The heat is on

July musical offerings ramp up with local and national acts

by Stephen Sellers

Greetings, dear readers! Having some decision fatigue sorting through the insane amount of music in Durango this next month? Here are a few surefire gigs that you don’t want to miss. Go see some live music, buy some merch and live a little!

• Thurs., July 6 – Shamarr Allen, Buckley Park

Master trumpeter Shamar Allen is bringing the sounds of the 9th Ward of New Orleans to downtown Durango for free, thanks to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. Allen plays an expansive repertoire of traditional New Orleans jazz, funk, rock, fusion and hiphop. He boasts an even more expansive list of collaborations including artists like Willie Nelson, Pattie LaBelle and Lenny Kravitz. This is the perfect warmup for August’s Telluride Jazz Festival (where Allen will also be performing for an *ahem* slightly more expensive ticket). The show starts at 5:30 p.m. www.durangoconcerts.com

• Sat., July 8 – Elder Grown, Tico Time

Elder Grown’s Summer Camp, a oneday music festival, splashes down on the banks of Tico Time on Saturday. Elder Grown is one of the longest-running and most endearing funked-out, jamrock bands in Durango, having raised more than $38,000 for a new album this past March. The music festival will offer the same unique riverside amenities of any Tico Time festival, alongside performances from Elder Grown, Ava Swan, Rachel Angel, Nelleke and Forest Thump late into the night. Tickets for a single day start at $15. That’s a steal! More info at www.eldergrownmusic.com

• Thurs., July 13 – Goodbye Ranger, Myles Bullen, BlueRaspberry, The Hive

Creative Director Alex Vick is making miracles happen at 1150 Main Ave. for $5 covers and all ages, the way it should be, consarnit! This month, the underground venue welcomes L.A.-based trio Goodbye Ranger. I’ll spare you most of the indie-rock sub-genre labels (Dream Pop! Shoegaze!) and just let you know that this band’s record kicks ass.

We’re lucky to have them and their friends, Myles Bullen and BlueRaspberry, coming through town. We’re even luckier to have a venue like The Hive, a sober space, which feels incredibly refreshing in boozy Durango. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $5.

• Fri., July 14 – Ralph Dinosaur and the Fabulous Volcanoes, Durango VFW

Legendary local musician Ralph Dinosaur is bringing the party back to Durango’s VFW in the middle of the month. If you graduated from Fort Lewis between 1985-95, this is your not-tomiss event of the month. Challenge extension for readers: search The Durango Telegraph archives online for some beautiful snapshots of the Farquahrt’sera Durango music scene. Show starts at 5 p.m., and tickets are $10 at the door.

• Sun., July 16 – Crooked Rugs, Kangaroo Courts, ORA, The Hive

The psychedelic rock mothership is about to touch down in Durango with this triple bill, graciously hosted by The Hive. This one will be for fans of bands like King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Osees and the Black Angels. You might like this show if you wear black Carhartt t-shirts, because you like the “weight of the fabric” or have had an all-black clothing phase in the past few years. If that’s you, because it’s certainly me, you will love this show! Fort Collins-based The Crooked Rugs will be fresh off a performance at Colorado Springs’ Psychs Peak Festival joined by their equally psychy but more progressive-rock-leaning friends Kangaroo Court. Local support comes from the heavy desert fuzz of ORA (for which I wear black and play bass and synth). The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and is $5 at the door.

• Tues., Aug. 1 – Andy Frasco and the UN, Animas City Theatre

Last month, talent buyer Eugene Salaaz blew the roof off the Animas City Theatre with a booking of the incendiary New Orleans funk outfit Cha Wa. If you missed it, I can’t say you weren’t warned! So, do yourself a favor, and go check the myriad of national and local bookings coming up in July at our flagship venue. Of particular interest is the L.A.-based, blues-fueled, infectiously energizing soul-rock of Andy Frasco and the UN. The stars have aligned after years of Salaaz trying to get the band from the stages of Red Rocks, Electric Forest and Wakarusa to Durango. This show is 21+, tickets are $40, and the show starts at 8 p.m. ■