Forever Young

Anyway, the silence is coming to an end with the 3rd Annual SFMA Make Music fest, an afternoon of all-local music that operates under the Make Music umbrella. Make Music is an international music festival day that operates in over 700 cities in 120+ plus countries. Yeah, it's huge, and for their part, SFMA's version will also feature food vendors, Lisa Law's Silver the Psychedelic Bus and, the coolest part of all, acts that don't include baby boomers. Whoa. See, in addition to stalwart acts like Joe West and the Santa Fe Revue, Sol Fire and The Strange, the fest will include neo-jazz/rock act Lawnchairs (made up of high-school-aged teens) and 11-year-old Madelyn Kingston, daughter of local pianist and educator Andy Kingston, who will accompany her for the performance. It's an encouraging trend that continues from last year's event that featured Autumn Faulkner and Luke Griffin, both teen songwriters who are immensely talented, and a step in the right direction.

This is all good news, as shakeups with the alliance have basically forced them to reboot. The exit of John Widell (aka musician Johny Broomdust) as president has resulted in local musician/SFMA vice president Busy McCarroll filling the role. Widell says that he'll be available for whatever the alliance needs in the future and that he's "looking forward to a reinvigorated Music Alliance."

McCarroll, meanwhile, has plans including mentorship programs, more events and improved conditions for Santa Fe musicians. "I want to get into the clubs and ask why some don't even have a stage, and I want musicians to come together to work out a standard pay rate so we aren't all out there playing for too little," she says. "Possibly down the road, I'd like to set up health care for musicians, because they're doing it in New Orleans and Austin, and maybe it's a pipe dream, but possibly a musicians' retirement home. I see so many musicians aging, and they have nowhere to play and no savings, nowhere to go."

The inclusion of the next generation of bands and artists alongside more well-known and long-running acts is a great first move. It seems like we sequester the youth musicians to rock camps and house shows more often than we should, and if we actually want Santa Fe music to evolve or even circle back to a place where it matters, they're going to be instrumental (funny, right?) in making that happen. Featuring these youth acts not only helps build confidence, it gives younger citizens a reason to actually attend a concert, because let's face it, they probably couldn't care less about the vast majority of Americana or bluegrass or bar-rock bands.

There comes a time with all things when the reins must be handed over, and as long as we include the youth and give them some kind of idea about how the industry actually works—not including crazy demands like gigs in the corner of a restaurant coming with tons of cash—we can continue to cultivate the scene as well as new talents. They'll be grateful for the lessons, too, because they'll take what they've learned and keep it going. Hopefully, that is. Certainly it'd be cool to attend the 30th Annual Make Music festival in the future and not have to worry about seeing the exact same bands we see all the time around here anyway.

Santa Fe Reporter