Part of Jun 2011 by

The Thirsty Ear Festival Starts June 10

It’s time again for the festival that wins my gold medal award for “Best Named Festival” the good ol’ Thirsty Ear Festival in Santa Fe which is happening this weekend June 10, 11 & 12 with a festival kick off party on Thursday (that’s tonight if my dollar store calendar is correct) at Corazon with the lo-fi indie rock band from Columbus, Ohio Times New Viking.  The festival is switching things up this year by spreading the festival out over a few nights at a few different venues: Lensic Theater, Santa Fe Brewing Company, and Corazon.  This year you can also buy your tickets piecemeal and pick and choose your favorite shows to attend or buy one big mack-daddy pass for the whole shebang for $100.  Also the range of music this year seems broader with the genres of indie rock, acoustic folk, alt-country, folk, bluegrass, and blues all getting a decent amount of stage time with some DJ action as well at the after party’s. I would definitely check out the performance calendar because with this new set up the shows are definitely competing for your attention and you will need to make some decisions to get the most out of the deal.

Besides the big headliners there’s several very cool highlights the first being Times New Viking that I already mentioned at the festival kick off party which I think is going to be a very festive event in itself.    On Friday night I very much think it is worth the effort to head to Corazon for Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers who put on a performance that will get you moving and keep you moving.  On Saturday is when I get in trouble because I’m sticking with the Santa Fe Brewing Company’s two stages and forgoing Shawn Colvin at the Lensic.  Sorry Shawn but SFBC has Chicago’s alt-country stars The Handsome Family (On the outdoor stage.) and the “Gonzo Roots Music” of New Mexico’s own The Imperial Rooster (On the indoor stage.) plus from there you can just roll right into Calexico’s Americana set with minimal effort.

On Sunday the day starts out with one of my top 3 favorite subjects: beer.  The VIP Craft Beer Tasting starts at 4 at SFBC and from there it’s pretty much way good times until closing time.  You got Santa Fe’s Joe West who is known as the “trailer park crooner” starting the day off, the Country Blues Revue in middle, and the whole festival concludes with the “filthy, mangy jazz” of Le Chat Lunatique which is really the perfect way to end the festival because I guarantee that during their crazy set you won’t think about having to go to work in the morning.

There are many other happenings going on at the Thirsty Ear as well including a kid’s area with arts, crafts and drumming lessons, exhibits from green and sustainable energy businesses, and educational information from non-profits, and community organizations.  Overall it looks like this years Thirsty Ear is going to be one very solid weekend of good tunes.  And beer.

http://www.thirstyearfestival.com/