Musical magnet
South By New Mex aims to draw artists headed to or from Austin
The South By Southwest event in Austin, Texas, brings in musicians from all parts of the country.
Jeremy Kinter, marketing and events director for Tractor Brewing Co., is encouraging the artists headed to Austin or headed back home from the event to make a stop in Albuquerque. Kinter has created South By New Mex to showcase these musicians.
“Every March, there’s this huge influx of touring musicians, and they’re really good,” Kinter said. “I fill up so quickly because there’s so many. So the idea behind this is I’m trying to book as many as I can, which I’ve done, and give it the designation that kind of brands Albuquerque as a music destination rather than an afterthought for South by Southwest.”
South by New Mex will feature different genres and styles. Musicians will play two 40-minute sets at Tractor’s three locations.
“There’s a couple instrumentalists,” Kinter said. “I have a ska band. I have J Calvin — they’re a soul funk band. I have folk musicians, blues, country. There’s a pretty good variety of musicians. Someone can find something that suits their tastes, and it’s all for free too.”
Performances include Callie E. Tomblin on March 1, Matthew Stewart on March 9, J. Calvin on March 14, Forest Baily on March 20 at Nob Hill, Jake Allen on March 20 at West Side, John Underwood on March 21 at Wells Park, Jana Pochop & Shawnee Kilgore on March 21 at Nob Hill, Joe Holt on March 28, Rightly So on March 29, and The Casual Fridays on March 30.
Kinter submitted a proposal about three years ago to Albuquerque’s Economic Development Department in hopes other businesses would follow suit. He did not hear back and recently resubmitted the proposal to the new city administration. In the concept, Kinter also suggested pairing touring acts with local acts so they can extend their networks.
“I want to create it on a larger scale,” Kinter said. “People can see it is a cool concept, and maybe next year we can make it bigger and better and they jump on board with the brand. You know, I can get other promoters and bookers from venues in town and ultimately have one destination where all these musicians can go. So you know you can eventually go to southbynewmex.com and then be able to have a better chance of booking a show here in Albuquerque rather than approaching venues separately.”
SOUTH BY NEW MEX
WHEN: Various times and dates from March 1 through March 30
WHERE: Tractor Brewing Co. Nob Hill, 118 Tulane SE; Wells Park, 1800 Fourth NW;
West Side, 5720 McMahon NW HOW MUCH: Free admission. Schedule and information, visit facebook.com and search “South By New Mex”