Out There
Sep. 29—IN THE GALLERY
Ready for launch
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Strata Gallery
125 Lincoln Avenue, Suite 105
505-780-5403; stratagallerysantafe.com
Strata Gallery recently announced its five emerging artists for 2023-2024, and New Mexico and Arizona are well-represented.
Under the gallery's emerging artists program, five newcomers will have their work featured in solo shows at the gallery, as well as in its annual group member show. The goal is to help launch their careers.
The artists include Keanu Jones (Diné), an Albuquerque-based filmmaker who grew up in Grand Falls, Arizona; Emma Ressel, a 2025 Master of Fine Arts candidate at the University of New Mexico; Rebecca Padilla-Pipkin, a Puerto Rican interdisciplinary visual artist based in Phoenix; Jandey Shackelford, who received her Masters in Fine Art degree from the University of Arizona in May; and Mehrdad Mirzaie, an Iran-born multidisciplinary artist. — Brian Sandford
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ALBUM NOTES
'Lost in Love,' found in Santa Fe
The opening bars of "Move Along," the first track on Zivi's debut album Lost in Love, would sound at home on Fleetwood Mac's underrated opus Tusk. Guitars jangle below an insistent beat, the tempo meandering and mid-paced. Zivi's vocals are soothing but not overly smooth.
details
zivirecords.com; mamamananarecords .bandcamp.com
"Need U Tonight," the album's seventh track, is a relaxed shuffle featuring organ in its long instrumental intro — belying its seemingly Prince-inspired title. "Faded," the sixth track, rides an unusual time signature to lyrical observations such as, "The truth is harder when you face it."
Lost in Love is Zivi's debut album; he is based in Santa Fe and Los Angeles. It was released September 15 via streaming services, vinyl, and cassette by Numbered Recordings and Mama Mañana Records. Mama Mañana was founded in 2022 by Santa Fe's Kiley Larsen and also has released music by Santa Fe's Gold Tides and Albuquerque's Lowmello. — B.S.
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FOR THE MIND
Mindful magic
If Sundays are special for you, it's hard to imagine a better or more beautiful way to spend them than on Magical Sundays at The Chi Center in Lamy.
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40 Camino Vista Clara, Lamy
$20 for brunch
Start with the center's brunch buffet and dine beside the large pond and fountains — all while accompanied by soothing sounds provided by local musicians. You can offer breakfast to the glint of goldfish that gather when you toss fish food into the pond and then proceed, if you wish, to the Kiva building, where each week, spiritual teachers, shamans, and healers from different traditions offer presentations. Seated in a circle in a building that is partially underground and connected to the regenerative energy of the earth, it's likely you will feel that the talk is designed personally for you and provides the insights you're seeking for your own life.
Then you can walk one or both of the short paths through golden autumnal grasses to visit the grandmother and grandfather cottonwood trees, which, at an estimated 300 to 500 years old, are reputed to be among the oldest in the country.
Stop by the statue of Yuanyin, the Chinese goddess of compassion, and then walk one of the two nearby labyrinths. The only sounds are your own breathing or, occasionally, the hum of cars that pass in the distance.
Perhaps you'll want to lace up your hiking shoes and make the fairly short but steep climb to the petroglyphs on the property that beckon with their ancient mysteries. Or you can choose any spot that calls to you in nature, and meditate, nap, sketch, chant, photograph, or just sit in silence.
Qigong Master Mingtong Gu explains that he designed The Chi Center as a "living mandala that extends from the Yuanyin statue to the circle of New Mexico stucco walls and connects through six paths to six main facilities: lodge, pond, lotus kiva, Pueblo building, compassion dome, and lofts," he says. "It looks like a landing field at night when all the paths are lit. It is on the land instead of canvas, is defined by trees, plants, and flowers, and is a living experience as you walk the mandala [medicine wheel]."
When asked why the Sundays are magical, Gu smiles and says the events include five "magics": eating by the water and fountains; listening to live music; experiential presentations; nature hikes; and meeting with like-minded friends, old and new. — Judith Fein/For The New Mexican
Magical Sundays continue through the end of October from 10 a.m. to 3 pm. This Sunday, October 1, features folk singer Chris Harrell.
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'TIS THE SEASON
Beers and brats and more
It's about to get festive. Oktoberfestive, that is. Santa Fe Brewing Company welcomes the fall and celebrates its 35th year in business with an Oktoberfiesta at its headquarters on Saturday, September 30.
Oktoberfiesta runs noon to 9 p.m. and offers live music and a number of family-friendly events, including a yodeling contest and a brat-eating contest. Everyone can check out the petting zoo, a pet adoption pop-up, and the pumpkin-painting station.
Admission is free, but Santa Fe Brewing Company is requesting donations — all proceeds from admission will go to Española Humane and the Santa Fe Children's Museum.
Ruidoso, about 190 miles south of Santa Fe, is also holding its own Oktoberfest event on Saturday, September 30; the Downshift Brewing Company will host at its Hidden Tap brewpub from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and will offer beer, German food, live music, a stein-holding contest, and a chicken dance contest.
Admission to the Downshift Brewery event is $25 for attendees over 21 years old. Tickets for entrants ages 13 to 20 cost $10, and children 12 and younger are free.
A week later, Red River, about 113 miles northeast of Santa Fe, will hold its 18th annual Oktoberfest from October 6-8 at Brandenburg Park.
Craft beer, wine, spirits, and food vendors are on the lineup, as is a Red River beard and mustache competition. — Spencer Fordin
Santa Fe Brewing Company's Oktoberfiesta: noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday, September 30. 35 Fire Place; santafebrewing.com
Ruidoso's Oktoberfest: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, September 30. Downshift Brewing Company's Hidden Tap, 2408 B Sudderth Drive, Ruidoso; discoverruidoso.com
Red River Oktoberfest: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. October 6-7 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. October 8. Brandenburg Park, 100 E. Main Street, in Red River; redriverchamber.org
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FOR THE EARS
Ready for "action"
It's high noon for New Mexico's film industry, and you can be part of the posse that rides to its rescue. The Mine Shaft Tavern & Cantina and Eaves Movie Ranch are collaborating for Wild West Fest, an all-day country music festival on Saturday, September 30, that will benefit the state's film industry workforce. The Writers Guild of America strike ended this week after 146 days; the Screen Actors Guild strike was ongoing as of press time.
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Begins at noon on Saturday, September 30
Eaves Movie Ranch, 75 Rancho Alegre Road
$35
themineshafttavern.com or eavesmovieranch.com
Lori Lindsey, owner of Madrid's Mine Shaft Tavern, says that at least $5 of every $35 ticket will directly benefit film workers, and she hopes that more than 1,000 people will show up to support the cause.
"I was inspired by the strikes when I started to realize that all of a sudden, there were all these talented people who need work," she says. "The strikes were creating hardships for a lot of movie people in the state and for movie venues like Eaves Movie Ranch. I thought it might be nice to do a fundraiser for the union members of the movie industry."
The festival begins at noon, and a dozen bands are on the bill, headlined by Rose's Pawn Shop and Felix y los Gatos. Multiple stages will allow musicians to play simultaneously, says Lindsey, with Clan Tynker performing vaudeville-style circus acts between sets.
The festival includes a drag show and an art auction featuring pieces created by union members. The Eaves Movie Ranch saloon, Lindsey says, will be filled with musicians, and a pop-up restaurant in the bank is operated by local restaurateur Kirstin Griffin.
The biggest star for the day will be familiar to anyone who's seen the TV show Yellowstone. He's Clyde "The Movie Star" Buffalo, and he doesn't have to cross a picket line to participate.
"He lives right down the street. It's an easy commute," Lindsey says of the celebrity bovine. "He's just like a big dog."
Jennifer LaBar-Tapia, a film commissioner and executive director of the Santa Fe Film Office, says that the writer's strike has been going on since May, which means several TV and film industry workers were out of work for about five months.
Film work in the state had been on an upward trajectory for years, she says, but the last quarter of the last fiscal year was marred by the lack of opportunity.
Film and TV workers have had to tighten their belts. It's especially hard because many of the workers in the film industry aren't able to file for unemployment — and it may have run out by now. And then, says LaBar-Tapia, there's the matter of all the ancillary industries that help the film industry thrive.
"When we say film industry, we're also looking at all the supporting resources," LaBar-Tapia says. "That's our prop houses, wardrobe houses, rental houses, dry cleaners, and caterers; everybody who helps support this industry is being hit really hard with this because they're not leasing out the equipment, and the dry cleaning hasn't been coming in. The same with our local hardware stores that maybe were benefiting from all the sets being built. You look at all these businesses that aren't necessarily union workers, but they are businesses in our industry, and those individuals are getting hit really hard as well."
Eaves Movie Ranch was recently painted white for its use in the 2021 film The Harder They Fall, and it's been used in movies such as Silverado (1985) and Easy Rider (1969). It's a perfect setting for a fundraiser, says Lindsey, and she hopes to make the inaugural Wild West Fest into an annual event.
"I've always wanted to do this particular festival, so it's not like a new thought in my head," she says. "The recipients of the fundraising is what's different, and maybe next year, we'll do it for a different group. It's always nice to do fundraisers, and we do a lot of them at the Mine Shaft Tavern." — S.F.
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FOR THE ARTS
Sing for your supper
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6 p.m. Friday, September 29
New Mexico Governor's Mansion, 1 Mansion Drive
$150
With presentations of Kinky Boots and I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change under its belt this year, Tri-M Productions is going in a different direction with entertainment for its annual fundraiser at the Governor's Mansion.
The company, which bills itself as offering choral and musical theater opportunities for early-career professionals, will perform a series of show tunes. They include "Pick-a-Little Talk-a-Little" and "Goodnight Ladies" from The Music Man; "I'll Know" from Guys and Dolls; "Joey, Joey, Joey" from The Most Happy Fella; "Bosom Buddies" from Mame; and "Easy Street" from Annie.
Last year's gala raised more than $18,000, according to Tri-M, which stands for Millennial Music Makers. — B.S
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BIG TICKET
Roots rockers
What does the world have in store for Wilco?
The venerable alt-rockers are playing a show at Albuquerque's Kiva Auditorium on Sunday, October 1, on the aptly named Tour to Infinity, and their appearance will come just days after the release of their latest album.
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7:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 1
Kiva Auditorium, 401 Second Street NW, Albuquerque
$36 to $76
albuquerquecc.com, wilcoworld.net
The band's 13th studio album, Cousin, released on Friday, September 29, is their first album since 2007's Sky Blue Sky to be helmed by an outside producer. Cate Le Bon took the job this time around, and she added saxophone and a drum machine to Wilco's versatile sound.
Jeff Tweedy's band has been prolific in recent years; Wilco released just eight albums between 1995 (A.M.) and 2011 (The Whole Love), but it's produced five new sets of material between 2015 (Star Wars) and 2023.
Cruel Country, a double-album released in 2022, saw Tweedy moving closer to his Uncle Tupelo roots with 21 country-infused tunes.
The Albuquerque show is just the second after Cousin is released; Wilco plays Austin, Texas, on the day of the release and will spend much of October touring California, the Pacific Northwest, and the Midwest. The band will play a series of shows in Mexico in December, and has sets scheduled for New Zealand and Japan in 2024. — S.F.
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MIXED MEDIA
Tracks to hell
For more than a century, people have watched L'Inferno and let their mind provide the soundtrack. Now, thanks to Austin-based chamber group Montopolis, the silent film that tells part of the story of Dante's Human Comedy will have an audible life of its own.
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7 p.m. Thursday, October 5
Jean Cocteau Cinema, 418 Montezuma Avenue
$20 to $50
montopolismusic.com, jeancocteaucinema.com
L'Inferno, first shown in Italy in 1911, is billed as the first feature-length horror film ever released, and it's a loose interpretation of the first canticle of Dante's epic 14th century journey through hell.
The film received new life when it was restored and released on DVD in 2004.
Montopolis, helmed by artistic director and composer Justin Sherburn, will be touring the U.S. and playing a live soundtrack to L'Inferno in a number of cities, including the Jean Cocteau Cinema on Thursday, October 5.
Montopolis will play a number of L'Inferno shows in Texas and California during October and will return to New Mexico for a show at El Cortez Theater in Truth or Consequences on October 19.
Prior to L'Inferno, Montopolis toured in 2022 behind an original score to the 1929 Ukranian documentary Man With a Movie Camera.
Four tracks of the group's L'Inferno soundtrack are also available on Spotify. — S.F.
