THIS IS A FREE EVENT!
w/ Fruition, Last To Know, Chris Arellano Band, and PH8 and the Bees & Locusts
July 4, 2024 • 5:00 pm • Kit Carson Park
DOORS 4:00pm•ALL AGES
RAIN or SHINE • BAGS SUBJECT TO SEARCH • LAWN AND LOW PROFILE CAMPING STYLE CHAIRS WELCOME • BLANKETS WELCOME • FREE WATER REFILL STATIONS (Bring your own reusable bottles) • FOOD VENDORS BUT PICNICS & COOLERS WELCOME • ADA AREA WITH CHAIRS AVAILABLE
NO OUTSIDE ALCOHOL PERMITTED
FRUITION
Fruition’s three-part harmonies and impromptu performances captivated crowds on street corners and in campgrounds in the Pacific Northwest initially, but their 15-year journey has seen them emerge as a singular force in Americana on some of the nation’s biggest stages. Channeling the delicate, playful, and honest focus on songcraft and vocal harmony of groups like the Beatles and CSNY, the band continues to create timeless and genuine folk, roots, and rock ‘n roll.
Distinguished by three accomplished songwriters and a rhythm section that serves each song with a finely tuned attention to detail and aesthetic, Fruition manages to consistently release a body of work that is both uniquely their own and instantly familiar. 2024 will see them release a brand new studio album, while preparing a second album for 2025 and a full complement of festival and headline touring.
LAST TO KNOW
Last to Know is: Scott Barady on percussion, Howie Roemer on keyboards, Randy Morris on drums and vocals, Curt West on bass, Dan Irion on mandolin and vocals, and Tom Pryor on guitar, pedal steel, and vocals.
Last to Know is a six-piece band blending the heartiest world rhythms with jam-band passion, while muddying the lines between Americana roots music, disco, funk and bluegrass.
LTK has shared the bill with Hot Buttered Rum String Band, The Motet, Buckwheat Zydeco, Culture, The Vince Herman Trio, The Skatalites, and Leftover Salmon. They have played the Main Stage at the annual Taos Solar Music Festival – a stage graced by Los Lobos, Michael Franti and Spearhead, String Cheese Incident, Richard Thompson, New Monsoon, Michelle Shocked, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Harry Belafonte, and Leo Kottke, among others.
The band has performed at several other festivals including Silverton Jamboree, Crestone Music Festival, Alibi Spring Crawl in downtown Albuquerque, the Santa Fe Thirsty Ear Festival, and the Dreamtime Festival. Based in Taos, New Mexico, Last to Know has been together, writing and performing since 1999.
LTK is discofunkgrass.
CHRIS ARELLANO BAND
Chris Arellano’s deeply personal Americana weaves together the Norteno music of his Northern New Mexico upbringing with alternative country and blues influences for a signature style that he calls “Nuevo Americana.” Fused with song and story, Spanish and English, his transcendent lyrics move listeners with emotion and passion.
To understand Chris’ unique musical perspective and sound, it’s best to start with his early influences growing up in Costilla, New Mexico. When Chris was 8, he joined the family band playing the drums. His father, Jake, was the singer/songwriter, guitarist, and band leader. His mother, Henrietta, was a vocalist, and his 11-year-old brother Rodney played bass. The family played music together throughout Northern New Mexico and Colorado until the loss of his father Jake when Chris was 12. During the sad period following his father’s death, Chris immersed himself in his father’s instrument of choice, the guitar, and his love affair with stringed instruments began.
After high school, Chris headed to Los Angeles to study at Musicians Institute (GIT). At the age of 20, he was the winner of the Nashville Spotlight talent contest, which allowed him to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. Chris and his brother Rodney traveled to Nashville together and decided to visit the Bluebird Cafe. Due to a last-minute cancellation, they landed a spot to perform. The response was fantastic, and they were asked to play there regularly. They moved to Nashville and formed the band Drifters Wind. The band soon caught the attention of Sony producer Blake Chancey and James Stroud, the President and Producer of DreamWorks. James Stroud signed the band to a recording developmental deal. Through the DreamWorks relationship, the band wrote and recorded with some of Nashville’s top session writers and musicians, but the Drifters Wind recording project was never released.
Chris’ ability to play multiple stringed instruments kept him busy as a Nashville session musician and producer. In 1996, Chris and drummer Kenny Cox of Drifters Wind auditioned and ended up touring with Steve Forbert’s Warner Bros. release of “Rocking Horse Head” tour, playing on premier stages across the country and appearing on television in New York City.
In 2001, Chris moved to Oregon and opened Musicafe Rock School, where he found a passion for teaching music, working with students of all ages. Chris is a highly sought-after music instructor in the Pacific Northwest, and in 2012, he began a yearly summer music camp in his New Mexico hometown. Chris enjoys giving back to his community through volunteerism, teaching songwriting, instrumentation, and recording classes through the local school district.
Chris continues to write music that speaks to him and tells stories from along the way. Maybe something you will hear live somewhere in a town near you!
PH8 AND THE BEES & LOCUSTS
A full band with a rapper at the forefront isn’t a common sight, but Ph8 w/ The Bees & Locusts is just that. They describe their sound as organic hip hop crossed with soul, funk, influenced by traditional native rhythms. Their original compositions, and renditions of various classic hit songs, fill the air with energy and take the listener on a personal musical journey to the unexpected. The majority of their set is designed for any and every human to dance to, groove to, and let loose.
This indigenous led group hails from the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States, Taos Pueblo, New Mexico. Cody Mirabal aka “Ph8”, the poet and orchestrator, assembled the band back in 2022. The name, The Bees & Locusts, represents the duality and balance we all experience within ourselves, creation and destruction, light and dark.
The collective consists of frontman Cody Mirabal, bassist Damon Young, drummer Jonah Romero, vocalists Solomon Goot & Naomi Gomez, guitarist Sarah Martinez, keyboardist Gabriel Lincoln, and percussionist Kevin Francisco. All the band members come from different musical backgrounds, genres, and cultures ranging from classical Spanish guitar to social powwow music blending and creating a unique sound and experience not quite heard or seen before.
Ph8 w/ The Bees & Locusts are currently recording new singles for release and are actively scheduling shows both locally and nationally at music venues, bars, and festivals.
THE BAND
Lead Vocal – Cody Mirabal
Drums – Jonah Romero
Guitar – Sarah Martinez
Bass – Damon Young
Vocals – Solomon Goot & Naomi Gomez
