Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi, we've visited SF a number of times and find the area much to our liking. I'm hoping to devote more time to musical performance in retirement. We're not knowledgeable about the music scene and what venues feature live music. I've always experienced SF as a visual arts town. I believe however there's much more to this unique place than I currently know. I've always been involved in blues,r&b,soul,funk and to a lesser amount jazz. My musical compositions are a mix of world music/jazz or sometimes a bit cinematic, lush chords and rich instrumental melodies. County music has changed so much it's fairly close to r&b (old school) so I might fit there although I have no experience with it. Any feedback on the music scene would help us determine if we should investigate further the possibility of retiring to SF. Thank you.
OP, I'm sorry to report that there's no world music except on rare occasion every few years. There used to be African music at the annual music festival in Taos, but that fell by the wayside, too. I go to California for world music and jazz. In SF there's classical music and opera. There's a blues festival outside of town annually, and a bluegrass festival in town. As far as country and what else SF does offer, I'll leave that to others.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 07-13-2016 at 11:09 PM..
You also check the web sites of the surrounding casinos, as you never know who might be appearing there. Sandia is on the north edge of Albuquerque and may get the best shows. Concerts in Albuquerque | Sandia Resort & Casino
The casinos don't get world music, and I've never known them to get jazz, but if they do, it's extremely rare. The chances are a little better at the Lensic, though not by much. The Santa Fe annual Folk Art Market, which just ended, sometimes brings in an interesting group; they just hosted a free concert on the Plaza by a good African musician.
But these are exceptional events, nothing like a norm, or an undercurrent, even. If the OP doesn't mind driving to ABQ for jazz, and pretty much foregoing world music otherwise, SF could work out. Otherwise, I'd recommend either Marin County, CA, Berkeley/Kensington/El Cerrito, or the Monterey Bay region: Santa Cruz county & Monterey county.
Thanks for replies. I'm in the SF Bay Area now, the music scene is great but the cost of living is insane. Retirement here won't be an option.
Yeah, you really get spoiled with the music scene in the Bay Area, and come to think it's normal to have all those great nationally- and internationally-acclaimed bands and all the diversity. But the only places around the country I know of that have what you're interested in on anything like a regular or semi-regular basis are NYC, LA, and the greater Bay Area.
I mentioned it in passing, in my first post. But the OP didn't include classical in his preferred music list. And some people really don't like opera, so I wouldn't point it out unless the poster says they like classical music or opera.
While world music shows in Santa Fe and surrounding areas aren't common, they definitely happen. I saw Tinariwen at the Santa Fe Skylight a couple years ago and it was a great show - an intimate, mellow venue for checking out a terrific band that at the time was headlining world music festivals worldwide as well as showing up places like Coachella. The fact that Santa Fe is a little under the radar and off the beaten path is what lets this happen: bands that sell out amphitheaters elsewhere come to NM and do club shows.
Previous posters have likewise failed to mention Albuquerque's great annual world music festival, Globalquerque, which pulls tons of impressive global music to the National Hispanic Cultural Center for a weekend in September. Globalquerque's main organizer is Neal Copperman, whose AMP Concerts brings world, folk, blues, indie and a lot else to venues in Albuquerque and Santa Fe all year long as well. If any of the acts AMP is booking appeal to you, check out the venues where they're playing; these are likely to put on a lot of other shows you like over the course of the year.
Hmm, what else? Northern New Mexico's other big annual festival has been the Taos Solar Music Festival, but it looks like maybe that's on hold for the time being. A pity if so. But there's also the New Mexico Jazz Festival, which is underway right now in SF and ABQ, and the annual blues festival in the fall in the funky former mining town of Madrid between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Folks have already mentioned the Lensic and Santa Fe Brewing Company, which just remodeled and seems to be getting serious about music again. It might be more avant-garde than your tastes run, but Meow Wolf, the experiential, immersive art experience/fun house that opened this year in southern Santa Fe, includes a built-in venue that is now hosting a lineup of ultra-hip bands and DJs. Decent stuff does occasionally come to the casinos, and in recent years the huge Gathering of Nations pow-wow in Albuquerque has been accompanied by numerous unofficial concerts and side events focused on Native American musicians. During the summers Santa Fe has numerous free concerts in the plaza, with music ranging from salsa to blues to country to hipster bluegrass to traditional northern New Mexican ranchera music. I'm sure there's a lot I'm missing, too.
It's definitely not San Francisco or LA or Chicago: you likely won't get jaded (like I did when I lived in the Bay Area) with the constant stream of great bands coming through day in and day out. But there's a lot out there if you're willing to search for it.
That's pretty encouraging Cactus. I think I'll take a look at the Craigs List SF Musicians page in search of local players and groups. There may be a Blues or Jazz Society in the area also I can network through. Thanks!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
