Shelia Eden and her band Illumina A.D. have released the video for their new single Aperio. Right out of the gate, the video has garnered nearly 50k views.

Eden studied at the Berklee School of Music before finding a home in New Mexico. She has worked in the film industry in the Land of Enchantment for over a decade all the while writing and producing her own style of music with her band Nepthisis. She was a finalist in the 2024 New Mexico Music Awards.

Learn more about Shelia at https://linktr.ee/Sheilaeden

Learn how the film industry works when it comes to music and what to do to give you the best opportunities to get your music to film and television music supervisors, production companies, gaming, live theater and events and more.

Presented by Jose Antonio Ponce of Jason’s Music Publishing, the event takes place on Saturday, February 22nd at 4:00 PM at Sandia Music and Sound, Sandia Music and Sound-5105 Homestead Cir NW in Albuquerque, NM 87120. Tickets are $5.00 at the door.

Byron Vasquez has opened Sandia Music and Sound in the west side of the Duke City. Located at 5105 Homestead CIr NW Albuquerque, NM 87120 in the Taylor Ranch neighborhood, the new store features products by Marshall, Gretch, Fender, Epiphone, Washburn and more.

Locally owned, the goal is to become a community hub for musicians of all ages and skill levels. Plans include instruction, practice and rehearsal spaces for local musicians as well as performances by local artists.

Find them online at https://www.sandiamusicandsound.com/

The New Mexico Music Hall of Fame award show, will take place on Saturday, November 23rd at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Hosted by former Channel 7 anchor Nelson Martinez and Sandia Labs manager and board member Zach Mikelson, this year’s class includes:

Latin Jazz Master, bandleader, arranger and trombonist Cesar Bauvallet. A graduate of the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in Havana, the Cuban ex-pat was chosen by Arturo Sandoval as trombonist for Dizzy Gillespie’s All-Star Orchestra (Havana Jazz Festival, 1989) 

The late saxophonist Robert Blea, front man for the band Fat City for over 4 decades, playing keyboards, sax, flute and clarinet. He was responsible for giving many young NM musicians, early opportunities in the business, including Hillary Smith, Michael Hearne, Teri Q, Logan Nix, Casper Gomez and Roland “Stone” Smith. Blea passed away in 2023.

Blues guitarist, session player and band leader Chris Dracup. He’s been a featured performer at some of the top regional music festivals including the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival, Silver City Blues Festival, Madrid and Albuquerque Blues Festivals, Thirsty Ear Festival, Trinidaddio Fest, Taos Solar Fest and more.

He is often featured as an opening act for a wide range of musical artists- everyone from George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars to Joe Walsh, Tori Amos, Taj Mahal, Richard Thompson, Shuggie Otis and many more.

Longtime bandleader and bassist Donny Tesso who celebrates almost 40 years as a professional musician/bassist in all styles of music both national and international. Donny Tesso currently is musical director for Lorenzo Antonio and Sparx and works with many of NM’s finest musicians and bands including Sol-Fire, Soul Divine, Gonzalo, Tobias Rene, Soul Static, Rhythm Divine, Tracey Whitney, Ryan Montano and others. Donny also conducts musician clinics in other cities and states as requested. Donny Tesso, perhaps the most in demand musician in New Mexico.

The Brown Family including Freddie Brown, country artist Bo Brown of Albuquerque who passed away in 2023 was a fun, high energy entertainer. He toured throughout the western US with the Bo Brown Band & AB Brown

The Wickham Brothers, Hank & Lewie, with their adopted brother, Johnny Dacucon, they were a national sensation with their song “A Little Bit Late.” Although the brothers went their separate ways after 20 years of playing together, they still reunited occasionally to play in Taos, Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

The Las Vegas style band, The Pink Flamingos will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Bandleader and Cassanova Recording artist Little Ralph Paiz. The guitarist mentored a young Glen Campbell and has always blended traditional and modern music into a uniquely New Mexico blend.

Tejano Artist/Composer/Musician/Producer, Promoter Alan Muniz, a Multi-Award Winning Artist, from Santa Fe who has earned 15 Grandes, along with Grammy & Latin Grammy nominations.

The show will feature music by Picoso, Chris Dracup, Donny Tesso and Little Ralph.

Link for tickets https://my.nmculture.org/41942/41943

The New Mexico Music Hall of Fame award show is to recognize those who have made significant contributions to our state’s musical culture.

The Eric Larson Endowment at UNM has named cellist Samuel Martinez as its 2024 scholarship recipient. The Eric Larson Endowment was established in 2005 to assist students attending the University of New Mexico and studying in Music or the Recording Arts.

Samuel is a native New Mexican who grew up in a musical family. He is in his final semester of his degree in Cello Performance and is also a private music instructor hoping to inspire his students. The scholarship allows him to leave UNM with no debt as he enters the professional world.

Congratulations to Samuel and our thanks to the staff and faculty of the UNM Music Department and the staff and management of the UNM Foundation. A special thanks goes out to you, our New Mexico music community who have made this scholarship possible on an annual basis with your contributions. You keep the memory of NMMA co-founder, Eric Larson alive.

Richard Cagle has produced and recorded folks like Carolyn Wonderland, Uncle John Turner, Johnny Winter, and Joe King Carrasco as well as others from his studio in the cool mountains of Ruidoso, New Mexico where he owns Montrose Records. Richard has wone a couple of New Mexico Music Awards over the years, but many folks don’t know that he is a blues artist in his own right.

He recently released “Richard Cagle and the VooDoo Choir-Zia Blues”, his first album since 2016. Most of the songs are written by Richard Cagle.

“Zia Blues” opens with “Dance, Dance, Dance” featuring Eric Demmer, saxophone (who played with Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown); Arnold Cardon, guitar; Paul Goad, bass and piano; Danny Cresap, drums; and backing vocalists Wayne and Lou Ann Ellison. “Knockin Me Down” includes Tim Martin, guitar; and Dave Shanks, Hammond Organ. Cagle provides the vocals. Other guests include El Paso’s Sam Barlow on harmonica, Rich Chorne, guitar; Grant Gerondale, bass and Ron Ramelli, who toured with Lavelle White, on harmonica, Mark Kashmar on guitar, Kelley Wright, percussion and pianist Shawn Allen.

The late Sher Katz wrote the closer, “Whadda Think O’ That” which features Cagle singing with lots of emotion and playing harmonica and Sam Shackelford, drums. All in all, a terrific effort from a brilliant producer, engineer and artist.

Available on all platforms.

Bette Korber is a video artist and has been a finalist in the Best Video category for a number of years, but did you know that she is also an award winning scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory? She is a computational biologist focusing on the molecular biology and population genetics of the HIV virus that causes infection and eventually AIDS and contributed heavily to efforts to obtain an effective HIV vaccine. She also helped fund an AIDS orphanage in South Africa, working through Nurturing Orphans of AIDS for Humanity (NOAH).

Somehow, she finds time to produce videos that highlight some of the environmental and health issues we are facing in the 21st century. Her latest is Rivers Run, a cover of the composition by songwriter Karine Polwart, a beautiful song about rivers and climate change that is infused with a touch of hope. The song was recorded at Moonflower Sound recording in Taos with Korber providing the vocals, guitar and Irish whistle, Peter Oviatt engineering, producing and adding harmonies, banjo and bass and arranger Brent Berry on percussion and the natural sounds of a Taos thunderstorm thrown in for good measure. View the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn25isz3YIY

The band Left Unsaid was huge in the Duke City in the 90s, rising above the fray to gain national attention before disintegrating. A new documentary about the late 90s/early 2000s Albuquerque punk/rock scene and the band’s rise and fall, Never Ending, It’s Better This Way, is now available to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime.

Directed by Mario J Rivera and produced by the band (Rivera, Hunter Ashton and Eric Garay) it is a look at the band’s reason for being and for ending….sort of.

The band has also released a new song, their first in 20 years.

To view the trailer for the film, go to https://youtu.be/tWvSxvQwElo