22nd Big Barn Dance returns to Kit Carson Park September 5-7
JUST A FEW SHORT MONTHS ago, there were some rumblings around town concerning the future of Michael Hearne's Big Barn Dance in Taos. Hearne and High Desert Entertainment, the company that presents the Big Barn Dance each year, had announced a second event would take place in Bryan, Texas. Locals and tourists alike openly asked if the Big Barn Dance was planning to stop coming to Taos.
“The short answer, is no, we have no plans to stop coming to Taos,” commented Sarah Hearne Naftis, event director. “The long answer is, we got our start in Taos and we are excited to return to the community we love.” This year, Michael Hearne's Big Barn Dance will be returning for its 22nd consecutive year. Once again, for three days and nights, the large tent will set the stage in Kit Carson Park for some of the nation's best americana, bluegrass, country and folk musicians.
Due to last year's success in combining the Taos Fall Arts Festival with the Big Barn Dance's Art Walk, the same schedule is in the works. On Wednesday, Sept. 4, everyone will have the opportunity to walk into the host galleries, free of charge, and see and hear musicians playing up close. Because the musicians are just as enthusiastic about playing as the fans are about listening, there are always more musicians than time in the schedule. Most of the art walk features artists who are not scheduled to play on the main stage, giving fans the ability to hear a wider variety of acts. Just like in years past, Hearne and some of his comrades are likely to stop into each gallery and join in for a song or two (and sometimes three).
The Big Barn Dance, as Naftis pointed out, “is really a listening event until the final evening when we remove the chairs and the dancers take to the floor.” It is then that one of New Mexico's largest listening rooms transitions to one of its largest dance floors for the final evening.
The event attracts music aficionados who often show up early each day to reserve their seats to listen to their favorite musicians play songs, as well as hear them share their backstories — which is often every bit as entertaining.
The dancers, however, need not wait until Saturday night — a dance floor complete with sawdust for two-steppin' will be ready to roll when Hearne opens the event.
Last year, the Big Barn Dance won the national Ameripolitan Award for Best Festival. This year, Hearne is enjoying more music notoriety. Balsam Range, the North Carolina-based band that has grown more popular each year at the Big Barn Dance, is one of the hottest bands on Bluegrass Today's charts with three songs currently in the top ten. One song, "Evergreen," is a song Hearne wrote with Susan Gibson and Monica Smart. At press time, "Evergreen" was sitting at number seven and climbing.
High Desert Entertainment is actively working on the 2024 lineup, and Hearne confirmed they have extended an invitation to Balsam Range. “We're not quite ready to announce the lineup, but already I'm excited about it,” said Hearne. “Fans can expect a similar lineup to last year, with new and equally exciting headliners.” Fans are still reminiscing about last year's final evening when Asleep at the Wheel took to the stage and elevated the energy level at Kit Carson Park, culminating in everyone, artists and audience, singing and swaying in tandem to close out the event.
“It was magic,” commented Kellie Latimer, who has attended the Big Barn Dance with her group of friends for seven years. “We keep coming back. It's the only place I want to be in early September.”