SFR Picks—Week of June 15

Double the picks for the busy summertime events season

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Makers

Make Music Day makes sense

We shan’t bore you with another tedious COVID-19 breakdown, but you should know that certain things that were on hold, smallified or otherwise affected by that stupid virus are coming back into full swing. Take, for example, Make Music Day in Santa Fe, a small but noble part of the the international Make Music Day project, which seeks for cities to set aside an entire day each June 21 (the summer solstice) for—get this—making music. In America, it all goes down under the auspices of NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants.

Make Music day began in France in 1982 as Fête de la Musique, and has since expanded across the globe. Even Santa Fe has played host to the celebrations before, but 2022 represents a return to in-person form under the organizational prowess of Candyman Strings and Things owners Cindy and Rand Cook, local musician Busy McCarroll and main organizer Evan Galpert, himself a local actor and comedian. Galpert and company have thus far set up events at Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery, the Santa Fe Brewing Co. and the Candyman, and folks and venues can still sign up for events until Sunday, June 19 through makemusicday.org/santafe. Galpert even tells SFR that venues already offering free shows on June 21 can contact him and include theirs as part of Make Music Day—but they must be free.

“I love the idea of trying to globally get people together to make free music events happen,” Galpert says, “to do something that’s community oriented and that allows for a lot of people to participate...to do something that’s out of the ordinary for them.”

Thus far, Galpert adds, many of the events are expected to take place outside, though he and other organizers encourage participants to keep COVID-19 in mind and make sure they have a mask handy in case it’s needed. Additionally, more events are coming to the lineup, and performers can volunteer their time through the website—just remember that the idea is for everything to be free and accessible. So stay tuned, maybe bookmark that website and think about engaging with a full day of free music. (Alex De Vore)

Make Music Day: All day Tuesday, June 21. Free. Various locations, makemusicday.org/santafe

All Them Colors

A collection of short plays takes us on an authentic journey to finding personal Pride

Charles Tichenor is known around town as a multi-talented instructor, an accomplished pianist and, now, a man of the stage.

Many long-time residents have likely seen Tichenor’s talents in action, whether at the Vanessie piano lounge or the Chat Noir Cabaret in the back room of Burro Alley restaurant Los Magueyes. For his next project, he’ll delve into the deeply personal with his semi-autobiographical theater piece, Rainbow’s End. The performances add to the ever-overflowing Pride events happening around town, but perhaps Tichenor’s contribution ranks as one of the more intimate offerings this month.

“The plays are loosely connected...I don’t know if I’d call it a trilogy,” he tells SFR, “but I really wanted to tackle the things I experienced growing up in western Kentucky in the ‘60s—bigotry, hate crimes, hypocrisy and social conservatism.”

Rainbow’s End includes three shorts: Billy’s Blues, The Things We Forgot and Southern Disclosure, all of which are written and directed by Tichenor himself. As a whole, the work follows the familiar path young gay men travel in the modern world; the painful discovery of being othered, the slow realization that being different might hold a certain power—the almost inevitable path to political activism. Rainbow’s End is perhaps a dearly needed reminder about the sacrifices our queer elders made and the difficulties the 20th century offered them. In addition to the show, Tichenor will pepper in live readings of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl to add a splash of counter-culture attitude. But never fear—one doesn’t need to vibe with the Beatniks to grasp Tichenor’s world.

“Artists, I think, have a responsibility to do more than just sit around and talk about all the nostalgia and memories,” he exlpains. “The world is changing really fast, and I believe art ought to reflect that. We ought to have something to say that’s relevant.”

At its most basic levels, Pride is about telling the stories of individuals and the journey to finding that much needed lifeline that is Pride. We say theater is the perfect venue for that. (RG)

Rainbow’s End: 7pm Tuesday, June 21-Thursday, 23. $20. Teatro Paraguas, 3205 Calle Marie. (505) 424-1601

Vertical is the New Horizontal

Santa Fe Spirits’ Colkegan blend is the local distillery’s signature whiskey, and now the folks behind the spirit are offering the chance for a vertical tasting of a recent batch. If you’re wondering what vertical means in this context, here’s the TL;DR: You’ll get that Colkegan whiskey for which Santa Fe Spirits is known, but with different vintage and batch options. In the most basic terms? Different flavor blends. Whiskey lovers, rejoice and prepare for tasting notes you likely weren’t expecting, even if you’re a seasoned quaffer. Even better, there’s an additional VIP event that comes with a charcuterie plate, a Glencairn glass (that’s a special spirits vessel if you didn’t know) and first dibs at the whiskey. Don’t freak, though, because the general admission event comes with snacks, too. (Riley Gardner)

Colkegan Vertical Release: 4 pm for VIP; 5 pm for general admission, Friday, June 17. $35 for VIP, free for general. Santa Fe Spirits Distillery, 7505 Mallard Way. tinyurl.com/5n8razh3

Seasonal Shift

Oh, we’re already pretty deep into the live music summer, Santa Fe, and given some of the things that are already popping off, it’s kind of insane. Case in point? Here comes Calexico, Tucson, Arizona’s most infamous indie rockers with the Latin-y twist. This presents a conundrum for audiences. Do you love Joey Burns and John Convertino because you were a little bit emo growing up, because you like to feel the heat of country-ish/cumbia-esque tunes with nods to French rock, post rock, etc.—or is it all of the above? One need not choose. Do note, however, that Lost Padre Records’ George Casey is sponsoring this one (with the logistics assist from AMP Concerts), both because he’s an alright guy, and because he’ll be celebrating the fourth anniversary of his most excellent shop. In case it wasn’t clear, that means this one’s free, kids. (ADV)

Calexico: 7 pm Friday, June 17. Free. Railyard Plaza, Market and Alcaldesa Streets, ampconcerts.org

Neighborly Tunes

The reality of climate change means the New Mexico fire season will likely be longer and more eventful than in previous years. Kind of a bummer start, we know, yet in a strange and sad silver lining, this gives us more opportunities to care for our neighbors. At some point, they may have to return the favor. But hey, for just $20 you can hear New Mexican acoustic music that’ll remind you why we love this area of the world so much. Performances by local musical superstars include Robert Mirabal, Rahim AlHaj, Lara Manzanares, state historian and musician Rob Martinez, Felix Peralta and SolFire Duo. All proceeds benefit our friends hit by the recent regional wildfires through the All Together NM Fund. And hey, if you can’t make the concert because of life, All Together NM can always use donations. (RG)

New Mexico Musicians: All Together for Fire Relief: 7 pm Saturday, June 18. $20. Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W San Francisco St. (505) 988-1234

Stop and Smell the…Lavender?

It seems like there’s always something fun happening at El Rancho de las Golondrinas, and the plant lovers of Santa Fe are in for a treat this week. The Santa Fe Herb & Lavender Festival is one of the more aromatic and mouth-watering events of the year, and there you’ll find renowned vendors like Sheehan Winery, New Mexico Hard Cider and others, plus you can gobble up all the lavender-infused food there is to offer. Sip on refreshing lavender lemonade all while being surrounded by spectacular live entertainment? Yes, please. Natural-born learners out there can even tune in to live demonstrations and lectures on native plants, and you’ll have a chance to get your paws on some heavenly-scented essential oils, too. The more you know? More like the more you grow, Santa Fe. (Taya Demianova)

Santa Fe Herb & Lavender Festival: 10am-4pm Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19. $6-$8; children under 12 free. El Rancho de las Golondrinas 334 Los Pinos Road., (505) 471-2261

Celebrate/Reflect

Go ahead and ignore the casual racism of that Juneteenth-branded ice cream from Wal-Mart and celebrate the holiday commemorating the 1865 emancipation of enslaved Black people with a community gathering on the Plaza. This year’s Love and Happiness event is the second such throwdown from local DJ/MC/Vital Spaces director Raashan Ahmad and the Earthseed Black Arts Alliance, but the stakes have risen considerably with performances from the legendary Chali 2na and Cut Chemist of Jurassic 5. You’ll find other locals, food trucks, poets, guest speakers, drummers and sooooooooo much dancing. Remember to actually reflect on the meaning of the day while you’re at it, but you could reflect in way worse places than a dance party with a few hundred friends. (ADV)

Juneteenth: Love & Happiness: 6 pm Sunday, June 19. Free. Santa Fe Plaza, 100 Old Santa Fe Trail, earthseedblackarts.org

...And So it Begins

We’re smack-dab in the midst of Pride month, and Santa Fe’s Human Rights Alliance is gearing up to kick things off in the lead-up to the big day on June 25. So while we’re definitely not going to forget that the first Pride was a riot spurred by trans women in New York City, we think it’s also OK to shake off the cobwebs and feel great about ourselves with the HRA Kick-Off T-Dance. It’s like a continuation of the age-old Tea Dance tradition that found queer folks living in secret having “tea parties” so as to not arouse suspicion during a time when queerness was illegal. Tumbleroot has been bringing the heat for some time now, so the spot is right, plus DJ BadCat presides with straight-up house and dance bangers. (ADV)

Pride T-Dance: 1-5 pm Sunday, June 19. $15. Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery, 2791 Agua Fría St., (505) 303-3808