Erik Nordstrom wants to bring the Four Corners music scene to the world. Fans of local bands likely know Nordstrom from rock bands Lawn Chair Kings and Farmington Hill, bands he’s been part of for years. Aside from being a musician in those bands, he’s also an advocate for a solid scene: Nordstrom helped get the KDUR Cover Nights off the ground when they began some 25 years ago, he remains a mentor and supporter to other local bands, as well as a face in the crowd when many of those local bands play out.
In March 2024, Nordstrom and the Mancos Creative District (of which he’s a member) organized a concert featuring local acts Little Wilderness, The Crags and his own Farmington Hill. Billed as “Mixed in Mancos,” that night was recorded by sound engineer Jeff Jones of Music Masters, with the intent of releasing a record featuring cuts from that night. That record is now ready for the world to hear, its release being celebrated with a show Saturday at Mancos Brewing Co. in Mancos. Performing the Mixed In Mancos 2024 Album Release party will be two of the bands from the record, Little Wilderness and Farmington Hill.
If you go
WHAT: Farmington Hill and Little Wilderness play the “Mixed in Mancos 2024” album release party.
WHEN: 5 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: Mancos Brewing Co., 484 W. Frontage Road, Mancos.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.mancoscreativedistrict.com.
“I’ve always loved the idea of a strong music community, and just the idea that bands are supporting each other and not in competition with each other, and for me that was the idea of cover nights,” Nordstrom said. “I’ve also been an advocate of songwriting and original music. There was an event back in my college days at University of Kansas called ‘Loaded in Lawrence’ that featured 16 bands over four days; they’d play for an hour each and then out of the four-day project a CD was made of all the different bands. So that was an inspiration. I just think it’s super cool that this whole thing has come to fruition, there’s a lot of excitement about it.”
For the manufacturing of this record, Nordstrom looked to Shannon Rierson of Austin, Texas-based Flak Records. Rierson’s ties to the area’s music scene are through a friendship with Paul Henderson of Little Wilderness, whose 2019 release “Big Tent” was released by Flak. Rierson dug the camaraderie among bands in the area as well as the talent pool; he was behind the product from the get-go.
“I remember saying it would be cool to do some sort of compilation record of all the great acts in the area. That kind of floated around a little bit, next thing was like, ‘hey, we’re doing this album with three local bands, it’s for a good cause, and would you be interested in putting it out?’ I thought ‘there you go, that’s a great idea,’” Rierson said. “I live in Austin where you throw a rock in the air and you’ll hit somebody that plays guitar. The surprising thing in the Southwest you know, the percentage of great musicians per the population. This is something I really wanted to be a part of, helping the music community.”
The result is a solid compilation of local rock music, featuring the desert-surf noir of The Crags, the rowdy cow-punk of Farmington Hill, and the pushy and loud indie-rock of Little Wilderness.
Nordstrom remains stoked at the team effort that will continue to make Mixed in Mancos an annual concert and album.
“For me it takes a village to make a music scene happen,” he said. “I’m just thankful to everyone putting their love back into the music scene.”
Mixed in Mancos 2025 will happen on March 8 at the Mancos Opera House and will feature Carute Roma from Durango, the Lindells from Montezuma County and The Yoties from Flagstaff, Arizona.
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
