Author - The Durango Herald

Joe Buck Yourself brings country punk

In a world of polished pop music, watered down punk and country music ripe for an elevator, it’s great to have musicians come along and hit you like a punch in the jaw. Someone that hollers ...

DATE: Sep 24, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

You can call Stroud a six-string stuntman

Frank Zappa called them stunt-guitar players. They were the few that Zappa hired to pull off some guitar work he couldn’t himself. Steve Vai was one, a player with plenty of chops that made ...

DATE: Sep 17, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Behind the scenes at the Four Corners Folk Festival

This is a festival-heavy region. They come most weekends all summer long, impeding your sleep schedule and depleting your bank account while giving you a dose of acoustic-based music. One of...

DATE: Sep 3, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Brooklyn band in town for San Juan Brewfest

Now in its 17th year, the San Juan Brewfest remains Durango’s premier beer-tasting and the second-largest fundraiser for United Way of Southwest Colorado. On Saturday, Buckley Par...

DATE: Aug 27, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Blues and rock from the North African desert

My third-grade geography class contained a section on studying deserts. I was fascinated by what I then thought was a lifeless Sahara, a massive stretch of land with nomadic inha...

DATE: Aug 20, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Local scene hot with upcoming albums

The recording efforts of local musicians continue to chug along, and you may be surprised by the number of bands and artists recording in and around La Plata County. Musicians ce...

DATE: Aug 13, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Don’t overlook the Billy Goat for great music

Everyone needs a watering hole, the kind of place where the beer is cold, the clientele local and the entertainment free. For Durango residents who like to support live music, th...

DATE: Aug 6, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Austin bluegrass musician credits his cool parents

Kids sometimes have to admit that their parents have good taste in music. It doesn’t happen everywhere. I’ve seen some of the record collections of people my age, the 40-somethin...

DATE: Jul 30, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Drag the River brings country rock to Durango

In 1985, the Los Angeles punk band X startled fans when they released an LP of country music under the name The Knitters. While they may not have been the first punk band to dabbl...

DATE: Jul 23, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Worldly Todo Mundo links humanity through music

Santiago Orozco had an organic vision for what became Todo Mundo. When he arrived in San Diego from his native Columbia, he had ambitions of building a music career, but he had no...

DATE: Jul 16, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Carcosa’s roots rock defies a simple definition

Bob Wills was on to something that pre-dated rock ’n’ roll. When the King of Swing was asked about the forthcoming musical revolution, his response defied a definintion for the music he had ...

DATE: Jul 2, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

The Badly Bent brings bluegrass to Brew Train

Durango’s historic steam train continues to find ways to entice riders on board. Saturday’s Brew Train is the first of the 2015 series of rolling beer-tastings with music. The bl...

DATE: Jun 25, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown