Sandia Stage (Facebook)

The Albuquerque Chinese Folk-Dance Ensemble is a local dance team devoted to Chinese ethnic, folk, and classical dances. The dance team formally established in 2017; however, most dancers in the team had started annual performances since 2001. Their mission is to convey the essence of Chinese culture and history through dance. China has 56 officially recognized ethnic groups, and each group have their own folk dances that reflect their culture and way of life. The dances feature hundreds of unique variations and distinguished styles and the dancers have to have “adaptable and flexible” bodies to switch from one dance to the next. Each dancer performs on stage with their entire heart and soul. In their dances, they use the powerful language of their bodies to express their proud roots and tell amazing stories.

Margot Leverett is a living master of klezmer, an infectiously joyous and heart-breakingly poignant musical tradition she inherited from the generation of clarinetists who brought the tradition to America.

Accompanied by Jordan Wax (accordion, Yiddish vocals) and Charlotte Overby (upright bass), Margot Leverett & Duke City Hora will play a selection of the diverse styles, rhythms, and Yiddish songs that make up the rich klezmer heritage, as well as share cultural context and stories about the vibrant culture alive in the melodies.

Cali Shaw Band brings together some of Albuquerque's favorite musicians and always delivers a dynamic, fun and enjoyable musical experience for music lovers of all ages. Listeners are treated to a fun upbeat dance band that incorporates guitar, banjo, marimbas, steel slide guitar and more. Cali Shaw Band is a favorite throughout their home state of New Mexico, and consistently seeks to push the Americana-Folk-Rock envelope beyond its traditional realms.

Bayou Seco, featuring Ken Keppeler and Jeanie McLerie, has been entertaining New Mexico and many parts of the world since 1980. Recipients of the 2017 NM Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, Keppeler and McLerie have learned from a number of revered traditional musicians in New Mexico, Louisiana and Arizona (thus, Bayou Seco).

Bayou Seco's brand of Southwestern Chilegumbo - Cajun two-steps, waltzes, polkas and rancheras, chotis's, meringues and huapangos, and, perhaps a broom dance, is cross- cultural, multi-lingual and transcends labels and pigeon holes. Bayou Seco's roots are in the south and southwest, but their branches reach far across the world.

One of the brightest young talents to emerge in Cajun, Creole and Zydeco (Louisiana French) music over the last decade, Cedric Watson is a four-time Grammy-nominated fiddler, singer, accordionist & songwriter with seemingly unlimited potential. Originally from San Felipe, TX (population 868), Cedric made his first appearance at the age of 19 at the Zydeco Jam at The Big Easy in Houston, TX. Just two years later, he moved to south Louisiana, quickly immersing himself in French music and language. Over the next several years, Cedric performed French music in 17 countries and on 7 full- length albums with various groups, including the Pine Leaf Boys, Corey Ledet, Les Amis Creole with Ed Poullard and J.B. Adams, and with his own group, Bijou Creole. With an apparently bottomless repertoire of songs at his fingertips, Cedric plays everything from forgotten Creole melodies and obscure Dennis McGee reels to more modern Cajun and Zydeco songs, even occasionally throwing in a bluegrass fiddle tune or an old string band number. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he is also a prolific songwriter, writing almost all of his songs on his double row Hohner accordion. Cedric’s songs channel his diverse ancestry (African, French, Native American and Spanish) to create his own brand of sounds.

Born in a distillery in Durango, CO, Stillhouse Junkies play a delirious, head-spinning mixture of original roots, blues, funk, swing, and bluegrass music. With all three band members sharing lead vocal and songwriting duties, the Junkies conjure a wide range of tonal landscapes that pay tribute to the iconic sounds of Gillian Welch, the Allman Brothers, Tim O'Brien, the Wood Brothers, John Hiatt, and countless others while breaking new musical ground with their genre-bending original material. Stillhouse Junkies are proud to be two-time Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Contest finalists.

The Kipsies, a modern Americana-Folk band from Albuquerque, New Mexico, are a multiple award - winning acoustic quintet. The Kipsies feature some traditional bluegrass and old-time instrumentation, but with a progressive and modern sound that is sure to bring you to your feet. The unique mixture of folk, rock, jazz, classical, and bluegrass make The Kipsies a complex, unique, and inspiring band.

Oscar Butler is a singer-songwriter whose songs are light, fun, witty observations of how peculiar life can be. His very clean finger-style guitar playing is always a pleasure to watch and hear. His love of performing and his passion for songwriting come across in his smooth vocals and acoustic blues guitar.

He can often be found sharing songwriting motivational tips with fellow musicians. Oscar has the ability to warmly draw his audience in and leave them smiling and feeling good.

Baracutanga is a seven-piece band representing four different countries (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, USA) that prides itself on arranging traditional South American rhythms in new and interesting ways, such as huayño and cumbia with Middle-Eastern darbuka or mixing Afro-Cuban bata and Afro-Peruvian festejo with Andean zampoñas, among several other rhythmic combinations. This kind of experimentation, coupled with blending ancestral traditions with a modern sensibility, has resulted in an exciting and distinct Latin flavor all its own that leaves dancing crowds always wanting more.

Lyrically and musically, Baracutanga proposes to build bridges between the south and the north, overcoming the barriers of discrimination. Aside from their affinity and respect for native rhythms from the lands of their ancestors, the group finds common ground in creating songs those cross-linguistic and cultural barriers, promoting intercultural experiences that empower Latinos with a positive message of self-affirmation. They fervently oppose all types of violence and conceive their music as a vessel to increase and acknowledge cultural pluralism.

Baragutanga‘s live shows are joyous, intense and explosive with fronting duties split between powerful Peruvian songstress Jackie Zamora and the band’s exuberant beating heart, Bolivian multi-instrumentalist Kilko Paz (son of famed Bolivian activist Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui). Added magic comes from extraordinary Ecuadorian multi- instrumentalist Carlos Noboa. The group is rounded out by an extremely talented and inventive cast performing on guitars, horns, flutes, accordions, vibes, an array of percussion and all manner of string instruments and is often joined on stage by Afro-Peruvian and Latin dancers.

3hattrio’s home base is Virgin, Utah at the doorstep of Zion National Park. The Trio has been together six years and has four CD’s to their credit. They toured Europe for the fourth time in 2019. Previously they have performed at major festivals including the Gothenburg Sweden Culture Festival, Tønder Festival in Denmark and Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland and the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. The group includes Hal Cannon, who sings, and plays banjo and guitar. He is also a scholar of cowboy music and poetry and is Founding Director of the Western Folklife Center. Greg Istock plays acoustic bass and foot percussion. He has a Caribbean music background and is also a visual artist. Eli Wrankle is classically trained violinist who studies at Southern Utah University and comes from a family of artists. 3hattrio takes pride in originality both in their music and style. They call their music American Desert Music. Musicians often identify with things larger than themselves such as place, like the Delta blues or Appalachian mountain music. And though 3hattrio has great respect for what is called western music, they believe the vastness of the American West deserves many interpretations of its glorious traditions and desert landscape.

3hattrio’s home base is Virgin, Utah at the doorstep of Zion National Park. The Trio has been together six years and has four CD’s to their credit. They toured Europe for the fourth time in 2019. Previously they have performed at major festivals including the Gothenburg Sweden Culture Festival, Tønder Festival in Denmark and Celtic Connections in Glasgow, Scotland and the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. The group includes Hal Cannon, who sings, and plays banjo and guitar. He is also a scholar of cowboy music and poetry and is Founding Director of the Western Folklife Center. Greg Istock plays acoustic bass and foot percussion. He has a Caribbean music background and is also a visual artist. Eli Wrankle is classically trained violinist who studies at Southern Utah University and comes from a family of artists. 3hattrio takes pride in originality both in their music and style. They call their music American Desert Music. Musicians often identify with things larger than themselves such as place, like the Delta blues or Appalachian mountain music. And though 3hattrio has great respect for what is called western music, they believe the vastness of the American West deserves many interpretations of its glorious traditions and desert landscape.

One of the brightest young talents to emerge in Cajun, Creole and Zydeco (Louisiana French) music over the last decade, Cedric Watson is a four-time Grammy-nominated fiddler, singer, accordionist & songwriter with seemingly unlimited potential. Originally from San Felipe, TX (population 868), Cedric made his first appearance at the age of 19 at the Zydeco Jam at The Big Easy in Houston, TX. Just two years later, he moved to south Louisiana, quickly immersing himself in French music and language. Over the next several years, Cedric performed French music in 17 countries and on 7 full- length albums with various groups, including the Pine Leaf Boys, Corey Ledet, Les Amis Creole with Ed Poullard and J.B. Adams, and with his own group, Bijou Creole. With an apparently bottomless repertoire of songs at his fingertips, Cedric plays everything from forgotten Creole melodies and obscure Dennis McGee reels to more modern Cajun and Zydeco songs, even occasionally throwing in a bluegrass fiddle tune or an old string band number. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he is also a prolific songwriter, writing almost all of his songs on his double row Hohner accordion. Cedric’s songs channel his diverse ancestry (African, French, Native American and Spanish) to create his own brand of sounds.

Born in a distillery in Durango, CO, Stillhouse Junkies play a delirious, head-spinning mixture of original roots, blues, funk, swing, and bluegrass music. With all three band members sharing lead vocal and songwriting duties, the Junkies conjure a wide range of tonal landscapes that pay tribute to the iconic sounds of Gillian Welch, the Allman Brothers, Tim O'Brien, the Wood Brothers, John Hiatt, and countless others while breaking new musical ground with their genre-bending original material. Stillhouse Junkies are proud to be two-time Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Contest finalists.

When music fans remember ‘60s folk music, they remember the iconic songs of The Limeliters. After six decades and 25+ albums – including three top 10 – the trio still brings American folk classics into the modern age, with high energy, thrilling three-part harmonies and zany humor. Three award-winning singer-songwriters Andy Corwin & Steve Brooks (both of Austin, TX) and Daniel Boling (of Albuquerque, NM) carry on the signature vocal sound of founders Lou Gottlieb, Alex Hassilev and Glenn Yarbrough. Their concert programs transport baby boomers of all ages into a musical time machine, as they mix historical songs like “There’s a Meetin’ Here Tonight,” “John Henry” and “Wabash Cannonball” with ‘60s standards like “If I Had a Hammer” and “Those Were the Days.” They include “Take My True Love by the Hand,” which racked up more than 1 million YouTube views after appearing in Albuquerque's own TV hit “Breaking Bad.” Today’s Limes tour coast-to-coast and share many concerts with The Brothers Four and The Kingston Trio. As Time Magazine puts it, “If the Kingston Trio are the undergraduates of big-time folk singing, the Limeliters are the faculty.”