Southwest Roots Music

NM fave MAX GOMEZ is hitting the road with HOWE GELB and his friends in SLANT CAN, who will be onstage together all night—trading songs, stories, and traveling down roads unknown. No setlist carved in stone. Just friends and music in the great desert towns that have inspired them for years.

MAX GOMEZ was born and raised in Taos, New Mexico, where he fell under the influence of country and blues singer-songwriters at an early age. After becoming a fixture in the New Mexico music scene, Gomez left home to pursue a broader horizon. His debut album, Rule the World (New West Records), earned critical acclaim and launched a touring career that has taken him coast to coast across the U.S., into Canada, and throughout Western Europe. Last year, Gomez released Memory Mountain, which debuted at #1 on the Alt-Country Radio Chart, further solidifying his reputation for timeless, resonant songwriting. Praised by Rolling Stone and No Depression as an emerging voice in Americana, Memory Mountain affirms that distinction with depth and charm. Over the years, Gomez has shared the stage with the likes of James McMurtry, Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Patty Griffin and Jeff Beck.

HOWE GELB long has been saddled with such ticklish titles such as “godfather of alt-country” (only in the UK) and “elder ambassador of desert rock,” but please never utilize the moniker Americana. Just call it American music; the result of a melting pot of the poor and tired and the huddled masses yearning to be free. In three decades plus, he’s managed to mash elements of erosion rock, de-composition, crunchy & western, something close to blues, punk snark, lo-fi hi-fi, pseudo jazz, gospel a-choir-ing, semi-standard piano standards and a side swipe of Andalusian gypsy flamenco. If musical classification were likened to masonry, then one can prepose that Howe Gelb’s stone work is but the mortar in between all categorical bricks. Howe has a catalogue of over 60 albums with his various incarnations, including GIANT SAND. He’s produced albums for John Doe and K.T. Tunstall. He was instrumental helping M. Ward and Grandaddy get their first albums out, and his ’90s rhythm section from California became Calexico after turning them on to his hometown of Tucson. His most recent release at the end of 2025 was in a collaborative band known as THE GECKØS : featuring himself along with M. Ward and the music of Ireland’s Mark McKowski.

$29 advance / $35 door / 7pm doors / 7:30 show

This concert, a collaboration with Occasional Music, is part of the Common Ground Gathering— sponsored in part by New Mexico Spirit. Special thanks to KUNM.

CANCELED

CROW and GAZELLE
Saturday, August 15, 2026 | 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Sage Valley Pottery | Corrales, NM

https://southwestrootsmusic.org/event/crow-and-gazelle/

They played The Railyard Saturday morning and closed out the Common Ground Gathering last night! Big thanks to Engine70 Studios, for hosting Delbert Anderson, Jono Manson, and Lara Manzanares in the round! What a show and what a weekend!

Thank you to Levitt Family Foundation for supporting the Common Ground Festival! Levitt Family Foundation partners with changemakers and nonprofits in towns and cities across America to create joyous, inclusive destinations where the power of free, live music brings people together of all ages and backgrounds, creating healthy, connected, and thriving communities. Learn more: levitt.org

The Common Ground Gathering is sponsored, in part, by New Mexico Spirit. Special thanks to our friends & collaborators at Engine70 Studios.

Thank you to Levitt Family Foundation for supporting the Common Ground Festival ! Levitt Family Foundation partners with changemakers and nonprofits in towns and cities across America to create joyous, inclusive destinations where the power of free, live music brings people together of all ages and backgrounds, creating healthy, connected, and thriving communities. Learn more: levitt.org

Shoutout to Levitt Family Foundation for their support of the Common Ground Festival! A social impact funder at the intersection of music, public space and community building, Levitt Family Foundation supports changemakers and nonprofits nationwide to build healthy, connected, and thriving communities by making live music accessible and bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together. Learn more: levitt.org

Thank you to Levitt Family Foundation for its support of the COMMON GROUND FESTIVAL! We love Levitt Family Foundation's mission, which is to strengthen the social fabric of America through the power of free, live music. In 2026, Levitt is supporting more than 900 free outdoor concerts nationwide in 100+ towns and cities across all 50 states and Puerto Rico, bringing people together of all ages and backgrounds to create healthy, connected, and thriving communities. Learn more: levitt.org

Thank you to Levitt Family Foundation for its support of the COMMON GROUND FESTIVAL! We love Levitt Family Foundation’s mission, which is to strengthen the social fabric of America through the power of free, live music. In 2026, Levitt is supporting more than 900 free outdoor concerts nationwide in 100+ towns and cities across all 50 states and Puerto Rico, bringing people together of all ages and backgrounds to create healthy, connected, and thriving communities. Learn more: levitt.org

SAGE & AERA
Friday, April 17, 2026 | 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Sage Valley Pottery | Corrales, NM

Combining the songs and musical force of Sage Cook (Elephant Revival) with the uniquely captivating voice and upright bass of Aera Fox, this gorgeously harmonic duo lay their hearts bare with nothing but voice and beautifully crafted acoustic instruments. As a principal songwriter, banjo player and guitarist in the Colorado transcendental folk group Elephant Revival, Sage Cook penned fan favorites “Go On,” “Cosmic Pulse,” “Down to the Sea,” and the like. Embarking on a subsistence farming adventure in 2013, Sage and Aera moved to Kansas in hopes that deepening their connection to the land would also lead to greater self-realization. During this period of self-reflection and isolation, they co-founded indie atmospheric folk-pop band WE DREAM DAWN with local drummer Weston Hill. In 2023, rejuvenated and inspired by their work with the land, Sage & Aera chose to strip away all the superfluous layers and emerge from their self-imposed isolation to create spare, organically inspired folk music for the modern era. In August of 2024, Sage & Aera released their first (live) album.

doors @ 7PM / performance @ 7:30 / no opener
$20 advance / $25 door / GA