Tag Archives: lara manzanares

Tiny Census Concerts Promote Census Completion and Offer Work for NM Musicians

  • Joy Harjo
  • Rosalind Sanders Jones
  • Lara Manzanares
  • Larry Mitchell
  • Chris Dracup and Hillary Smith
  • Jackie Zamora

Beginning on Wednesday, April 8, at noon, the first of five weekly Tiny Census Concerts (TCC) on I Count NM’s Facebook page will take place. Sponsored by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Complete Count Committee, the concerts will leverage the influence of New Mexico musicians to encourage citizens to complete the census form and will provide generous remuneration for their services. The first concert’s slate includes Joy Harjo, Rosalind Sanders Jones, Lara Manzanares, Larry Mitchell, Hillary Smith/Chris Dracup, and Jackie Zamora. Artists can apply for future concerts in the series by visiting the TCC website.

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Lara Manzanares Says a Sad Good-Bye in Her New Single

Lara Manzanares. Photo by Reece Martinez.

At the 2018 New Mexico Music Awards, singer/songwriter Lara Manzanares won Best Album for Land Baby and Best Packaging for its CD package design. The Tierra Amarilla native/Corrales resident, who returned to New Mexico a couple of years ago from California, is not resting on her laurels, though. She has a new single, “Dear John,” available on the usual digital outlets on April 10, and she’s working on a clutch of new material. Manzanares is also making connections across the state that will expand her musical experience. Earlier this year, she signed on with Carlos Medina to play guitar and sing backup with his “psychedelic mariachi” band on a March tour through the Southwest. She’ll be featured at Kristina Jacobsen’s Songwriter Showcase at 7:00 p.m. at Winning Coffee on April 9. Looking ahead, she’ll be appearing at the Nuevo Americana Fest, produced by singer/songwriter Chris Arellano, in Costilla on July 6 and at Festival Eclectica in Angel Fire on August 10.

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New Releases from Gato Malo and Wild Humans

  • Gato Malo (Felix Peralta)
  • Wild Humans: Maren Hatch, Ryan Jarvis, Julian Wild, April Lisette

I’ve been writing about New Mexican singer/songwriters going on 15 years now, and I can tell you there’s no end of them in this place, and good ones, too, from all over the musical spectrum. In recent weeks, I’ve made the acquaintance of Lara Manzanares, whose terrific album Land Baby won Best Of at the 2018 NM Music Awards, and the soulful Isaac Aragon, who’s forthcoming single, scheduled for early 2019, is going to open up some ears. Meanwhile, two guys whose work I’ve enjoyed for a while, Gato Malo (aka Felix Peralta) and Julian Wild (aka Julian Singer-Corbin), frontman for Wild Humans, have recently released new work worthy of your ears. The two albums come at you from completely different musical points of the compass, but what they share is deep insight delivered with honest feeling.

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