“The mighty Cheap Perfume returns to Trinidad Lounge with Team Nonexistent and Super Sonic Sludge Scorpions!

CHEAP PERFUME
https://cheapperfume.bandcamp.com

TEAM NONEXISTENT
https://teamnonexistent.bandcamp.com

and SUPER SONIC SLUDGE SCORPIONS!

Friday, October 20th, 2023
8pm doors, 9pm-ish show start
$10 (cash at the door only) / 21+”

“The one and only Esmé Patterson returns with her fine band to the Trinidad Lounge! Local hero Good Elastics opens!

ESMÉ PATTERSON

https://esmepattersonmusic.bandcamp.com

Gold-selling Esmé Patterson releases her long-awaited 5th full-length album, Notes from Nowhere, early this October; creating a genre-avoidant musical realm that blooms with honesty and magic. Now living in the woods of Tennessee, the Colorado-born singer/songwriter never fails to give her devoted following what they want - something completely new yet somehow familiar.

Esmé emerged from the wreckage of a crowded Colorado folk experiment (Paper Bird) and struck out on her own path in a 2012 solo debut, All Princes, I. Her followup was an AMA-nominated Song of the Year that went Gold in the US and Canada, landed Patterson performances on Letterman and Conan, and brought sold-out shows nationwide. Predictably unpredictable, she deftly ditched the folk/americana tags to offer barbed responses to male-gaze hits in 2015's Woman to Woman, then to death, sex, and feedback in 2016's fanged We Were Wild, from which her performance on NPRs Tiny Desk derived.

Ever provocative, poignant, polymorphic, and prescient (her last album, the apocalypse-themed There Will Come Soft Rains, was released on the first day of Covid19 lockdowns in March 2020), Esmé's latest release, Notes from Nowhere, returns to the (super)natural world, evoking the chill of dead winter, parched forest lightning, midday moons, and the cicada hum of summer swamps. Esmé's intense performances arrest her audience in ears-open shared contemplation. Her music churns and crackles until you find yourself frozen, staring into the fire.

with GOOD ELASTICS

https://goodelastics.bandcamp.com

Wednesday, October 18th, 2023
7pm doors, 8pm-ish show start
$15 / 21+”

“A one of a kind of festival event that combines Western films, pasta dinners and interstate train travel! The Colexico Experience Spaghetti & Westerns Festival is a celebration of Western culture and food that takes place each October in Colexico (where Southern Colorado meets Northern New Mexico).”

All the Details @ Colexico Experience

“Pagosa Fun! is collaborating with Rugby’s Rescue House (rugbysrescue.com) a local dog rescue that focuses on rescuing dogs from surrounding reservations, to host the 3rd Annual Oktoberfest Pagosa in Town Park on Saturday, October 7th.  

Oktoberfest Pagosa is a family-friendly event that will take place from 2-5pm in the athletic field in Town Park on Hermosa Street. There will be live music, food, beer, and a great time! Food such as bratwursts, sauerkraut, and Bavarian pretzels will be available. There will be a bar featuring beer from local and regional breweries as well as a selection of spirits and specialty drinks manned by Rugby’s Rescue House.  Live music will be provided by Denver based band, Austrian Connection, that plays everything from traditional Austrian and German music to the latest popular songs/ Volksmusik from Austria and Germany - Schunkel- Chicken Dance - Polonese.

Bring a blanket, shade, or anything that will make you comfortable. 

Come  celebrate fall in Pagosa Springs!”

“Join us for lunch and learning about A. R. Mitchell.

Cody Kuehl will be speaking, there will be tours of the archives and the 3rd floor.

Lunch will be provided.

Please RSVP”

“Join us for an extraordinary day of running on October 7th, 2023. This year we are hosting our annual 5K, an 8-mile trail run, and our INAUGURAL TRAIL HALF MARATHON.

Each race utilizes the amazing views that surround the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park. All three races offer the unique experience of running over the famed Royal Gorge Bridge, America’s highest suspension bridge. It is truly an exhilarating experience!”

“Boot Gun makes their Trinidad Lounge debut, rocking the entire night long baybayyy.

BOOT GUN

This rock-n-roll outfit from Denver, CO has built a unique sound that serves not only as a backdrop for their zany lives but as a soundtrack to the vibrant ever-growing robust city they live in. Hailing from Denver, the members of the band bring together sounds reminiscent of Heartland Rock, Nitty Gritty Blues, Southern Twang and Driving Alternative Rock.

Friday, October 6th, 2023
7pm doors, 8pm-ish show start
$8 (cash at the door only) / 21+”

“Oh Boy Records artist Kelsey Waldon live and in person w/ our main man Dave Kurian at the Trinidad Lounge!

KELSEY WALDON

On her new album No Regular Dog, singer/songwriter/guitarist Kelsey Waldon shares a gritty and glorious portrait of living in devotion to your deepest dreams: the brutal self-doubt and unending sacrifice, hard-won wisdom and sudden moments of unimaginable transcendence. Revealing her supreme gift for spinning harsh truths into songs that soothe and brighten the soul, the Kentucky-bred artist ultimately makes an unassailable case for boldly following your heart—a sentiment perfectly encapsulated in No Regular Dog’s raw and radiant title track.

“I wrote ‘No Regular Dog’ at a time when I was gone so much and working so hard and starting to wonder if I had the staying power to keep it going,” says Waldon, who now lives in Ashland City, Tennessee. “After putting in my time in the van on the road, after all the blood, sweat, and tears and the crying in parking lots, I’d finally gotten to where I wanted—but it was also a moment when I really started questioning myself. In the end I came around to answer my own question and realize that, yes, I can do this. I won’t be put down so easy. I am no regular dog.”

Waldon’s fourth full-length and the follow-up to 2019’s White Noise/ White Lines—her debut release for John Prine’s Oh Boy Records—No Regular Dog came to life over the course of many charmed and freewheeling sessions at Dave’s Room Studio in Los Angeles, with production from kindred spirit Shooter Jennings (Brandi Carlile, Tanya Tucker). “I’d never recorded an album anywhere but Nashville or back home, and it felt good to get outside my bubble,” Waldon says. “We were able to hunker down and work till late into night, doing what we could to catch lightning in a bottle.”

In a departure from the more guitar-heavy approach of its predecessor (a critically lauded album that landed on NPR Music’s Best of 2019 list), No Regular Dog unfolds in a lush yet understated sound that lets the singular character of Waldon’s songwriting and voice shine through each track. Featuring her longtime band members, Brett Resnick (pedal steel), Alec Newnam (bass), and Nate Felty (drums), along with musicians like famed guitarist/dobro player Doug Pettibone (Lucinda Williams, Keith Richards), the album also illuminates the immense depth of her musicality, mining inspiration from such eclectic sources as mid-century bluegrass, ’60s soul, and ’70s country-rock. “Everything’s in there, all the music I’ve ever known and loved,” says Waldon. “I wanted to show my whole color scheme and create something that’s less of a honky-tonk thing and more like a big, beautiful picture of everything I see in country music.”

After opening on the luminous strings and pedal steel of its title track—in which Waldon self-identifies as a “prisoner of my mental cages, my own worst enemy”—No Regular Dog kicks into a much punchier mood on the brightly rambling “Sweet Little Girl.” “It’s about a girl who’s lost her way and now she’s trying to find it,” says Waldon. “I was inspired by real-life incidents, like all the thoughts that go through your head when you’re dealing with addiction and feeling like you’ve got this rage inside that you don’t know what to do with.” Graced with the lilting fiddle melodies of Jennings’s longtime collaborator Aubrey Richmond, the result is a prime showcase for Waldon’s fiercely honest storytelling (from the chorus: “I’ll be crawlin’ up the walls, just a like a little ol’ house fly/Anything so I can’t feel this hollow inside”). From there, No Regular Dog shifts into the candid introspection of “Tall and Mighty,” a bittersweet meditation on getting by in a world bent on breaking you down. “I’d been having conversations with my peers in this business, especially all my girlfriends who are such amazing songwriters in their own right, talking about this journey and all the smoke and mirrors of trying to live up to your dream,” says Waldon. “There have been times when I’ve tried to prove the wrong thing, but I’m through with that now. I’m not trying to be anybody but myself, and to write songs that show what’s in my heart and on my mind.”

A particularly poignant moment on No Regular Dog, “Season’s Ending” finds Waldon ruminating on the passing of John Prine, who died from Covid-related complications in April 2020. “That was the first song I wrote after John died—like so many people I was in complete shock, I couldn’t write for months,” says Waldon. “There’s been so much loss over the past few years; my partner’s uncle died from Covid the same day as John, and a lot of my friends have seen family members lose their struggles with addiction or depression. We’ve been carrying such a heavy load, so this song is about coping with that and trying to understand that death is a part of life.” One of several tracks featuring the heavenly background vocals of Kyshona Armstrong, Maureen Murphy, and Nickie Conley, “Season’s Ending” matches its soulful harmonies and lonesome guitar work with the kind of loving serenade that gently pierces the heart (e.g., “And ain’t it just like you to bloom and be gone”).

In a creative breakthrough for Waldon, No Regular Dog also features the first unabashedly joyful love song she’s ever written, the quietly powerful “Simple as Love.” “I was at home sitting on my back porch and I started thinking about how I’ve got all these heartbreak songs and drinking songs, but I’m not experiencing any of that anymore,” she says. “I’m at a point where I’m in a healthy relationship with someone who actually cares about me, and I wanted to write a song that expresses what love feels like in its purest form.” Laced with cascading guitar tones that glisten like sunlit honey, “Simple as Love” wholly achieves an ineffable sweetness while spotlighting Waldon’s idiosyncratic brand of poetry (“Like a junkie’s got its itch/It leaves you wantin’ more, wantin’ all of it/Just like a lily in a ditch/It grows where it wants to grow”).

Originally from the tiny rural town of Monkey’s Eyebrow, Waldon has long relied on music as a lifeline. “I’ve always used songwriting as a way to process the world around me and also process my own thoughts and feelings,” she says, naming classic country artists like Loretta Lynn, George Jones, and Merle Haggard among her early influences. “If I didn’t have the ability to put all that down on paper, I think I’d be pretty lost today.” After penning her first song as a small child—“My mom still has lyrics sheets I made when I was about nine, everything laid out in verse and chorus”—Waldon continued sharpening her craft and eventually left home for Nashville, where she further honed her chops by playing local bar gigs. Over the coming years, she put out a series of EPs before making her full-length debut with The Goldmine: a self-released 2014 effort that earned abundant praise from leading outlets like Rolling Stone, who hailed her as “Tammy Wynette on a trip to Whiskeytown.” Arriving in 2016, Waldon’s sophomore album I’ve Got a Way drew even more acclaim and appeared on such coveted year-end roundups as the Top 10 Favorite Albums Of 2016 list from Ken Tucker of NPR’s Fresh Air, with its lead single “All By Myself” featured on NPR’s Top 100 Songs of 2016 list. Several years later, she performed at the Grand Ole Opry with the likes of Sturgill Simpson and John Prine, who invited her to join the Oh Boy Records family while up onstage—making Waldon the label’s first new artist signing in 15 years. Co-produced with Dan Knobler (Allison Russell, Della Mae), White Noise/ White Lines delivered such standouts as “Kentucky, 1988,” which later topped Rolling Stone’s 25 Best Country and Americana Songs of 2019 list.

Looking back on the making of No Regular Dog—an album rooted in rigorous self-reflection—Waldon speaks to her newly clarified sense of purpose as a songwriter and artist. “I hope that these songs are able to live with people and help make the world a little better, because I think that’s a big part of what my job is,” she says. “At the end of the day, I’m so thankful for my passion for music because it’s sustained me throughout my whole life, and now I want it to do the same for other people. And if anyone’s struggling, I hope they can recognize the ‘No Regular Dog’ within themselves, and start to see how much they’re really worth.”

...with support from Trinidad's own DAVE KURIAN!

Sunday, October 1st, 2023
7pm doors, 8pm-ish show start
$15 / 21+”

THE WORLD’S LARGEST PRAIRIE DOG

1972 was a seminal year in American music. It’s the year that Country Rock, later to be called “Americana” music, came to the fore. A few years earlier Bob Dylan, The Byrds & The Band had mixed Country & Rock music, and by 1972 a lot of young musicians from the heartland followed suit. 1972 saw the rise of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The New Grass Revival, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, The Eagles and many others mixing Rock, Bluegrass & Folk music into a heady stew of roots American music.

In this mix was a group of musicians from Wichita, Kansas who called themselves The World’s Largest Prairie Dog. Formed in 1972 by Fred James (gtr/vcl), Greg Smith (gtr/mand/vcl), Rick Howell (dobro/vcl), Bill Hawks (bass/vcl) & Ron Lynam (banjo/vcl), they, along with The New Grass Revival, were among the earliest “Hippie” Bluegrass bands. They were the house band at The Foundry Bar in Wichita (1972-1975) and also played regional road & festival gigs.

Fred left the band in 1973 and moved to Nashville where he played guitar with Townes Van Zandt, Billy Joe Shaver, Dr. Hook, The Amazing Rhythm Aces and many others. Bill relocated to Nashville in 1975 where he played bass with Mickey Clark, John Prine, Leo Kotke & others. Greg, Ron & Rick formed a new band called Potlatch in 1976 and made their way to Colorado Springs, touring regionally through the 1970s. Rick left the band in 1977 and moved to England where he formed the band Blue Movies that toured the UK and recorded one LP. Potlatch recorded an LP (With Everything Without) in 1980.

Fred went on to great success as a songwriter with 5 Grammy nominations to his credit, and Ron joined the band Front Range, one of the most successful Bluegrass bands of the 1990s. Greg, Rick & Bill continued to perform regionally. Fast forward to 2022 when the guys started emailing and reminiscing and decided to do a 50th year reunion show. This will take place at the La Veta Mercantile in La Veta, CO, Saturday Sept 30 at 7PM.

$20 advance tickets; $22 day of show

“The Commons at Space to Create Presents
Tastes of Trinidad Champion Chili Contest
Sponsored by Mutiny Trinidad

Saturday, September 30th from 3-7PM at the Commons at Space to Create, 218 W. Main Street, Trinidad.
3-6PM Attendees taste the chili and judge for People’s Choice ($1.00 per vote goes to the chef)
6-7PM Judges blind tasting & voting, 7PM Winners Announced.

Contest Rules:
Entry Fee: $15.00 per entry. Contestants MUST pre-register to participate.

Registration only available in person at Mutiny Trinidad at 135 East Main Street during regular business hours.

https://www.facebook.com/mutinytrinidad | mutinyonmainstreet@gmail.com

We are requesting that you make 2-3 gallons of chili for the day of the event. The Commons at Space to Create will provide cups, spoons & napkins for tasting. Set-up your table begins at 2PM and must be set up no later than 3PM. Tastings will begin at 3PM and end at 6PM. The People’s Choice Award will be presented as soon as the ballots can be counted and the main judging will take place at 6:30 with winners called and prizes presented at 7PM.

Chili ingredients are limited to meat or meat substitute, no meat is also acceptable, tomatoes, peppers, spices, etc. No Fillers or Beans, please.

Please clearly identify all ingredients for the public to see. Please bring a sign with your name or business name. Feel free to decorate or dress up your table as you like. Electricity available for all tables.

A panel of judges from the Trinidad community will be giving awards in the following categories after the blind tasting:

First Place Chili Champions - $150 Best Red Chili and $150 Best Green Chili (Two Prizes)

Second Place – Prize packages for best Green and Red Chili valued at $100 each (Two Prizes)

Third Place – Prize packages for best Green and Red Chili valued at $50 each (Two Prizes)

All dishes will be judged based on overall flavor, creativity and quality of ingredients.
Great chili should look good, smell good and taste good! Each chili dish is to be judged by the following 6 criteria with a score from 1-5, with 5 being the highest.

Smell, Thickness, Color, Flavor, Heat & Aftertaste

Good luck to all participants!”

“Bid summer adieu and say hello to autumn because at long last, Analogue Books, Records & Bar is hosting its very first outdoor music and arts festival! Pueblopalooza will feature local Colorado musicians, artists, and other vendors, while offering free admission to folks of all ages. The festival is taking over the Solar Roast Block on North Main Street with floating bars, fun events, and lots of art and delicious food and drink on Saturday, September 30th from 12-9pm.

The musical lineup starts at 12pm and features a new act every hour on the hour. Musical acts include some of Analogue’s favorite live performers like Spyderland, The Canary Initiative, Jeremy Kitchen, Tensas, The Handsome Mollies, Two Rivers, Morgan J Cox, The Hardly Nevers, and Jesse McCoy. The bands will perform in the open large garage-style doorway of the Solar Roast Cafe.

The sidewalk will be lined with additional seating, tables, and amazing vendors selling their creations for the duration including artists like Jennifer de Groot, Hannah Evans, Debra Cooper, and Danie Marie Photography.

Additional vendors include The Drip, Pueblo Film Festival, and PAWS for Life. Steel City Cafe Food Truck will be there with delicious BBQ and other treats on the menu. Analogue Bar will be open during the event serving their full menu including specialty cocktails, local and import beer, a variety of wines, as well as mocktails. Solar Roast Cafe will also be offering coffee and basic alcoholic beverages for the event.”

“The Rad Dirt Fest is a gravel cycling event and race in southern Colorado, specifically Las Animas County, starting in the town of Trinidad. It's scenic high desert, high enough to include conifer trees, and offers a relatively fast-rolling course. It's organized by the same folks who put on "Unbound Gravel," formerly known as the Dirty Kanzaa. Note we will not be in the front with the racers, unless you actually want to race against those (absurdly fit, tough, if not bestial) individuals.

In order to participate in this event you must carefully read the following in its entirety, you must read all updates posted in the comments thread, and you must respond promptly to all direct messages from the ride organizer…”

“Have you ever stood at the bottom of a mountain, staring up at the top, thinking to yourself: “I wonder if I could run all the way up there?” Well, now you’re going to find out!

The Mountain Marmot Trail Run is an epic trail race. The course is simple — start at the bottom of the mountain… run to the top. Sounds hard? Yeah, it’s going to take some work. But think how great you will feel when you make it to the top!

One thing is for sure… You won’t find a more beautiful course anywhere around. You’ll be running some of the most amazing single-track trails in Colorado, right as the Fall colors are just starting to change. The views will be stunning. This is a race you will never forget.

And because it’s such an impressive accomplishment, we’ll have a post-race celebration worthy of your effort. Once you cross the finish line, there's great food and beer… all included in your entry fee!

* Registration opens May 15, 2023” — https://www.purgatory.ski/event/mountain-marmot-trail-run/

“Be a part of our very FIRST trail run in the 2nd newest and 2nd largest state park in Colorado, at 19,200 acres. The park is characterized by rugged topography, abundant wildlife, and the park's namesake, Fishers Peak, prominently presiding at 9,633 feet. You will want to be part of the lucky 75 people who will be a part of history.

The Fishers Peak State Park Trail Race, on September 23, 2023, will feature a loop trail, starting at the Goldenrod Trail, going to the end of that trail and connecting to the Upper Lone Cub and then ending on the Lower Lone Cub. This race will be a 12K.

This race is a fundraiser for the Friends of Fishers Peak and Trinidad Lake State Parks. The money raised will go toward a tracked wheelchair so that people with disabilities have the opportunity to enjoy some of our beautiful trails, along with hunting and fishing at both of our state parks.

PLACE: Fishers Peak State Park Trailhead, Trinidad, Colorado 81082 - (via EXIT 11)

Note that race day registration fees are more expensive than pre-registration fees, thus register early and save some bucks.

Packet Pickup - Early packet pickup is from noon to 2:30 pm on Friday, September 22, at the Fishers Peak State Park Trailhead, via Exit 11, Trinidad, Colorado 81082. You can also pick up your packet on race morning starting at 7:00 am at the Fishers Peak State Park Trailhead, via Exit 11, Trinidad, Colorado 81082. Be aware that google maps may take you to Exit 8. You will need to go to Exit 11 and follow the signs to the Fishers Peak Trailhead.

Registration Limits - There will be a limit of 75 people.

SIGN UP TODAY AT https://runsignup.com/Race/CO/Trinidad/TheFishersPeakRun

Race Contact Info - If you have any questions, please contact either Beth O'Neill at jhobsoneill@yahoo.com or Kurt Traskos at kjtraskos@gmail.com”

“Good wine, good music, good friends …. come and celebrate the fall colors in historic downtown Lake City. This event is held every September – the third weekend. Featuring unique artisan and food vendors, seven musical acts, various wines for tasting, and a beer booth sponsored by San Luis Valley Brewing, proceeds from this event support community projects for Lake City DIRT. Enjoy a spectacular weekend of hiking, fly fishing, and this family-friendly Festival. No dogs are allowed in the venue.

Lake City Uncorked Wine & Music Festival is hosted by Lake City DIRT, a 501(c)3 dedicated to historic preservation and economic revitalization. All proceeds benefit the community of Lake City.

View more festival info at lakecityfestival.org”

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Down-on-his-luck private eye Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) gets hired by cartoon producer R.K. Maroon (Alan Tilvern) to investigate an adultery scandal involving Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner), the sultry wife of Maroon's biggest star, Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer). But when Marvin Acme (Stubby Kaye), Jessica's alleged paramour and the owner of Toontown, is found murdered, the villainous Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) vows to catch and destroy Roger.

“Hardball

Conor (Keanu Reeves) is a ticket scalper, gambler and, now, Little League coach for a rag-tag team of kids in one of the toughest part of Chicago. He's no role model, but his buddy Jimmy won't help him pay off his gambling debts unless Conor coaches Jimmy's corporately sponsored team. Surprising even himself, Conor becomes attached to his players -- and to their attractive schoolteacher (Diane Lane) -- and drawn into their tough and sometimes tragic lives.”

“The lovely Slim & Maria de Cessna return to the Trinidad Lounge for a magical night in idyllic Trinidad, CO!

SLIM CESSNA + MARIA DE CESSNA

https://slimcessna.bandcamp.com

Thursday, August 31st, 2023
6pm doors, 7pm-ish show start
$10 (cash at the door only) / 21+”

“Come out and join us for a full moon kayak on Trinidad Lake! We'll kayak and then get back together at the boat ramp for s'mores and refreshments. While the event is free, you will need to have a parks pass! Hope to see you there!”

“Crossroads” explores how rural American communities changed in the 20th century. The exhibition looks at that remarkable societal change and how rural Americans responded. Our goal is to get every school age child in Huerfano County to see this exhibit!

“Happy Gilmore

All Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) has ever wanted is to be a professional hockey player. But he soon discovers he may actually have a talent for playing an entirely different sport: golf. When his grandmother (Frances Bay) learns she is about to lose her home, Happy joins a golf tournament to try and win enough money to buy it for her. With his powerful driving skills and foulmouthed attitude, Happy becomes an unlikely golf hero -- much to the chagrin of the well-mannered golf professionals.”