Free Fallin’

Three years ago when the Santa Fe Salutes series kicked off, a veritable who's-who of Santa Fe musicians joined forces to celebrate the then recently deceased Prince (RIP, you sexy motherfucker). Before his death, however, the original plan had been to produce an event featuring the songs of David Bowie, who was still alive at the time.

"That was just out of mine and [AMP Concerts'] Jamie Lenfestey's deep admiration for Bowie's career," says local musician and Santa Fe Salutes organizer Mikey Baker. "Then Prince passed away, and it was really Ross Hamlin who spearheaded that." (Author's note: if there's a bigger Prince fan than Hamlin, we don't know 'em.)

The show was a massive success—not only as a gathering of musicians who generally don't wind up playing together, but as an attendance powerhouse that drew hundreds to the Railyard Plaza in celebration of Prince's astounding body of work. Bowie, of course, returned to space not long after, and last year's tribute event was jam-packed with his best music, brought in similar numbers and hosted an expanded list of guest musicians.

By now, Baker has the formula down pat for the third iteration of the series—a tribute to Tom Petty that coincides with this year's SFR Best of Santa Fe party in the Railyard on Friday July 27.

"What's great is you kind of don't realize the breadth of Petty's catalog," Baker explains. "I mean, you think 'American Girl' and 'Learning to Fly' or maybe some of the Traveling Wilburys stuff, but this guy's got a deep catalog. And, for the most part, everyone coming to me with song ideas had different songs."

Thus, rather than thrusting musicians together, Baker says he went for a "lighter touch," to help draw fully-formed bands to the bill such as Free Range Buddhas, the Hollyhocks, The Dildon'ts (full disclosure: I have a personal relationship with the Dildon'ts bassist, who longtime readers may know as my dumb friend Jasper), St. Range and more; as well as a bevy of solo floaters like Jessie Deluxe, Bill Palmer and Stephanie Hatfield, Mr. Kali, Busy McCarroll and, frankly, far too many more to mention here. The bands and subsequent crossovers have been rehearsing for weeks now, putting the finishing touches on the straight-up tribute covers and slightly changed versions of popular Petty songs. "It's surprisingly complex stuff," Baker says. "You don't realize how clever a lot of what Petty did could be."

Still, there's a twinge of sadness creeping up from the edges of such a celebratory event. Petty, of course, died a mite before his time (thanks a bunch, opioids) during an era when music lost some of its best and brightest. "There's something very difficult with being excited about what is essentially a musical memorial service—there's a bit of a pall hanging over it because that's the reality of how it came about," Baker says. "But it's no secret I like putting on a big ol' bash, and I don't miss doing that all the time, but I do miss doing that occasionally—if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it big."

For Free Range Buddhas singer Francesca Jozette, it's like a dream come true. "I fucking love Tom Petty," she says. "I was kind of obsessed with him in high school, so this is huge for me."

Both Baker and Jozette are staying mum about who is performing which songs, but as long as someone does "You Don't Know How it Feels" and/or "Last Dance with Mary Jane," a good time is all but guaranteed for all. Oh, and don't forget SFR will be there partying, so—win-win.

Santa Fe Salutes Tom Petty
7 pm Friday July 27. Free.
Railyard Plaza,
Market and Alcaldesa Streets,
982-3373