Courtesy theboomroots.com
Here Comes the Boom
The Boomroots finally drop pandemic-era From the Ashes
Though the last four-ish years have been a blur, if there’s one thing the pandemic was good for, it was giving creative types a bit of extra time to work on their projects during lockdowns. Take The Boomroots (fka Boomroots Collective), Santa Fe’s ever-popular rock-reggae act who will finally release From the Ashes, a record the fellas started producing in 2020.
“This has been a four-year project,” guitarist Mark Ortiz tells SFR. “It wasn’t one session to create the album, it was a mix of many different times, and then we kind of sat on it—but we finally said it has to come out so we can work on new material. I feel like anything you create must be released into the universe.”
Though From the Ashes is technically streaming wherever you do that already, its official release falls this weekend alongside a show at the Santa Fe Brewing Company’s Bridge venue. Ashes has a little something for everyone, from the reggae purists to the Sublime fans and even, unexpectedly, punk rock aficionados. Ortiz, of course, has a pedigree in hip-hop from his Circumference project—which adds a bit of anti-authoriatarian flair—and anti-violence/gun songs, plus some good old-fashioned “love each other” tunes round out the album’s nine songs. All in all, Ashes signifies a new level of dedication and variety from the band.
“We don’t want to be put into a corner or pigeon-hole ourselves,” Ortiz explains. “We all love different kinds of music. We never wanted to be a reggae band’ a hip-hop band; a punk band—we wanted to be a bunch of guys putting elements of their musical backgrounds into the pot to cook it up and see what comes.”
And audiences have been responding. The Boomroots picked up a New Mexico Music Award earlier this year for the song “What Ya Need Them For,” and was even named 2024’s Best Band in SFR’s Best of Santa Fe Reader’s poll.
“We turned a corner,” Ortiz adds. “We’re not out to make money or get famous or anything, we’re out to make people’s night better. A lot of people take it for granted, but we’re really here on the planet for human connection. You leave people remembering how you made them feel.”
Boom Roots Album Release: 7 pm Saturday, Dec. 7. $13. The Bridge @Santa Fe Brewing Co., 37 Fire Place, (505) 557-6182
Courtesy santafedreamersproject.org
Dream a Little Dream
While we usually wouldn’t recommend a $150 event on the SFR Picks page because we like to highlight events that are accessible to all wallets, we simply must highlight the Santa Fe Dreamers Project’s 10th Anniversary Gala Event. Yes, this one is pricy, but the nonprofit’s mission to help Dreamers—y’know, undocumented immigrants who have lived in the country so long it would be cruel to mess with them—navigate the labyrinthian bureaucracy needed to stay here is so noteworthy and, frankly, cool, that we think anyone with the bucks to support it should attend the gala. Expect talks from advocates, community leaders and immigrants themselves, plus a nice dinner. (ADV)
Santa Fe Dreamers Project 10th Anniversary Gala: 6:30 pm Thursday, Dec. 5. $150. La Fonda on the Plaza, 100 E San Francisco St., sfdpgala2024.swell.gives
Courtesy PBS Distribution
Required Viewing
With all the hubbub of the holidays ringing in our ears, it can be easy to forget about the traumas of the world. As such, an upcoming screening of the 2023 Oscar-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol at the Museum of International Folk Art feels a bit like required viewing. The Ukrainian film follows Ukrainian journalists during a 20 day period in the city of Mariupol, during which we see firsthand violence carried out by the Russian army in the early days of the conflict between the two countries. 20 Days is a hard watch to be sure, but a vital one that not only highlights the value of journalism, but arms the viewer with unassailable proof that war is very real, and it is hell. SFR gave it a 9 of 10 in our review last year, and while it would be understandable to wish to look away, especially this time of year, the time for compassion is now. (ADV)
20 Days in Mariupol Screening: 6 pm Friday, Dec. 6. Free Museum of International Folk Art, 706 Camino Lejo, (505) 476-1204
Courtesy desertchorale.org
Carol-palooza
Some folks are about to commit themselves due to the high volume of Christmas jamz and carols inundating our lives just now, while for others, it is never, ever enough. If you fall into that latter camp, the Santa Fe Symphony Chorus has a free gift for all y’all just in time for the Christmas of it all. Carols & Choruses is precisely what it sounds like—a program of all the most holiday’d out tunes you can think of sung by a veritable cornucopia of chorus-lovin’ holiday fools. The annual concert goes down at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi under the watchful eye of Carmen Flórez-Mansi, and any would-be concertgoers might like to know it’s free and non-ticketed. So just show up. Take your kids. Even if you’re secular, you’ll hear the songs you know and love and feel all festive or whatever. Happy holidays, ya filthy animals! (ADV)
Santa Fe Symphony Chorus: Carols & Choruses: 7 pm Tuesday, Dec. 10. Free. Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, 131 Cathedral Place, santafesymphony.org
