At a glance

During more than a quarter-century of music-making, the Mavericks have had no shortage of commercial and critical success.

The band — known for drawing from a range of musical influences — has enjoyed good-selling records, including “What a Crying Shame” (1994), and has earned a Grammy and two Country Music Association awards.

But the Mavericks aren’t just a country group. Frontman Raul Malo describes them as musical nomads.

“You belong nowhere — you don’t belong in country music; you don’t belong in rock ’n’ roll,” said Malo, lead vocalist and guitarist. Lancaster Festival The Mavericks with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra Ohio University-Lancaster, Wendel Concert Stage, 1570 Granville Pike 740-687-4808, www. lancasterfestival.org 8:15 p.m. Saturday table seats, $32 to $37; lawn tickets, $20, or $30 at the gate, or $5 for age 13 and younger

“But if you crack through and you’re able to live in no man’s land, it’s a beautiful place to be, really.”

The band — also featuring keyboardist Jerry Dale McFadden, drummer Paul Deakin and guitarist Eddie Perez — samples many styles but is bound to none.

“I like the fact that you ask 10 different people what the band is,” Malo said, “and you’re going to get 10 different answers.”

This weekend at the Lancaster Festival (which opened Wednesday and will continue through July 29), the Mavericks will add a classical color to their musical palette. On Saturday at Ohio UniversityLancaster’s Wendel Concert Stage, they will be joined by the 65-member Lancaster Festival Orchestra.

“For those who have not heard the Mavericks, they are a fun time onstage,” said Gary Sheldon, the ochestra artistic director. “They perform a mix of rockabilly and Tex-Mex. It’s a great sound, especially with the orchestra backing them up.”

At the show, the orchestra will perform a set, followed by a Mavericks performance; then the two groups will combine to finish the concert. The collaboration marks the band’s — but not Malo’s — first with an orchestra.

“I’ve done it as a solo artist several times, and I’ve enjoyed the experience immensely,” said Malo, who performed on his own in the mid-2000s after the Mavericks temporarily disbanded. “When we got the band back together, I always mentioned to the guys, ‘Whenever we get a chance to do this, you’re going to be loving this.’”

After meeting with the band in Nashville, Tennessee, Sheldon chose several Mavericks songs to arrange for orchestra, including, “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down,” “Goodnight Waltz” and “The Only Question Is.”

Malo was happy to defer to the maestro in picking the tunes.

“I want his influence to shine through,” he said, “because ours (is) going to shine through no matter what.”

Malo said the Mavericks underwent a transformation in the years between the group’s breakup in 2004 and its revival in 2012.

“The band was pretty burned out, and so when we disbanded, that’s when stuff got interesting,” he said. “Everybody did their own thing, and, after a while, I think all that information and that knowledge helped inform this version of the Mavericks.”

Another recent change: After releasing a pair of records with Big Machine Records — “In Time” (2013) and “Mono” (2015) — the group struck out on its own, establishing Mono Mundo Recordings, which in the spring released its album “Brand New Day.”

“We can effectively do more for ourselves if we control more of our business,” Malo said.

The band’s kaleidoscopic musical tastes notwithstanding, Malo has an appreciation for orchestral music that stretches to childhood.

“I was first-chair double bass in my junior-high-school symphony,” said Malo, a native of Miami. “When you’re 12 years old and you get to make this music, it blows your mind a little bit.”

For the collaboration on Saturday, Malo promises an equally memorable experience.

“‘Embellish the music’ doesn’t even begin to really describe what’s going to happen,” he said. “It’s going to transform it in ways.”

During its performance, the Lancaster Festival Orchestra will play a selection of “fan favorites” — part of a commemoration of the orchestra’s formation 30 years ago.

From 1985 to 1987, the Columbus Symphony performed at the festival; after the symphony’s participation ended, Sheldon proposed the creation of an orchestra to perform exclusively at future festivals.

“I was the only one who came up with an idea of putting together our own orchestra ... of musicians around the country, certainly many from central Ohio,” Sheldon said.

“The idea was to invite musicians to come to town for the two weeks of the festival, be a real part of the community, build our programming.”

During the 1988 event, the Lancaster Festival Orchestra was heard for the first time.

On Saturday, four works from that inaugural season will be played: selections from Mikhail Glinka’s “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” Gabriel Faure’s “Pelleas et Melisande,” as well as excerpts from the scores to the musical “West Side Story” and the movie “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

“I’m telling people, ‘It sounded really good then, and the orchestra sounds even better now,’” said Sheldon, referring to “Ruslan and Lyudmila.”

Other orchestra performances throughout the festival will honor the milestone, including a gala concert on Thursday at St. Mary Church.

Because performance opportunities are confined to the festival, orchestra members must rely on the chemistry developed during previous summers. According to Sheldon, about half of the musicians have played with the orchestra for 20 years or longer.

“Many of us have been together for enough seasons that, as soon as we sit down and start to play together again, we remember and recognize, ‘Oh yeah, this is the way my colleagues play this kind of music,’” said clarinetist Les Nicholas, a member since 1988.

Like the Mavericks, the orchestra prides itself on musical diversity.

“In any given evening," Sheldon said, “you’ll hear contemporary music alongside the orchestra playing country.” A sampling of ticketed events (many other events are free) during the 2017 Lancaster Festival:

Orchestra member spotlight, Cheers Chalet, 1211 Coonpath Road ($20);

guitarist Mak Grgic with members of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, First United Methodist Church, 163 E. Wheeling St. ($10) the Mavericks with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, Ohio University-Lancaster, Wendel Concert Stage, 1570 Granville Pike ($20 to $37)

Ohio UniversityLancaster Theatre, “Grease,” OU-Lancaster, Wagner Theatre ($15) Veronika String Quartet, Cheers Chalet ($20);

High Street Stompers, Knights of Columbus Hall, 343 E. Walnut St. ($20)

“Gala 30th Anniversary Concert,” Lancaster Festival Orchestra, St. Mary Church, 132 S. High St. ($20 to $25)

Generations Trio, Cheers Chalet ($20);

Tusk: The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band, OU-Lancaster, Wendel Concert Stage ($5 to $20)

“Chamber Music Classics: Crescendo!” with the Veronika String Quartet, Generations Trio and Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, First United Methodist Church ($12 to $20)

Columbus Dance Theatre, “The Three Musketeers,” Fairfield Christian Church and Academy, 1965 N. Columbus St. ($5 to $15)

“Love Notes” with Judith Lynn Stillman and Sant’Ambrogio, Cheers Chalet ($20)

the Beach Boys with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra, OU-Lancaster, Wendel Concert Stage ($30 to $60, or $5 for children)

For more information, call 740687-4808, or visit www. lancasterfestival.org.