2 The 2020 New Mexico Music Hall of Fame
10 local bands to perform in virtual New Mexico Music Hall of Fame induction
induction ceremony will feature performances by 10 New Mexico bands. The performances were filmed at Lesman’s Music, which is owned by New Mexico Music Hall of Fame President Mark Padilla. It will be hosted by KRST radio personality Juan Velasco.
An evening of entertainment and celebration will be held to commemorate inductees to the 2020 New Mexico Music Hall of Fame. The virtual event will shown at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, on the organization’s Facebook page and on YouTube. It will be hosted by KRST radio personality Juan Velasco. The event had been scheduled to take place at the African American Pavilion at Expo New Mexico but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Performances by 10 local bands will be part of the ceremony. The performances were filmed at Lesman’s Music, which is owned by New Mexico Music Hall of Fame President Mark Padilla.
“The way we did the 10 bands, that way they’re not here at the same time. We have a recording studio (at Lesman’s Music), so we had them come into the store,” Padilla said.
“We housed them in the recording studio, and then they went on the stage, and then at that point they come out through our store and then the other bands are in the recording studio ready to go onstage. We had a nice little system. We did all the cleaning and all the disinfecting that we had to do before the bands started, so that worked out really nice. So it was really a safe environment when they did it.”
Viewers will see performances by country band Brahma, smooth jazz band Michael Herndon & Jubal’s Children, rhythm and blues artist Deborah Solis, Flamenco group Revozo and acclaimed vocalist Delphia. Other performers include previous New Mexico Music Hall of Fame inductee Freddie Chavez, blues guitarist Chris Ravin, the Chris Cordova Jazz Trio, New Mexico music group Peter Vigil and the All Star Band and the traditional blues group High Desert Blues Band.
To select this year’s inductees, a form was posted on the New Mexico Music
Hall of Fame website.
“We had people vote for who they thought would be qualified to be honored as a New Mexico Music Hall of Fame winner,” Padilla said. “The criteria, basically, is you have to have 25 years of helping in the New Mexico music community or being a musician in a community from New Mexico. You don’t have to be born here, but you have to be here for at least 25 years.”
About 50 nominations were received, and the names were reviewed by a panel of 11 made up of New Mexico musicians and radio station personalities. Each of the panelists selected their top five and submitted their names to the New Mexico Music Hall of Fame, which tabulated the votes. The top six with the highest votes are this year’s inductees. The inductees will not know of the recognition until their names are announced during the virtual ceremony. Another award to be given that evening is the Lifetime Achievement Award. The recipient of the award is selected by New Mexico Music Hall of Fame board members.
“Basically, I’m the new president of the New Mexico Music Hall of Fame, and the previous president was Michael Sanchez,” Padilla said. “He was the founder of the organization. He’s an attorney. It has been a fun thing taking over, and it’s kind of a different time not being able to do events, but at least we’re doing something with it and still going, which is the most important thing.”