Don't worry, be happy
June gives plenty of chances to gather and celebrate the good stuff

Greetings, dear readers! Happy Pride! Happy Farmer’s Market! Happy Telluride Bluegrass! I hope your days are sunny and your nights smell of pine, lilacs and petrichor slipping through your windows and tent doors. I hope someone miracles you a four-day pass to Telluride Bluegrass. You deserve it!

While recently doom-scrolling through the cellular hellscape that is my phone, a fellow DJ I admire in Amsterdam reminded me, “The urge to let pessimism take over is overwhelming. Don’t let it. Gather together, be it in small groups or big. Donate, protest, sing, dance, share spaces and moments of joy together. We need meaningful acts of joy to balance this shit out.” 

While the world continues to melt down in so many ways, there are plenty of ways it is not. And, lucky for us, there are lots of moments on the horizon this June for us to cultivate community and joy with the return of two free concert series and a plethora of fantastic offerings at the Union Social House, 11th Street Station and The Balcony, to name a few.

Wishing each and every one of you safety, love, connection and deep joy this month. Here are seven things I think are more than worth your while to check out, musically and culturally. I hope to see you all on the dancefloor!

1. Durango Pride 2024! There are going to be incredible Pride celebrations all throughout the month of June in Durango (and Ignacio, Ouray and Farmington, to boot!) Way too many to list here, in fact. So, be sure to visit www.thealliance.gay to get the full run down and don’t miss Aria PettyOne’s “Show Your Pride Week” June 26-30!

2. Westfield and Pearl Charles, The Rochester Hotel, Fri., June 7, 4 p.m. - Operating under the moniker of Rodeo Odyssey, Marissa Hunt and Emily Ciszek have built a reputation as women who are in love with building community and celebrating local art. Not satisfied to rest on the laurels of their highly successful SPACE pop-up in December, they have set their sights on a Rochester Secret Garden pop-up this Friday, featuring the indelible musical stylings of L.A.’s Pearl Charles with support from Durango’s pride and joy, Annie Brooks, playing under the name Westfield. The Secret Garden is about to be set ablaze by two of the West’s finest musicians to ever cross paths. For fans of desert-drenched, blissed-out, spacey guitar licks and marooned melodies that will melt even the most Carhartt-laden heart.

3. High Country Hustle, The Pickpockets, Robin Davis Duo, Animas City Theatre, Fri., June 7, 8 p.m. - We’ve got three banging shows this June at the ACT for those holding down the fort. Local bluegrass legends-in-the-making High Country Hustle, who just played a sold-out Mishawaka Amphitheatre are up first, are bringing their friends The Pickpockets along for the ride. The pride of Pagosa, The Robin Davis Duo, is opening the night with its psychedelically saturated old-time fiddle and banjo sound.

4. Hotel Draw, Alex Graf’s SuperPac, BurroFest, Mancos, Sat., June 15, 12 noon - Mancos is bringing the dryside heat with a dusty, double-booking of Durango’s Hotel Draw and Alex Graf’s SuperPAC.

Hotel Draw mostly flies under the radar locally. In the most beautiful sense of the phrase, they are the kind of innovative, polished, talented band that helps Durango feel connected to an indie music scene outside of bluegrass and beer-soaked dance music. Do not miss this 10/10 local band.

Sharing the bill is Alex Graff and his Bluegrass SuperPAC. One never knows exactly who is playing in the Bluegrass SuperPAC, but rest assured – it will be special, and Graff will shred at a level beyond what we can collectively dream of. Graff surrounds himself with a who’s who of local bluegrass pickers and continues to develop his voice as a soloist and accompanist, striving ever closer to reach what he has playfully dubbed “Incoherent Grass.” If I were a betting man, Graff is not far from playing rooms and festivals much bigger than the Meltdown and BurroFest. So seize the day!

5. Desiderata, Powerhouse Science Center, Wed., June 19, 5 p.m. - All Summer long, the Powerhouse is hosting free concerts Wednesday nights to celebrate and support local nonprofits. Durango’s beloved indie desert-rock wunderkinds Desiderata throw down on the patio in honor of local youth advocacy stalwarts, The Hive. Catch me fanboying in the front row!

6. Leon Timbo & His Family Band, Buckley Park, Buckley Park, Thurs., June 20, 5:30 p.m. - The Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College kicks off its annual free summer concert series in Buckley Park with Leon Timbo & His Family Band. Expect some heart-melting baritone belting out some “love-centric, emotionally rich” soulful ballads for this one. Additionally, cue a diverse national-act-level of music gracing the stage.

7. Nordfest 2024, Mancos Brewing Co., Sat., June 22, 3 p.m. - Survivor and chief garage rock officer, Erik Nordstrom, brings back his festival of survival and remembrance, featuring an absolutely stacked cross-genre line-up of guitar-driven music. Let’s all make the drive over and throw down in honor of young Nordstrom and the fine young man he is growing up to be and the work he is doing to raise awareness in our region around cancer. Expect high quality sets from Nathan Schmidt, Acid Wrench, Lawn Chair Kings and Afrobeatniks. More details can be found at www.mancosbrewingcompany.com.