Enchanted Desert Bluegrass Festival
Friday, May 13, through Sunday, May 15
Balloon Fiesta Park
www.enchantedbluegrass.com
Cost: Three-day festival pass is $40. Grxoup festival five-pack is $140. Date-specific advance tickets are between $10 and $20, or $15 and $25 at the gate.
A family-friendly music event that boasts national bluegrass bands King Wilkie, IIIrd Time Out, Blue Highway, and David Peterson & 1946, plus more than a dozen local and regional bands. Proceeds benefit the Adelante Development Center, so you’ll feel good in more ways than one.
Creative Soundspace Festival
Thursday, May 19, through Sunday, May 22
Outpost Performance Space
www.outpostspace.org
Cost: Festival pass is $50 and $40 for Outpost members. Individual concerts are $15/$10 or $20/$15.
This four-day event has roots in a 2003 improvisational music festival, which explains the event’s focus on adventurous and often unpredictable music forms. Fans of progressive jazz and experimental sounds will be treated to national and local innovators like the Rob Brown Trio, Sam Rivers Trio, the Vinny Golia Quintet and David Moss Solo.
Jemez Arts & Music in the Mountains Festival
Saturday, May 28, through Monday, May 30
Father Fitzgerald Park, Jemez Springs
www.gojamm.com
Cost: Free
The JAMM brings three solid days of local performances to the heart of the Jemez Mountains, and with it, one hell of a cultural bargain. This is the most eclectic mix of music styles you’ll find in one kid-friendly event, with everything from hip-hop to reggae, indie, folk and rock. Close to 20 acts include Jason & the Argonauts, the Buddha Betties, Stephanie Lee and Vertigo Venus.
Mad Blues Festival
Sunday, May 29
Oscar Huber Memorial Ballpark, Madrid
www.madridculturalprojects.org/events.html
Cost: $15 Madrid continues to carve out a niche for itself as a premier day trip destination for music. Listen to world-class regional blues in a truly unique old-timey baseball park, with the Rudy “Boy” Experiment, Albuquerque Blues Connection and the Texas Harmonica Rumble.
All-Star Blues Jam
Sunday, May 29
Albuquerque Museum Outdoor Amphitheater, Old Town
www.nmjazz.org
Cost: $14 adults, $11 students and seniors, $10 New Mexico Jazz Workshop members. Children under 12 are free.
The New Mexico Jazz Workshop kicks off its 29th Summer Concert Season with a stellar blues jam at the Albuquerque Museum. Official NMJW blues advisor and effusive Combo Special chanteuse Joanie Griffin organized the event to include more than 30 of the best blues acts in the state.
