Author - The Durango Herald

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

Unique sound of Papa Otis blends old with the new

The sound of Papa Otis hasn’t stayed still long enough to be pigeonholed. The band, whose mainstay has been drummer Steve Mendias, has evolved from a three-piece celebrating rock ...

DATE: Jun 18, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

High Rollers bring country to Strater, fresh off a hit in France

The High Rollers’ 20-year plan did not include shows overseas. Nor did it include bandmates reared on anything but country, or an original song that resulted in statewide radio play and its ...

DATE: Jun 11, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Rebecca Frazier to front Hit and Run in Pagosa

Bluegrass always has had a strong female presence in band-leaders and vocalists. Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent and Alison Brown all have led successful bands and forged successfu...

DATE: Jun 4, 2015 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown