Out with a bang
Synthy blues, bass and '90s big beat round out 2023

Greetings, dear readers! Hope you’re generating plenty of heat from within right now and finding some good love in the brilliant snow, bluebird days and fireside nights to help your soul stay toasty. 

Did you get a chance to experience the wonder that was Rodeo Odyssey, the month-long art pop-up that occupied the Basin Printing building? I’ve never seen more artistic camaraderie and excitement in my brief 15 years in Durango. A special thank you on behalf of the local working-class artists and musicians in town to organizers Marissa Hunt and Emily Ciszek for making it happen!

Without further ado, let’s get to the top four yuletide musical blessings coming our little hamlet’s way courtesy of the Animas City Theatre. And, remember! Friends don’t let friends share their Spotify Wrapped … especially as Spotify lays off 17% of its employees during the holidays. (Nice marketing job there, y’all!) Give the gift of supporting live music and the local businesses that make it happen. Support artists directly. Buy a record, buy a shirt, buy a tote bag. Call a friend, go dancing. Stay human! 

Thanks for a great year, y’all. See you on the dance floor!

• Son Little, Animas City Theatre, Dec. 8, 8 p.m. - Son Little makes music for the pure joy of it. It’s not often that Durango hosts an artist who transmutes hypnotic, primordial blues into a celebration of life quite like he does. Similar to his musical next of kin, Leon Bridges, Son Little is heavily steeped in the tradition of mid-century doo-wop, R&B and soul. Little, however, brings his own uncompromising, electrified and at times synth-saturated fingerprint into the mix. For fans of: Leon Bridges, flute-era André 3000, Black Pumas.

• Maddy O’Neal, Animas City Theatre, Dec. 9, 7 p.m. - We’re in a beautiful golden era for dance music events in Durango right now, and it’s wicked-talented local ladies leading the charge. Hell. Yes. With backyard bad asses Baby Del, DJ X and DJ Pearly helping to guide the underground locally, heavy-hitters Ana M, The Librarian and now Maddy O’Neal have been entrusted with rallying the troops above-ground for transcendent moments on the biggest system in town – The ACT. One of the leading voices in bass music over the last 10 years, Maddy O’Neal is going to blow the dang roof off the ACT. Bring your earplugs and get ready for your cellular structure to get reorganized as the soundwaves do their work. For fans of: Clozee, Maya Jane Coles, Late Night Radio.

• Apollo Suns, Animas City Theatre, Dec. 13, 7 p.m. - Apollo, Greek god of music and light, played music so wonderful that it was known to ease people’s pain and suffering. Heck, he even played music for the weddings of gods and goddesses. Yes, Apollo, the unsung patron god of wedding DJs for generations (my dude!) Fact of the matter is, Apollo knew how to party. And his disciples, Apollo Suns, are coming to the ACT for a mid-week festivus with their high-octane, horn driven, funk-filled chalices in hand. For fans of: Galactic, Soulive, Charlie Hunter.

• The Crystal Method, Animas City Theatre, Dec. 29, 8 p.m. - The summer between 8th and 9th grade, my older brother took me and a friend to my very first non-Christian concert in downtown Dallas. We listened to Operation Ivy and the Chemical Brothers on the 45-minute drive to the venue – punk and psychedelic dance music being the soundtrack of our summer nights together. I had been growing ever more interested in the spirit and rhythms of dance music thanks to the radio and roller rink. This night, my first rave, our guides for the evening were none other than The Crystal Method, Orbital and the Lo Fidelity Allstars. I knew I wanted to be a DJ someday after the show. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the name, The Crystal Method helped establish the trans-Atlantic dialogue of ’90s big beat sound that catapulted artists like the Chemical Brothers, Fat Boy Slim and even “Homework” era Daft Punk into the popular music lexicon. Suffice to say, we’re welcoming a legendary performer to town, just in time for NYE weekend. Lucky for us, the ACT was able to coax the Grammy-nominated act into our back yard before landing in Denver for a sold-out NYE party. What a time to be alive! For fans of: ’90s rave, The Chemical Brothers, Propellerheads.