Making music outdoors

LIVE MUSIC RETURNS TO SANTA FE AND LOS ALAMOS

As hopes rise for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, optimists are making tentative plans for a live music scene in Santa Fe this summer.

“We are planning events at the Railyard and on the Plaza,” says Jamie Lenfestey, director of operations for Santa Fe and Taos for AMP Concerts, the company that’s contracted to host Santa Fe’s annual live concert season. Subject to COVID-19 restrictions from the New Mexico Department of Health, AMP is proceeding with plans for a lineup. “The Plaza music series will remain tied to the local music scene, the way it has been for a long time,” Lenfestey says. But because of the pandemic restrictions, “it’s going to be reduced — there won’t be as many shows. We may have to run a reservation system to honor capacity limits and to maintain social distancing.”

AMP is also hosting a movie series at the Railyard and the Plaza starting in June. “This year we’ve decided to do the movies every Saturday night, starting June 5. We’ll skip July 3, then return on July 10 and 24 and August 7,” Lenfestey says.

The Railyard music series “always was on Friday nights, so we’ll continue that. The original idea was to coordinate with Music on the Hill and the Plaza concerts so there is free music every day of the week,” he says. “This has been a terrible year to be a music promoter, but we are proud of the way we’ve been able to work with state guidelines to create events that are safe.”

In addition to providing free music as COVID-19 restrictions permit, AMP hopes to coordinate with venues such as HIPICO, Motorama at the Downs and Santa Fe Brewing Company for ticketed events. “We may have some big shows later in the summer, in August and maybe even July. And, excitingly, we’re planning the first ever weekend of music in late August in Ghost Ranch,” Lenfestey says. For updated information on the movie and music series through AMP, visit ampconcerts.org.

Los Alamos County also resumes its annual summer concert series this year. The series “has been a Friday night summer tradition for over 15 years,” says Katherine Hudspeth, senior management analyst for the county’s Community Services Department. “In 2020, the first five of our planned shows were canceled due to COVID-19. However, we were able to pivot to offer a live virtual series consisting of 10 shows. For 2021, the

Los Alamos County Community Services Department and Sancre Productions are working closely together to ensure the concert series continues despite unknown future COVID-19 restrictions.” The series is scheduled to be virtual for the first six shows,

May 21 to June 25. These shows can be viewed on the Los Alamos Summer Concert Series Facebook page and Youtube channel. “Additional partnerships are being explored to expand our reach. Live shows are currently scheduled for the remaining nine shows of the series, July 2 through August 27,” Hudspeth says. “However, live shows are dependent on any changes in the COVID-19 pandemic. If the live shows are not able to be performed, Sancre Productions will be able to offer the same artist or band in a virtual format as well.” Organizers were still putting together the concert lineup at press time. When the lineup is confirmed, it will be posted at losalamossummerconcertseries.com.

The annual Taos Vortex concert “is not anticipated” for 2021, says Maya Sarin, a spokesperson for event sponsor Meow Wolf. “At the moment we don’t have plans for any outdoor musical festivals. I’m sure there will be virtual concerts taking place, but none has

been scheduled or announced yet.” For more information, visit meowwolf.com.

Some summer music series, such as Music on the Hill at St. John’s College, have been canceled outright. Others, such as the New Mexico Jazz Festival, are still up in the air. “We are still waiting to see how things progress with the pandemic and venue openings,” says Tom Guralnick, executive director of Outpost Productions and co-director of the New Mexico Jazz Festival. To see the latest updates on the annual festival, visit outpostspace.org.

Taos is also waiting for more information before committing to concerts. “We have no definite plans at this time and are examining the governor’s orders and meeting with our entertainment partners to assess the economic feasibility and with our medical partners to assess the health repercussions and precautions involved in any decisions regarding large events for this summer,” says Richard Bellis, Taos town manager. “Our best guess at this point, based on the experts in both fields, is that any major investment prior to Labor Day has a high risk attached to it due to both economic and health-related uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. We will keep the media, tourists, business community and our many loyal fans of our events informed regularly and as quickly as we are able to make these decisions.”