Alamosa Live Music Association

Dear Members, Corporate Sponsors, and Grantors,

As we close out 2020 we want to reflect on all that we accomplished in supporting local and live music in the San Luis Valley. We started out with several bands at the ALMA & Friends concert in February, featuring Ol’ Scratch, The Bent Ears, Waverley Road, Rio Trio and Don Richmond. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions we had to cancel our second Battle of the Bands concert scheduled for May. We were in partnership with Square Peg to host and had some really fun plans. We’ll be scheduling another Battle of the Bands as soon as we can. Also due to COVID-19, the summer Sundays at Six concert series transitioned to an online live stream format and has been spread out to be once monthly throughout the summer and fall and will resume in the spring of 2021. In 2020, Sundays at Six featured The Richmond Brothers, Ol’ Scratch, The Bent Ears, Waverly Road, and Indian Nickel. Closing out the year will be ALMA’s Annual Holiday Sing-Along with Don Richmond on December 20 at 6:00 PM live streaming from Milagros Coffee House in Alamosa on ALMA’s Facebook page. 

We spoke with Santa and he is excited to visit and read “The Night Before Christmas” for our Holiday Sing-Along. Be sure to tune in for your favorite holiday carols and story time! ALMA has partnered with Papa Murphy’s and HobbyTown to provide awards for a coloring contest. You can download the coloring sheet on our website, www.almaonline.org, or pick one up at various locations around Alamosa including Milagros, HobbyTown, and Narrow Gauge Bookstore. Once your child colors the sheet, you just fill out the information, and email a picture to us at: almaconcerts@gmail.com. Just be sure to send that picture by December 16th to be considered in the contest. You can also participate in the concert and be featured in the live stream! Just email us a video, no longer than 30 seconds, of you, your kids, or the whole family singing a verse from your favorite carol. Be sure to email this video to: almaconcerts@gmail.com by December 11th.

Looking ahead to 2021, we are in the early stages of planning the Sundays at Six lineup and feeling optimistic about the potential for in-person concerts. We will continue to live stream our concerts even after we return to in-person, which opens the door for folks to watch from out of town.

The ALMA & Friends concert is being moved from our usual February scheduling to later in the spring, probably May. We’re hoping ALMA & Friends will be in a in-person concert and admission will be free to our 2021 members. On Saturday, February 20th, we will run a telethon and membership drive concert live streamed from Society Hall. ALMA Members are key to supporting ALMA’s mission toward local and live music in the SLV so please consider renewing your membership or becoming a new member! See the ALMA website (http://www.almaonline.org/become-a-member/) for more information on membership. Active membership numbers also factor into our grant proposals; organizations look for evidence of community support as part of their proposal considerations.  

Finally, we are looking for individuals to be on our Board! Please see our ‘About ALMA’ page (http://www.almaonline.org/about/) for more information about ALMA, its mission, history, and how you could support the organization through service as a Board Member. And we also want to recognize our departing Officers and Board Members: Elizabeth Sumner as Treasurer, and Board Member Jessica Chacon. Thank you both for your years of service! We are excited to announce Jeff Bullington as Treasurer, and we welcome new Board Members Bill Tite and Erin Lehman. Continuing Officers are Amy Scavezze (President), Matt Wellman (Vice-President) and Patrick Ortiz (Secretary).

Nancy Harris, ALMA Manager and the 2021 ALMA Board,

Amy Scavezze, President

Matt Wellman, Vice President

Jeff Bullington, Treasurer

Patrick Ortiz, Secretary

Bill Tite, Board Member

Erin Lehman, Board Member

Albert Kahan, Board Member

William Krebs, Board Member

Jeannie Norwood, Advisory Board Member

Special thanks to our local corporate sponsors, the City of Alamosa, the Alamosa Local Marketing District Board, Community Foundation of the SLV, Xcel Energy Foundation, Rawlings Foundation, and of course our 2020 Members! 

Staying in Tune with ALMA: Celebrating Together this Holiday Season

By Amy Scavezze

Join me for a moment to imagine a sun-drenched grassy park filled with hundreds of folks listening to a dynamic local band. People are sitting on lawn chairs and blankets with friends and family, young and old, sharing a picnic brought from home or bought from the local food truck. Children are playing, running, laughing, and sharing the experience with each other. Folks are dancing in front of the stage, tossing a frisbee behind the crowd, or listening to a story being read under the trees. This is the fully-embodied experience of listening to live music at a Sundays at Six concert in Alamosa. Like all businesses and organizations, the Alamosa Live Music Association (ALMA) was certainly affected by COVID-19 and our programming had to adjust to the guidelines to help keep our community healthy and safe. Knowing the spirit-lifting value of live music, and the economic value of hosting a concert, we took our Sundays at Six series to an online platform and have been streaming a concert live from society hall each month starting with the Richmond Brothers in July, Ol’ Scratch in August, the Bent Ears in September, Waverly Road in October, and Indian Nickel in November. We will continue to live stream free concerts into the spring of 2021 and we are hopeful for in-person concerts again in the summer and/or fall of 2021. You can live stream these concerts on Facebook at facebook.com/alamalivemusic, or search for “Alamosa Live Music Association on Facebook. You can also find a link on our website: www.almaonline.org

For December’s Sunday at Six, we are hosting Don Richmond at Milagros for our annual Holiday Sing Along. We spoke with Santa and he agreed to visit our community and will be reading “The Night Before Christmas.” Be sure to tune in for your favorite holiday carols and story time! ALMA has partnered with Papa Murphy’s and HobbyTown to provide awards for a coloring contest. You can download the coloring sheet on our website, www.almaonline.org, or pick one up at various locations around Alamosa including Milagros, HobbyTown, and Narrow Gauge Bookstore. Once your child colors the sheet, you just fill out the information, and email a picture to us: alamosaconcerts@gmail.com. Just be sure to send that picture by December 16th to be considered in the contest. You can also participate in the concert and be featured in the live stream! Just email us a video, no longer than 30 seconds, of you, your kids, or the whole family singing a verse from your favorite carol. Be sure to email this video to: alamaconcerts@gmail.com by December 11th.

‘Tis the season for giving and ALMA thanks the foundations, individuals, and businesses that support our mission with financial and in-kind contributions. Without you, this work would not be possible. San Luis Valley Federal Bank is a long-time supporter of ALMA as well as many other nonprofits and programs across the Valley. Their annual “Spirit of Giving” campaign is happening right now! They have $30K designated for nonprofits and you can cast a vote for a local organization. You can vote once for every account you have with them. Please be sure to participate with your vote for ALMA, and/or any nonprofit you want to support by December18th.  There is also an exciting opportunity for your donation to go a little further by participating in one of the largest one-day giving movements in the country – Colorado Gives Day. Each December, Coloradans come together with the common goal to strengthen the community by helping to power nonprofits. Community First Foundation and FirstBank partner to make this day rewarding for givers, nonprofits and the community as a whole.

Colorado Gives Day is Tuesday, December 8, and features a $1 million Incentive Fund. Every nonprofit receiving a donation on Colorado Gives Day receives a portion of the fund, increasing impact and the value of every dollar donated. Colorado Gives Day has grown to be Colorado’s largest one-day online giving event, raising more than $257 million since it began in 2010. To give, simply visit: ColoradoGives.org and search for “Alamosa Live Music Association” or “ALMA” and click “donate” on our profile. 

We are so excited for our Holiday Sing Along and we can’t wait to dance with you in the grass again at Cole Park. Happy Holidays from ALMA!