It was a great weekend for musicians with ties to Carlsbad. Local band Stranded took home the Modern Rock award for their song “Angel’s Bridge” during the 34th Annual New Mexico Music Awards. Stranded members are Raul G. Ortega, Mike Ybarra, Dario Velasquez, Lawrence Gamble and Jason Vigil. This year’s awards took place at the Uptown Funk Piano Bar in Albuquerque. “Angel’s Bridge” is a song about losing a loved one but having hope about seeing them again.
You can read a full list of winners here: http://www.newmexicomusicawards.com/2021-new-mexico-music-award-winners/
As many of you know, we weren’t able to have Stranded perform during our Fourth of July celebration due to the weather. We look forward to setting up a concert with them in the very near future. We also want everyone to know that we had a meeting about our Independence Day celebration and are planning something similar again next summer.
Ethan Cole, a 15-year-old singer from Lubbock with family ties to Carlsbad, sang to a packed crowd at the gazebo outside of the Carlsbad Water Park on Saturday. Ethan’s entire family is part of the production, and all the good feedback we’ve heard about him turned out to be very true. It was our biggest crowd of the summer so far for our weekly concerts.
Ethan and his family are already talking about coming back, and they will certainly be very welcome. You can check out his music here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1187572548374473
Thanks again to Brandon Chandler for sponsoring our Saturday summer concert series. Another great local band, Last Child, will be playing from 7-9 p.m. July 31 at the gazebo.
Singer Melissa Jones Auld recently moved from Carlsbad back to Texas, but she was a very important part of our local music scene for several years. Melissa’s career has continued to take off, and she has recently announced that she’ll be singing the National Anthem for a game between the Houston Astros and the KC Royals at 1 p.m. August 25. Everyone who ever heard Melissa perform in Carlsbad knew she was headed on to big things. Congratulations.
It’s not a musical event, but it certainly sounds like a lot of fun. More than 35 vendors from the surrounding area will be participating in the Vintage Cactus Trade Days event at the civic center on July 31. The free event will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s the first big trade show in some time – and a lot of work went into making it great.
