Local music education nonprofit Stillwater Music will celebrate two decades of music schooling with an offering of what it does best – music. “Southwest Sessions” is one of the celebratory presentations from the local music school, a monthlong concert series featuring local and student bands.
Kicked off Oct. 3 with roots/soul musician Garrett Lebeau, the remaining Friday shows will feature Mojo Birds and GrooveCasters, Seven Sharp 11, and The Badly Bent and Animas Roots.
If you go
WHAT: Soul, R&B with Mojo Birds and GrooveCasters as part of Stillwater Music’s “Southwest Sessions” Concert Series.
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Friday.
WHERE: The Lightbox at Stillwater Music, 1316 Main Ave.
TICKETS: $15.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.stillwatermusic.org.
Part of music education is learning music production, and ultimately, the music business; concert offerings are a key part of that education. With the “Southwest Sessions” series taking place on the school grounds, it’s a chance to continue to showcase the school’s venue, “The Lightbox,” which remains a sleeper jewel of a performance space.
“Every time we have a show like this people walk in and say, ‘Oh, I had no idea this place was here,’” said Casey Padron, development coordinator for Stillwater Music. “It’s just inviting people into our space to see what we do and to enjoy some music together.”
Bands on the month-long bill remain some of the best and up and coming groups this town offers. Mojo Birds, performing Friday, are a roots and soul band who earlier this year went to Nashville to record their latest release, dropping on vinyl in the coming weeks, then distributed worldwide in 2026. Openers GrooveCasters are an adult student funk, jazz and rock band.
Oct. 17 is Latin Dance Night, featuring Stillwater Adult Jazz Band Seven Sharp 11. Their set will be Latin Jazz heavy and will feature dance lessons before the music from local dance instructor Suzy DiSanto.
Closing out the series on Oct. 24 is longtime Durango bluegrass staple The Badly Bent, who are knocking at 27 years as a band. Opening is Animas Roots, a Stillwater Band digging into folk and bluegrass.
The series is a fair offering of the different styles of music coming from all corners of Durango and the greater region.
“It’s just a celebration of the musical identity of Durango and what Stillwater has done to help shape that,” Padron said. “We’re just excited to really spotlight these local groups and some Stillwater bands up alongside them, and just really celebrate where we’re at.”
Ultimately, music is a good thing, with the overall purpose of Stillwater music being to teach that art.
“The heart of our mission is that music enriches people’s lives,” Padron said. “Whether that is somebody coming to jam once a week, or something that they pursue professionally, we just think that everyone’s lives are better with music.”
An unspoken, perhaps secret, mission of Stillwater Music would be to dispel regret. Many adults in courses at the school were at one time kids forced into music lessons, kids who ultimately dropped out of their piano/saxophone/clarinet studies because Atari, Activision or other random, non-music activities that were calling. As adults, they likely carry around said regret, wishing they could turn back time and stick those lessons out. While the adult students may be making up for lost time, the youth students are learning that music lessons should be ridden out, and ultimately the lessons learned far outweigh whatever reason drove them to drop them in the first place. The endgame is then well worth the lessons.
“It’s that sort of type two fun, like going on a hike, and it kind of sucks, but when you get to the top and you see the view it’s beautiful,” Padron said. “That’s what being a musician is like a lot of the time. You’re practicing for hours and hours, and then you get to the performance and you’re seeing that view and it’s amazing.”
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
