Tune in: ‘The Big New-Mex Review’ at Tumbleroot celebrates New Mexico’s musical soul
Credit: Albuquerque Journal
What is New Mexican music? Like most aspects of New Mexican culture, it’s not just one thing but an ever-evolving medley of cross-cultural influences.
On Wednesday, Jan. 28, Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery in Santa Fe will present “The Big New-Mex Review: A Musical Journey through the Land of Enchantment,” a free concert showcasing the rich diversity of music in New Mexico today. The concert is the brainchild of Lance Bendiksen, a longtime producer and composer, who moved to Santa Fe with his wife three years ago after coming to the area off and on for many years.
“When we moved here and started discovering some of the little gems — not just the up-and-coming artists who are packing rooms, but some of the artists that you hear in restaurants, small venues, back alleys and such — I was totally smitten,” Bendiksen said. “I started inviting these artists over to my studio to record music.”
The musicians spanned many genres: norteño, mariachi, Americana, hip-hop, country, jazz rock and even an Indigenous reggae band. Eventually, he got the idea to bring them all together under one roof.
“The Big New-Mex Review” will be hosted by Wes Studi (Cherokee), the first Indigenous actor to receive an Academy Award. Studi, who has appeared in such films as “Dances with Wolves,” “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Avatar,” will lead the audience through an evening of music and storytelling.
Studi and Bendiksen first collaborated on the 2018 music album, “Voices of the Guardians,” for which Studi voiced words by Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull and other historic Indigenous leaders over an instrumental soundscape.