Whether she chooses national acts or local heroes, Heather McKearnan coordinates events for Cowgirl every night of the week. That could change as of Oct. 1. McKearnan leaves Cowgirl, where she is also a bartender, to coach at local gym Undisputed Fitness. As for Cowgirl’s musical future, it’s up in the air.

“I love contributing to the local scene, and getting to see as much live music as I do,” McKearnan tells SFR. “I’ve written up a proposal for what I’d like to happen, and the ownership is working on trying to decide whether or not to keep me.”

As of press time, the Cowgirl head honchos had yet to decide on McKearnan’s continued involvement.

“Plenty of outside people have applied for the job thus far, which makes it all the more difficult, despite the years Heather has been with us,” co-owner Nicholas Ballas says. “She’s done a truly excellent job.”

McKearnan came up in Brooklyn as an avid concertgoer. Her love of live music evolved into personal relationships with the likes of Blues Traveler’s John Popper and Spin Doctors’ Chris Barron. 

“This was back when these bands would play in shitty dive bars for maybe 15 people,” McKearnan says, “but being involved in their lives gave me a certain knowledge of musicians as people and music as a business, and the Cowgirl knew that when they gave me the job.”

This intimate understanding of the musicians’ perspective certainly has paid off. When McKearnan took the musical reins 2½ years ago, Cowgirl had shows but, with her help, the club has steadily grown into one of the more musician-friendly venues in town.
“With the [exception of] the extremely rare occasion, we don’t get complaints,” she says. “Even though these bands are coming into this tiny room with no stage, where people are still eating dinner, they always leave happy.”

Her work hasn’t gone unnoticed. 

According to Bus Tapes bassist Case Tanner, “Heather is always a pleasure to work with and a very involved member of the community.” 

Joe West, local Americana legend and Cowgirl staple, says, Heather “always made me feel more than welcome.”

Cowgirl is, of course, known for hosting mostly alt.country and Americana acts. 

According to Ballas, “There’s such an explosion of these kinds of bands right now, and these styles fit the Cowgirl perfectly.” 

Though McKearnan sticks to these genres for the bulk of her shows, she has also made way for DJ nights, poppy dance bands and more. Given the landscape of the scene and Santa Feans’ resistance to things they haven’t heard before, McKearnan’s willingness to take chances, even at the risk of a poorly attended show, deserves applause. 

I think Cowgirl would be wise to keep McKearnan. She has worked hard to broaden and strengthen Cowgirl as a music venue, and her relationships with bands, touring and local, should not be taken lightly. Should the club go in another direction, a period of uncertainty for Cowgirl’s musical offerings is inevitable. It takes time, money and effort to build a musical relationship with both the bands and the community, regardless of one’s talent, experience or work ethic. 

Whatever winds up happening, McKearnan can still be proud of the work she’s accomplished. The face of Santa Fe music has been shaped, in part, by McKearnan’s efforts. Should any of you, dear readers, run into her, thank her for the years of great music she’s lured to our odd little town.

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