Downtown Lowdown

Asleep at the Wheel comes to Durango

Ray Benson has thousands of 78 RPM records. Not “33 1/3,” which is your standard, 12-inch, long play record, otherwise known as “LP,” which it could be safe to say he has thousands of those,...

DATE: Aug 11, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Noodle plays Rockin’ on the River Concert Series

College is a great catalyst for band formation. From Devo to Public Enemy, The Commodores to Phish, thousands of bands have formed when pursuit of higher education gave way to pursuit of mus...

DATE: Aug 4, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Durango Brass builds on tradition

A town needs a brass band. Something with trumpets and cornets, French horns, euphoniums, trombones and tubas. Back in the day, it was common for each small town throughout the West to have...

DATE: Jul 28, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Music in the Mountains Pops Night: The Magical Music of Harry Potter

Great American Cinema would be nothing without its scores. The man behind many of those familiar film scores is the great John Williams, who has written some of the most iconic themes for so...

DATE: Jul 21, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

The Crags celebrate new album with show

The music business is a drag. It’s a business that can be unforgiving, at times awarding mediocrity and ignoring some releases that truly are great. The indie level has always been the go-to...

DATE: Jul 14, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Garrett Young, band release new record

Guitar player Garrett Young likes his tools. The Bayfield-based musician just dropped his second record, and for that sophomore release he’s gone to two of the best tools in his musical tool...

DATE: Jul 7, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Rocky Mountain UkeFest to be held next week

Denise Leslie loves the ukulele. She loves its size and its tone. She loves its simplicity and the fact it’s an instrument where progress can be made by its player rather quickly. She loves ...

DATE: Jun 30, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Jeff Solon’s big band performs a benefit

Pop music of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s was way hipper than the pop music of the ’90s, aughts and ’10s. Backstreet Boys, Faith Hill and Pitbull take a far, back seat to Duke Ellington, Glen Mi...

DATE: Jun 23, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Chad MacCluskey on guitar

Local musician Chad MacCluskey has been inundated with music his entire life. His father, the late Tom MacCluskey, known around Durango as a piano player at various spots throughout the augh...

DATE: Jun 16, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Shinyribs in Pagosa for Folk ’N Bluegrass Festival

Musician Kevin Russell isn’t much into descriptors. The Texas-based musician has been part of the music game a long time, first known in this region as a member of the beloved Austin, Texas...

DATE: Jun 9, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Carute Roma hosts CD release party

Once you’re a fan of gypsy music you’re a fan for life. Doesn’t matter if you were once a punk rocker or jam band kid, an EDM fan or guitar-strumming folkie, when you commit whole hog to the...

DATE: Jun 2, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

For Bogner, a lifetime of drumming

Local musician Robert Bogner was a noisy kid. Whistling, talking, singing, even beating on things. He would make such a vocal racket that his father would offer him a dollar if he’d keep his...

DATE: May 26, 2022 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown

Photos: Family fun at the La Plata County Fair

La Plata County Fair is off and running

La Plata County Fair schedule of eventsThursday8:30 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA breeding swine, market swine. 9 a.m.-8 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public.9 a.m.: Judging open class home economics, horticulture, floriculture, creative arts.9 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA and open class fleeces.9 a.m.: 4-H poultry judging followed by open class.1 p.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA goat show, all classes followed by open class goat.5 p.m.: Fair Royalty speeches and modeling.7 p.m.: Talent contest, patio.7 p.m.: Livestock verification swine, poultry, goat, general project cards due.

Friday9 a.m.-8 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public.9 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA rabbits.10 a.m.: 4-H/FFA breeding beef, beef showmanship.1 p.m.: 4-H/FFA market beef, grand champion and reserve grand champion market beef, champion selection.2 p.m.: Dairy cattle, all classes.3:15 p.m.: Pee wee showmanship.4 p.m.: 4-H/FFA livestock round robin, all-around showmanship.7 p.m.: Asleep at the Wheel concert.7 p.m.: Livestock sale verification rabbit and beef cards due.

Saturday9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public. 9 a.m.: 4-H dog show.9 a.m.: Judging open class beef all classes.10 a.m.: Rooster crowing contest.10 a.m.: FFA showmanship.11 a.m.: Open class dairy cattle, all classes.12 p.m.: Demolition Derby.12-4 p.m.: Community 4-H barbecue cook off (senior center lawn).2 p.m.: Rabbit costume contest.2 p.m.: Poultry costume contest.5 p.m.: Silver steaks, silver loin and silver chop award presentation.5:45 p.m.: Fair Royalty crowning.6 p.m.: Junior livestock sale pavilion.9 p.m.-midnight: Fair family dance.

Sunday8 a.m.: Cowboy church. 8 a.m.: Carcass animals loaded.9 a.m.- 2 p.m.: Exhibits open to the public.1:30 p.m.: 4-H/FFA Catch-It contest.2-3 p.m.: Payment of premiums. 2-3 p.m.: Exhibits released in all departments. 2-5 p.m.: Booths taken down.2-5 p.m.: Poultry and rabbit exhibits released.2 p.m.: Animals released.Beer garden is open Thursday through Saturday.

La Plata County Fair schedule of events Thursday 8:30 a.m.: Judging 4-H/FFA breeding s...

Patriotic drone show unfolds above Durango’s night skyAbout 1,200 people watched production from city Transit Center

One hundred forty drones took to the skies above Greenmount Cemetery at 10 p.m. sharp Saturday in a glowing and patriotic spectacle featuring vibrant images colored red, white and blue against the black backdrop of night.About 1,200 people gathered Saturday at the Durango Transit Center to watch the city’s premiere drone show produced by Verge Aero after a street dance and band performance by McCurry Trio and Desert Child for Independence Day celebrations.Spectators were treated to drone depictions of the American flag, star patterns, a soaring bald eagle and a homage to the city with drones flying in formation to spell out “Durango” to close out the street dance that started at 6 p.m. Across the valley from Greenmount Cemetery, the headlights of cars shined from Rim Drive near Fort Lewis College where more spectators watched.

Ellen Babers, Durango community events administrator, said the show went well. She heard “Ooh’s” and “ah’s” from the crowd when the drones transitioned from one image to another.She said a segment that consisted of stars rotating at various intervals, shrinking into smaller stars before expanding into the shape of a larger star, appeared to be a crowd favorite.“People really liked the Durango part,” she said. “When it spelled out Durango, people seemed surprised. Like, ‘Oh, this isn’t just a generic show, this is about us.’”Other images included an outline of the continental United States, the letters “USA,” and a spinning globe shape that gave the drone show a 3D feel.

The drones were laid out earlier in the evening in a square grid, with each drone placed 4 feet apart. Peter Smiatek, pilot and designer of the drone show, worked with a crew of about six people, including volunteers. Saturday evening at Greenmount Cemetery where the drones launched and landed, Peter Smiatek, pilot and designer with Verge Aero, and his crew of about six people, including volunteers, had laid all the drones out on the grass in a square grid. Each drone was placed four feet apart. Smiatek synced the drones to a GPS and radio tower in preparation for the evening’s show. Six minutes before takeoff, a deer wandered straight past the drone grid, narrowly avoiding stepping on them.“That could have been a disaster,” Smiatek said as his crew scanned the nearby area with flashlights. No other deer were visible.Two minutes before takeoff, the crew’s portable generator shut off – out of gas.

“We have double secure power,” he said. “The generator fell off two minutes before the show started. It’s like Murphy’s law, anything that could happen will happen. So it’s best to be prepared.”During prep, the crew ran several tests with the drones. The drones shot up 3 to 4 meters, hovered for about one second and then dropped back to their designated grid space on the grass.

Smiatek worked from a makeshift command station where his laptop and transmission tower were perched.“The base station is the heart of the show,” he said. “It’s a computer and it’s a distribution system connected to radios and an antenna. And that’s it, basically. Very flexible and a good system.”Chris Lutts, vice president of sales at Verge Aero, said he thinks Durangoans enjoyed the performance. From Greenmount Cemetery, he could hear the cheers and whistles of the audience at the Durango Transit Center.“The people we’ve been working with have been great,” he said. “Clearly, the city enjoyed it, so that’s awesome. That’s why we do this. It’s no different than any other entertainment, man. You love that feedback. It’s validation that what you’re doing is something that people really like.”cburney@durangoherald.com