Random Acts
The Silver City Blues Festival; Amber Chand’s Searching for the Moon; Native Treasures Art Market returns to the Santa Fe Community Convention Center; and Brad Paisley kicks off his world tour
Pedal to the metal: Silver City Blues Festival
Memorial Day weekend brings with it the wideopen possibility of road tripping, and the annual Silver City Blues Festival presents the perfect excuse to explore Southwestern New Mexico. From Friday, May 24, through Sunday, May 26, the city’s Gough Park (at the corner of North Pope and 13th streets) hosts performers like legendary Houston musician Guitar Shorty, the 79-year-old showman who introduced Jimi Hendrix to the wah-wah pedal. He plays at 5 p.m. on Saturday, followed by headliner Grady Champion, an electric blues harmonica player, singer, guitarist, and songwriter from Canton, Mississippi. Other performers include Albuquerque’s The Rudy Boy Experiment, Chris Dracup Trio, and Felix y Los Gatos. The festival is free of charge. For more information, go to silvercitybluesfestival.org. — Molly Boyle
Plotlines around the planet: Amber Chand
They say everyone has a story to tell, but some people have had to make sense of more than their fair share of plotlines. Amber Chand is an Indian refugee from Uganda who tells her intriguing story in a one-woman show that begins with her parents’ arranged marriage. In Searching for the Moon: One Woman’s Global Story of Love, Despair, Faith and Forgiveness, Chand guides audiences through multiple countries, military coups, encounters with holy men, and the rise and fall of a successful business, among other topics. Chand presents
Searching for the Moon at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 24, at the Santa Fe Woman’s Club (1616 Old Pecos Trail). Tickets are $25 at the door. For more information, call 505-983-9455 or go to amberchand.com. — Jennifer Levin
Where art meets life: Native Treasures Art Market
More than 200 indigenous artists showcase their work at the annual Native Treasures Art Market, hosted by the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture over Memorial Day weekend. This year’s featured artists include Angie Yazzie, of Taos Pueblo, with her micaceous clay pots, and Tammy Garcia, of Santa Clara Pueblo, who works in mixed-media ceramics. The Native Treasures Art Market is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 26, at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center (201 W. Marcy St.). Admission packages are $10-$20; Saturday early admission is $40. For more information call 505-982-6366 ext. 116 or go to newmexicoculture.org/ nativetreasures. — J.L.
Whiskey lullabies: Brad Paisley world tour
Albuquerque is the first stop on Brad Paisley’s world tour, which kicks off at the Isleta Amphitheater on Thursday, May 30. The country star broke onto the scene two decades ago with his 1999 debut, Who
Needs Pictures, and has followed that up with a string of creatively expansive discs, earning three Grammy awards along the way. One recent mark of his eclectic nature are the duets with Mick Jagger and John Fogerty on 2017’s Love and War. Another is his presence on the 2018 Christmas album Shatner
Claus — yes, it’s by Captain Kirk. Paisley’s world tour also features country singers Chris Lane and Riley Green. The music at Isleta Amphitheater, 5601 University Boulevard SE, starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $378 and available at 800-854-2196, amphitheatrealbuquerque.com. — Paul Weideman