Past Shows

Don Conoscenti

Once a die-hard rocker, Don Conoscenti is one of the most respected musicians and critically acclaimed songwriters in acoustic music, and he brings his trio to Alamosa’s Cole Park on Sun., July 24, 6pm as part of the “Sundays at Six,” series of free admission live concerts that the Alamosa Live Music Association (ALMA) presents.

Although Conoscenti’s primary love is the landscape of story telling and songwriting, his band’s live performances are a soulful fusion of styles blended from their experience playing rock, jazz, blues, folk, funk and country.

The performances are never canned, covering the dancier/bluesier/funkier sides of Conoscenti’s songwriting catalog with some jangly Americana elements mixed in as well. Expect to go on an improvisational musical journey of unexpected segues, humorous reflections, stories and songs. Songs about lovers, outcasts, healing, loss, mystery, spirit, murder and redemption.

Putting out more music than it seems should be right for three guys on stage, the Rifters will employ a wide range of acoustic and electric instruments, combined with soaring three-part harmonies, to provide a mesmerizing variety of music from driving blue-grama-grass to ethereal desert beauty on Sun., July 31 at 6pm for Sundays at Six in Alamosa’s Cole Park.

Sundays at Six takes the week of Sun., Aug. 7 off and encourages attendance at the Crestone Music Festival taking place that weekend. After that, Sundays at Six returns every Sun. from Aug. 7 until Aug. 28.

ALMA’s gracious members and business sponsors support the free summer “Sundays @ Six,” concerts and other ALMA events.

The Jimmy Stadler Band

Voted “Best Rock Band,” in the Taos News for many years running, the Jimmy Stadler Band is bringing their mix of rock-n-roll, alternative country, blues and more to Alamosa’s Cole Park this Sun., July 17, at 6pm, as part of the Alamosa Live Music Association’s “Sundays at Six,” series of free admission outdoor concerts.

A consummate musician, Jimmy Stadler has been performing coast to coast and around northern New Mexico for 25 years. Playing a variety of original music and cover songs with high positive energy and excellent musicianship at nightclubs, weddings, corporate events and other venues every year, the Jimmy Stadler Band has built a strong reputation. The New Mexico Music Industry Coalition has recognized them with many nominations and awards.

Stadler has worked with respected musicians such as Michael Martin Murphey, “You Never Promised Me a Rose Garden,” singer Lynn Anderson, Bill Payne (of Little Feat), Dixie Chicks collaborator Lloyd Maines, and Johnny Gimble (formerly of Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys).

Attendees in the park can enter to win tickets for rides on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad’s concert trains. Tasties hot dogs and the San Luis Valley Brewing Company are scheduled to sell food at the summer Sundays at Six shows all season.

The Don Conoscenti Band plays on Sun., July 14. Their live performances are a soulful fusion of styles blended from their experience playing rock, jazz, blues, folk, funk and country.

ALMA also helps present music during the Valley Farmers’ Market, in the parking lot near the southeast corner of State Ave. and Main St. in Alamosa. A singer-songwriter with roots in the folk-rock vein and a great voice, Alison Kitchen entertains Sat., July 16, from 10am until noon.

ALMA’s gracious members and business sponsors support the free summer “Sundays @ Six,” concerts and other ALMA events. More information about supporting ALMA and about upcoming concerts is available at http://www.almaonline.org.

Sweet Radish

A down to earth acoustic string band at heart, Sweet Radish’s music ranges from jazz to bluegrass, from folk to blues. Comprised of Alamosa and San Luis Valley residents, Sweet Radish plays for the next in the Alamosa Live Music Association’s (ALMA) Sundays at Six series of free admission concerts in Alamosa’s Cole Park, this Sun., July 10 at 6pm.

“A diverse group of musicians who have one common goal: to make some good music together and share it with those who want to listen,” is how Sweet Radish describe themselves. Attendees in the park can enter to win tickets for rides on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad’s concert trains.

The Jimmy Stadler Band is slated to bring their brand of rock-n-roll, country and more from Taos to Cole Park Sun., July 17, at 6pm. Tasties hot dogs and the San Luis Valley Brewing Company are scheduled to sell food at the summer Sundays at Six shows all season.

ALMA also helps present music during the Valley Farmers’ Market, in the parking lot near the southeast corner of State Ave. and Main St. in Alamosa. Indie-pop-rock singer/songwriter Eric Shiveley and bass prodigy Wilson Luallen kick off the market this Sat., July 9, from 10am until 1pm.

James McMurtry, a celebrated singer-songwriter who practices a blend of Americana, folk, rock and country, is performing an outdoor concert Sun., July 10, 2pm, at the Medano-Zapata Ranch, three miles south of the Great Sand Dunes National Park on Hwy-150 in Alamosa County, Colo. ALMA is partnering with the ranch on this concert, proceeds of which support the Shriver/Wright Memorial Project, honoring Doug Shriver and Ray Wright, two agriculture and water leaders in the San Luis Valley.

ALMA’s gracious members and business sponsors support the free summer “Sundays @ Six,” concerts and other ALMA events.

James McMurtry

The Phillips family, who manages the Medano-Zapata Ranch adjacent to the Sand Dunes National Park, is hosting an outdoor concert at the ranch, Sun., July 10, 2pm,  featuring James McMurtry, a celebrated singer-songwriter who practices a blend of Americana, folk, rock and country.

“A poet of the people,” is what the Village Voice called James McMurtry and “the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation” is how famed author Stephen King described McMurtry in Entertainment Weekly. Son of acclaimed author Larry McMurtry, who wrote Lonesome Dove and Terms of Endearment, James McMurtry also has a way with words. His 2005 CD Childish Things spent six weeks at #1 on R&R’s Americana Music Radio Chart and captured nods for Best Song and Best Album from the 5th Annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards.

This concert is a fundraiser for a memorial project to honor community members Doug Shriver and Ray Wright who passed away tragically last winter. Shriver and Wright were visionaries who passionately gave years of leadership to the San Luis Valley’s water resources work, agricultural foundation, and efforts to maintain the health of the Rio Grande River. Local nonprofit, Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust, is working with the families of the men to develop an appropriate memorial site in conjunction with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Phillips family, and other local and statewide partners.

The memorial aims to give people in Shriver’s and Wright’s home community of Monte Vista a lovely setting to enjoy, appreciate and learn about the Rio Grande that sustains us all. While the project is in the early design stages, it will likely include a picnic site and access point to the river that will not only honor our friends, but highlight the importance of the Rio Grande and our ongoing responsibility to care for it.

This concert is a product of Ranchlands Concerts, a non-profit established by the Phillips Family with the goal of raising money for ranch education programs and special projects such as the Shriver/Wright Memorial Project.

Tickets are available through the Zapata ranch’s website: www.zranch.org, prices increase at the gate. All seating is general admission, gates open at 11am, concert begins at 2pm. People are encouraged to bring blankets to sit on. Alcohol is not served, people are welcome to bring their own.

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