SFR Picks—Week of June 1

Zam!

Center for Contemporary Arts hosts Zamrock band doc

If you’ve never heard the term Zamrock before, you’re in for a treat. Shorthand for a combo of rock and traditional African musical styles that emerged from 1970s Zambia and its surrounding areas, Zamrock represents both a varied sound and style of music and a whole-ass movement rooted in psychedelia, garage rock, punk, metal, folk and more. And there is, perhaps, no band more indicative of the style than WITCH, a one-time powerhouse that released no fewer than five albums thanks in part to charismatic frontman Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda.

Now, as the genre continues to lure more fans into the fold, the CCA joins forces with Lost Padre Records for a special screening of the 2019 documentary We Intend to Cause Havoc from filmmaker Gio Arlotta, an eye-opening look into WITCH’s formation, albums and impact on the rock world around them. But before you go thinking WITCH sounds like some relic of yesteryear, look ‘em up, take a listen and get down with the eerily contemporary bent. The screening is part of CCA’s ongoing Amplified series of music films.

“I’ve been excited about this film since it was in pre-production,” says CCA Head of Cinema Programming Luke Henley (who, full disclosure, previously wrote for SFR). “It had some festival runs, but didn’t get a wide release due to COVID, so it’s a huge deal for me to be able to share it. It’s a band I really love and a great story.”

Henley says the Amplified series is meant to shine a light on BIPOC, queer and women creators from around the globe, and that We Intend to Cause Havoc exemplifies that goal.

“[Showing movies like this] is something I’ve wanted to do since taking on my role at CCA,” they say. “Being a musician and somebody who loves film, this is my dual passion—art and media expressed in a creative way. As a series of films, [Amplified] creates this great space where we can show an eclectic range of films for a unifying experience.”

You’ll find the series running on the first Thursday of each month, and July’s offering, City of a Million Dreams delves into the history and presence of New Orleans jazz-based funeral processions.

“We just wanted to bring some more music-oriented film to Santa Fe that maybe played here once-off but maybe didn’t get much notice,” says Lost Padre owner George Casey. “We’re just digging up stuff we think is really cool, and [We Intend to Cause Havoc is a great piece of documentary filmmaking. I’m also hoping to weave in some stuff that’s more New Mexico-focused, or stuff that doesn’t get the notice it could or should.”

“The series allows a platform to amplify a broad range of voices in music and film,” Henley adds.

Pun not intended. We think. (Alex De Vore)

Amplified: We Intend to Cause Havoc: 6 pm Thursday, June 2. $15. Center for Contemporary Arts, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 982-1338

Woah, Man

Art and women—testimonies of the human condition. What’s not to love? Join the Turner Carroll Gallery in celebrating the 50th anniversary of what could be considered the most powerful feminist art installation of all time, Womanhouse. Their new exhibition, Women in the House, features works from past and present. Look in one corner and you’ll find artwork from original Womanhouse artists such as Judy Chicago of “The Dinner Party,” multimedia maestro Mildred Howard, and quintessential women’s rights activist and artist Nancy Youdelman. Look in another and you’ll find the work of contemporary artists Monica Lundy and Caledonia Curry, more famously known as Swoon. In other words? Prepare yourselves for a feminist sensory overload. (Taya Demianova)

Women in the House: 5-7 pm Friday, June 3. Free. Turner Carroll Gallery 725 Canyon Road, (505) 986-9800

Pachyderm

As if news that the GiG Performance Space were back to live performance weren’t enough, all y’all can get in on the type of vulnerable folk goodness Santa Fe so famously loves when TK TOWN’S Ordinary Elephant comes to town. The emotionally-charged Americana team of Crystal and Pete Damore tap into that Gillian Welch-esque style of vocal harmonies and deceptively simple string instrument arrangements for songs that are all at once relatable yet focused. That’s kind of why the Damores picked up an International Folk Music Award in 2017, and it’s kind of why you should probably pick up tickets ASAP. As their bio says, Ordinary Elephant just might make you feel less alone in the world, and right now that can only be a good thing. (Alex De Vore)

Ordinary Elephant: 7:30 pm Saturday, June 4. $22. GiG Performance Space, 1808 Second St., gigsantafe.com

Market Improvement

OK, so you know how Farmers Markets are pretty amazing, right? Especially here in Santa Fe where SNAP assistance bucks count twice and our farmers grow things like, oh, we don’t know—chile, for example? And maybe you’ve always wondered what goes into putting together such a massive gathering of growers, bakers, makers, agriculture experts and so on? Well, wonder no more, as the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute now offers a guided tour on Tuesdays during which interested parties can learn what’s fresh and why, how farmers themselves experience their particular line of work and commerce and, to help seal the deal, access coffee and breakfast sweets. These tours are limited to 10 at a time, so you’ll need to be quick, but if you miss it this week, you can always regroup for the next one. (ADV)

Seed the Future Market Tour: 9 am Tuesday, June 7. Free. Santa Fe Farmers Market Pavilion, 1607 Paseo de Peralta, santafefarmersmarketinstitute.org

An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the Judy Chicago work as “The Dinner Table.”