Part of May 2010 by
The Thirsty Ear Festival at the Eaves Movie Ranch

Albuquerque’s Thirsty Ear Festival Preview

The Thirsty Ear Festival is obviously the focus of this article but I absolutely have to geek out on the location it takes place at first.  The Eaves Movie Ranch in Albuquerque, NM has been the shoot location for over 250 movie productions since the 1960s including Easy Rider and Young Guns 2.  Hey, I liked Young Guns 2. Quit snickering.  (Editors note: I totally snickered. End editors note.) Also some mega classics like The Cheyenne Social Club and Chisum were filmed there.  The long gone footprints of John Wayne, James Coburn and New Mexicos premiere roots festival all in one spot?  Im in! and Im calling shotgun! (Another editors note: Definitely check out the Eaves Movie Ranch website. Its amazing. OK…  Ill stop interrupting your article now.)

Movie geek-out is officially over.

This year is the 11th annual Thirsty Ear Festival and the line up is as rock solid and fan pleasing as would be expected from a roots and bluegrass festival of this caliber.  Saturday June 12th will be headlined by the bluegrass legend Sam Bush with the supporting slots being filled with the extremely talented Richard Johnston Foothill Stomp, from Austin, the always entertaining country/swing band Asleep At The Wheel, Canadas Po Girl, and many more.

Po Girl

Po' Girl

There will probably even be some big time surprises this year because it appears that booking for the event is still in motion.  Which actually I find hard to believe with a festival like this.  More likely some serious talent was booked 6 months ago but they will release the names a week before the show.  Hey, its the music biz and surprises are all  part of the magic.

Speaking of  magic check out this Po Girl video:http://www.youtube.com/v/q2d04iRgL54?fs

On Sunday June 13th the headliner will be Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women.  I have probably exceeded my geek out quota but check this out:  Dave Alvin, while being a major driving force in roots music, started his career by being in some of the coolest bands of all time.  He started The Blasters with his brother, he played in The Gun Club, he was in X (dude, I met Exene once and froze solid. Total legend.), and he played with The Flesh Eaters.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Dave Alvin who has been one of the largest proponents of roots music for the last few decades was in the band that is a cornerstone of deathrock.  Which is a fancy way of saying Goth.  I personally think thats cool.

Darrell Scott

Darell Scott

Playing on Sunday will be Darrell Scott who most people know as a country music dude but he also has serious skills on the guitar as an instrumentalist so his set should be a great mix of sing alongs and acoustic shredding.  Next up is JT & The Clouds from Chicago whose 4th album has been hitting really hard in the scene.  JT could very well be on the journey to a major success.   And of course there are many more acts playing on Sunday some of which are listed on the sites and some that are mysteries.  So keep checking back to get the info.

The Thirsty Ear Festival is totally family friendly.  Kids 12 and under get in free and in the Kids Corral there will be arts & crafts, hula-hoop making, storytelling, hands-on African drumming workshops with Akeen Ayanniyi and more.  For the parents theres all those amazing tunes being performed, and tons of New Mexicos finest foods and beverages in the micro brew and vino category and zydeco dance lessons.  Of course always wait 30 minutes after eating before jumping into the zydeco dance lesson pool.