Local bands will get a huge opportunity to show off their musical talents this Friday.
From noon to 7:30 p.m., Albuquerque based bands will perform at the 2016 Local Band Showcase at Civic Plaza, presented by the City of Albuquerque Cultural Services Department in collaboration with Civic Plaza.
Though it will be the second year of the performance, this is the first time it will be an outdoor event. Last year’s showcase was held in the KiMo Theater.
Damian Gaston-Lopez, the director of event services at the Albuquerque Convention Center, said after discussing with the city’s Cultural Services Department on how to get more use out of Civic Plaza, the groups decided it would benefit everyone to move the showcase.
“The concept behind the Local Band Showcase is for bands that want to get more recognition to have an opportunity to play, hopefully in front of an audience,” Lopez-Gaston said. “Also, talent bookers from some of the city’s events will be present.”
He said talent bookers like him are always on the lookout for promising new performers to feature at local events and venues, so this showcase was created to give them an opportunity to check out bands they may not have seen yet.
This year’s showcase will present 15 bands as potential options for talent bookers as well as anyone who is simply looking to discover some new music. The genres featured range from hip-hop to rock, folk and even Celtic music.
One of the bands in the lineup, Treehouse Basement, is comprised of former and current students of UNM. Nathan Hewitt, a sophomore languages major, Tyler De La O, a senior languages major and alumnus Casey Frew will be performing with lead vocalist José Ortiz at 6 p.m. on Friday.
The members of Treehouse Basement, who recently performed at Fight for Fiestas, said they are looking forward to performing in front of a larger audience.
“We’re just going to go up there and have a good time. We don’t really have any expectations when we go on for shows,” Ortiz said.
In addition to the entertainment provided by the bands, Friday’s showcase will also have a bar selling local microbrew and wine as well as food four food trucks: All Smoked Out BBQ, Street Food Sensations, Irrational Pie and Loretta’s Lattes.
The second annual Local Band Showcase will be held on Friday at Civic Plaza from noon to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to all ages.
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Skylar Griego is a culture reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @TDLBooks.
