Shoulder season serenade
Waco Brothers, Alex Graf's SuperPAC and B. Shafes' big 4-0

Greetings, dear readers! I was really looking forward to alienating a good chunk of you with my half-baked, social-media saturated political musings this week, but the editor’s got me on a tight word diet. So, let me just note that it’s officially shoulder season, an edgy political landscape seems here to stay for many more moons, and, last I checked, it’s harder than I remember to be a working-class person living in Durango with sky-high rent. For what it’s worth, I still think that in general, we all have far more in common than we’re led to believe by algorithms and corporate media. May we all find some collective joy and unity in this month’s musical highlights. Check ’em out, support your local venues, and I hope to see you on the dance floor!

• Carsie Blanton, FLC Community Concert Hall, Thurs., Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m. - Just in time for a neck-and-neck post-election, “what-the-hell-just-happened”“ kind of night, Philadelphia-based performer Carsie Blanton brings her blend of New Orleans-influenced jazz, folk and pop to the big stage at the Community Concert Hall. Blanton’s tunes are steeped in the American lineage of protest music, leaning on her smoky voice and socially aware lyrics to convey an overall message of empowerment and “Yes, we can!”

• Battle of the Bands, The Lightbox at Stillwater, Fri., Nov. 8, 6:30 p.m. - Stillwater Music is opening up its illustrious downtown Lightbox venue for a night of something we can all get behind – empowering talented kids with limited financial means to chase their musical dreams. Stillwater has long played a central role in Durango’s music scene, nurturing musicians of all ages in ensembles that punch well above their weight in performances. Expect a genre-fluid night of high-quality ensembles and performances from some of Durango’s brightest musical talent.

• Lusine, Arms & Sleepers, and Yppah, Animas City Theatre, Fri., Nov. 8, 7 p.m. - If you haven’t noticed, A-list electronic music talent is filling the Animas Theatre with greater regularity, and Durangatangs of all ages are here for it. This month, the ACT has booked a show that illustrates the genre’s range far beyond the Burning Man or club-banger culture that most of us associate with the genre. Three internationally renowned leftfield producers – Lusine, Arms & Sleepers, and Yppah – will grace our cornerstone community stage with live backing musicians, ready to take Durango’s faithful to a space somewhere between synthetic and organic. Check out this show and enjoy the magic of passionate musicians, outboard hardware, and virtuosic live instruments melding together to take the audience to a new musical dimension.

• The Waco Brothers, Genuine Cowhide, Animas City Theatre, Sat., Nov. 9, 7 p.m. - KDUR, the indefatigable musical heart of our community, will be pumping some much-needed big-room alt-country talent into our veins and ears for their 50th birthday bash this month. As only the fates could have allowed, The Waco Brothers and Genuine Cowhide are on tap to set the stage ablaze with their raucous riffs and soaring pedal steels. Cheers to Liggett, Lynch and the KDUR galaxy from yesteryear for keeping the fire burning for us for so many years.

• Alex Graf’s SuperPAC, La La Bones, Lightweight Travelers, Wildhorse Saloon, Wed., Nov. 13, 6 p.m. - It’s suddenly cold and dark outside, folks, which can only mean one thing – it’s time to pack the Wildhorse Saloon in support of the 2025 Durango Bluegrass Meltdown! If you haven’t seen Alex perform his repertoire of sagebrush-infused “incoherent grass,” backed by a rotating who’s-who of Durango’s string-band superheroes, I wonder … do you even clog, bro? It’s admirable that so many in our community rally to Telluride and Pagosa for bluegrass music each year. I dare not poo-poo such institutions! But, let me put a bug in the reader’s ear with the “buy local” bumper sticker and valid concerns about carbon footprint to consider supporting this beloved, local festival that absolutely has room to grow a wider audience through this fundraiser. La La Bones and Lightweight Travelers round out the evening in local style.

• Desert Child, Hotel Draw, Animas City Theatre, Fri., Nov. 15, 7 p.m. - For my crumpled-up tip jar money strewn about my house, indie rockers Hotel Draw are one of the most refreshing, innovative and humble rock bands in town, well-deserving of a headlining night at the Animas City Theatre themselves. So, a pairing with the legendary Desert Child is a no-brainer for a mid-month constitutional of high-proof showmanship and songwriting. Desert Child is cutting new sonic and melodic trails after a lineup change earlier this year, with keyboardist Clarke Reid elevating the sound to a more multi-dimensional plane.

• Brendan Shafer, Cody Tinnin, Animas City Theatre, Fri., Nov. 22, 7 p.m. - Anyone who’s had the pleasure of meeting the enigmatic and eclectic Brendan Shafer knows he is a man of many talents. He’s probably got more musical chops in his pinky toe than I do in my entire body. He’s certainly got faster bike times on Strava than all of us. He actually enjoyed taking Differential Equations for goodness’ sake! He would never tell you this, so as his pesky younger musical brother, allow me!

Brendan turns 40 on Nov. 22 and is hosting a once-in-a-Durango-lifetime concert at the Animas City Theatre, where he and his band (for which I’m playing bass) will play the entirety of the infamous “Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe” album. Don’t know that album? Doesn’t matter. Come. Cody Tinnin is set to make his return to the Animas City Theatre in direct support, too, so that’s incredibly special in its own right.

If you love Bluegrass – hell, if you love Brendan! – buy yourself a grip of tickets and pass them out to your favorite Shafer enthusiasts. Besides yours truly clamoring it up on bass, Brendan has asked Robin Davis on mandolin, Alex Graf on guitar, and the infamous Tony Holmquist on banjo to pick alongside him. Let’s do it big for old B Shafes and send him into his 40s in style.