug 27-29, 2002 Horseshoe Bend; $25 general admission, $30 at the gate. Tickets available at Smoken Rayz, 325-A Lacy Drive. Call 799-5700. 21 years and older.

Bands: Jeremy Woodall and the Grinders, X’s IV Eyes, Voodoo Moon (a Godsmack tribute band) and Joe King Carrasco, Friday. Wes Hardin and the Country Outlaws, Guilty Pleazure, Nasty Habits, Scorpion Child, Robert Johnson, Dr. Shame’s Love Circus and Marvin Fields and the Axis (Jimi Hendrix tribute band), Saturday. Heirs of Salvation, Sunday.

What it is: A rock, country rock, blues-rock and more music fest on a 100-acre property on the Brazos River. Tex-Mex party music veteran Joe King Carrasco (right) headlines Friday night’s lineup while Austin’s Scorpion Child caps the Saturday night card.

The festival also offers airboat rides on the Brazos River, swimming and a Build a Drum Boat contest with $2,000 in prizes and a trip to Las Vegas.

Tent camping for the weekend is free with RV camping available for $125 for sites with electricity, $75 for sites without.

Wac’d Out

4 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29, Heritage Square at downtown Waco; free.

Bands: SPEAK, 8:30 p.m.; Zoo Studio, 6 p.m.; Bright Light Social Hour (above), 7 p.m.; David Dulcie, 4 p.m.; and the James Currin Band, 5 p.m.

What it is: The event’s subtitle says it all: Waco’s Back to College Music Bash. Co-sponsored by Baylor University’s Uproar Records and the Waco Chamber of Commerce, the Sunday event pairs two Austin bands, the pop electronica SPEAK and rock-jazz-soul Bright Light Social Hour, with Uproar’s own Zoo Studio, David Dulcie and the James Curlin.

Jacob Voncannon, a Baylor University marketing major senior and general manager of Uproar Records and Entertainment, said the event aims at Baylor University, McLennan Community College and Texas State Technical College students.

The band lineup, as a result, reflects a range of genres. Austin band SPEAK, a Playing In Traffic labelmate of Los Lonely Boys, plays electronica pop. Bright Light Social Hour, another Austin band, delivers rock and soul, turning Austin music critics’ heads with their scorching live performances. Uproar’s Zoo Studio leans more to grunge rock while the label’s David Dulcie performs acoustic folk-pop. Rounding out the Wac’d Out schedule is Waco’s James Curlin Band, which plays pop-rock.

Uproar Records has held band showcases and CD release parties in the past, but Sunday’s festival is a first for the organization, said Voncannon. He’s hoping the mix of bands and business merchandise offered Sunday afternoon will pull in area college students, but says Wac’d Out’s admission may be the biggest lure for students: It’s free.