Random Acts
A KFSR benefit with the R. Carlos Nakai Quartet; M5 Mexican Brass in Los Alamos; Jay Som at Meow Wolf; and the Southwest Pickers Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival
Garden delights: KSFR benefit
Although the Ojos y Manos: Eyes and Hands garden amphitheater at Santa Fe Botanical Garden (715 Camino Lejo) is so new the stage’s wooden boards still smell freshly cut, it is already a quintessential City Different experience to watch a play or concert there as dusk settles on the horizon and native plants and flowers waft on the breeze. The R. Carlos Nakai Quartet plays a concert of global ethnic fusion jazz there at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, blending Native American flute with saxophone, keyboard, bass, and percussion. The event is a benefit for Santa Fe’s public radio station KSFR 101.1-FM.KSFR. Admission is $60 with VIP tickets available for $100; visit www.ksfr.org. — Jennifer Levin
Bedroom pop: Jay Som
Melina Duterte is a twenty-two-year-old streetwise romantic who breathily sings about love and loss under the name Jay Som. She’s a quiet virtuoso who lays down tracks on homerecording equipment in her bedroom. Jay Som currently tours on behalf of her album Everybody Works (Polyvinyl Records), which extends the bedroom-pop genre into a realm of intimate poetry that is soft at the edges but has a hard-bitten soul. Jay Som plays at Meow Wolf (1352 Rufina Circle, 505-395-6369), on Saturday, Sept. 9, with openers Stef Chura and Soccer Mommy. The 15-and-over show starts at 9 p.m., doors open at 8. Tickets are $12 in advance and $14 at the door; visit www.meowwolf.com. — J.L.
Shining sounds: M5 Mexican Brass
Los Alamos Concert Association begins its season by teaming up with the Los Alamos County Summer Concert Series to co-present M5 Mexican Brass. Founded in 2005, this brass quintet offers wide-ranging programs that extend from Bach and other classical composers to pop music and show tunes. This free, outdoor concert begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, at Ashley Pond (2300 Trinity Drive) in Los Alamos, where you may bring your own chair or else spread out on the lawn. (If bad weather forces the concert indoors, head to the Crossroads Bible Church, 97 E. Road). For further information, consult www .losalamosconcert.org. — James M. Keller
Keep on ramblin’: Southwest Pickers Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival
Grammy Award-nominated bluegrass band Blue Highway headlines the 43rd annual Southwest Pickers Bluegrass and Old Time Music Festival held from Thursday, Sept. 14, to Sunday, Sept. 17, in the town of Red River, north of Taos. Bands include Soda Rock Ramblers, FY5, East Mountain Serenaders, and the Badly Bent. Many concerts are on the main stage at the Red River Ski Area, while smaller shows, dances, and the festival’s popular fiddle, banjo, and other contests for musicians are held at the Community House on Main Street. Jam sessions and open mics round out this Northern New Mexico tradition. A festival pass is $50; day and evening passes are also available from $15-$30. Visit www.southwestpickers-festival.org. — J.L.