The boys of Atomic Grass seem to enjoy themselves as much as the audience does.
When I was a kid
, it was a yearly tradition to attend the
Santa Fe Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival
with my parents. On one of these occasions, a family friend turned to me and asked, "Does this music get your foot tapping?"
It didn't.
But the genre I didn't have patience for as an 8-year-old has made its way into my subconscious, and
I have come to like it
. On Aug. 16, I saw the band
Atomic Grass
as it delivered
traditional bluegrass
music at the
Santa Fe Bandstand
.---
When I come
downtown
, I always imagine what it must be like from a tourist's eyes: admiring statues and jewelery vendors on Washington Street, peeking into art-filled gallery windows on Canyon Road If one meanders to the pedestrian-crowded Plaza at noon or 6 pm, the sounds of restaurantgoers is replaced by those of
bandstand bands
.
The Santa Fe Bandstand provides background music for shopping and strolling, not to mention it's
a free, all-ages
concert that welcomes dogs. Luckily, this is not a once-a-year event like the festivals I attended as a child. Santa Fe Bandstand, produced by
Outside In Productions,
takes place
every week
, Mondays through Thursdays,
July 5-Aug. 19
.
This particular day, the guitar, fiddle, bass, banjo and
country accents
of Atomic Grass gave the shady square the atmosphere of a
festival
.
Atomic Grass
took its audience back to a time when songs were simple and
straightforward
. It sung universal stories of
heartbreak
in an
upbeat tempo
.
The concert attracted a small but
enthusiastic audience
. If audience members weren't
bobbing up and down
with friends, they were on the dance floor directly below the stage,
dancing their hearts out
.
I joined them
with
my foot tapping
in
tribute to my parents'
musical taste.
