Courtesy Stand and Rock 4 Immigrants
Rock ‘n’ Roll for Human Rights
Local bands benefit Santa Fe immigrants
Get ready to rock for a good cause. Brian Hardgroove, who is currently on hiatus from his usual gig as Public Enemy's bass player, collaborates with other local bands for a concert benefitting the Santa Fe Dreamers Project, a nonprofit which provides legal protection services for immigrants across the state.
Stand & Rock 4 Immigrants is the second in a series that kicked off in the wake of the Dakota Access Pipeline conflict. Last year, Hardgroove organized a performance that included actor Wes Studi, pianist Andy Kingston and performing arts group Drums for Peace, with proceeds going to legal and medical expenses for water protectors. This year, Hardgroove was moved by the forceful family separation taking place at the US-Mexico border. "I have a 17-year-old daughter," he tells SFR. "I can't imagine what it would be like to be taken away from her."
On the roster are three local acts, including Hardgroove's own soulful Impulse Groove Foundation. Nosotros, meanwhile, has a Latin sound with a touch of electric guitar and bass that makes their songs irresistibly danceable, with material ranging from Dia de los Muertos serenades to poppy, saxophone-laced tunes. Closing out the lineup is Santa Fe scene newcomer Zay Santos, whose bluesy style falls more into the category of traditional rock complete with growly lyrics and twangy guitar.
But the live music won't be the only attraction at the free event. Hardgroove tells SFR there will be mural painting for those who want to join in, as well as Dreamers Project information booths and food trucks with ice cream, paletas and tacos if you get hungry from all that dancing. Because there will be dancing. "This isn't an event where it's just about the performers," Hardgroove explains. "People will be expressing their emotions through dance." Patrons can make donations to the Dreamers Project with cash, checks or credit, as well as via text; plenty of volunteers will be on hand to help with transactions.
"Our goal is to get up into the couple of thousands of people," Nosotros drummer and manager Dennis Jasso says. "We feel like it's an important topic today, and we feel there's a certain like-mindedness of people in Santa Fe that feel the same way that we do. We're hoping that people will come out and let their voices be heard."
6:30 pm Sunday July 22. Free.
Railyard Plaza,
Market and Alcaldesa Streets,
982-3373
Curiouser and Curiouser
Carrie McCarthy
Based on the Mark Haddon book of the same name, the 2015 Tony Award-winning play with the mouthful of a title takes the local stage for the first time at the Santa Fe Playhouse under the direction of Patrick McDonald. When his neighbor's dog Wellington is stabbed with a garden fork and found dead, 15-year-old Christopher is determined to solve the murder while grappling with his family and his own Asperger's syndrome. Someplace along the way he comes to terms with his parents and his life, cracking the case and finding himself. Mystery abounds. (RLP)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time:
7:30 pm Friday and Saturday July 20 and 21;
2 pm Sunday July 22. Through Aug. 5. $15-$30.
Santa Fe Playhouse,
142 E De Vargas St.,
988-4262.
Prose Party
A surefire way to be moved and entertained this Saturday night: The first of a week of readings from faculty, alumni, students and visiting writers hosted by the writing MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. "Everything that literature does, happens here," says Jon Davis, the program's director. Nonfiction writer Danielle Geller and poet Joy Harjo give much-awaited performances, though work coming out of the program is far-reaching in genre. Some students create in young adult fiction, some in sci-fi, and there's even noir thriller in the mix. "The only thing everyone shares," Davis says, "is an interest in language and craft. And that's kind of been the mark of the IAIA program." (Eva Rosenfeld)
IAIA 2018 Summer Readers Gathering:
Visiting writers: 6 pm Saturday-Saturday July 21-28.
MFA students: 1 pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday July 23-27. Free.
Institute of American Indian Arts,
83 Avan Nu Po Road,
424-2325.
Bring in the Noise
Lloyd Arceisa
Those who would shrink at the prospect of a noise show may just be doing themselves a disservice. Perhaps they take the harsher meaning of the word's etymology and reduce it into a simplistic "This isn't for me!" viewpoint. People like this are missing out—it's still music. "[Noise is] music—sound—made without the tonal and rhythmic constraints of traditional music," The Uninvited Guest's Carlos Santistevan tells SFR. In other words: Shit might be out-there, but New Mexico musicians like Santistevan and Bigawatt plus Los Angeles' William Hutson and White Boy Scream are merely pushing boundaries, creating something new from an informed stance and changing how we create and consume sonic offerings. (Alex De Vore)
8 pm Monday July 23. $5-$10.
Ghost,
2899 Trades West Road
