KTAOS presents a special holiday concert on December 28 at Taos Center for the Arts

Singer-songwriter Max Gomez returns to Taos on Saturday, December 28 for a special holiday concert, which will also feature celebrated musician Michael Hearne and Los Angeles-based breakout Leslie Stevens. The event will be presented by KTAOS at the Taos Center for the Arts.

The concert is a homecoming for Gomez, son of a Portuguese-Spanish father and an Irish-Scottish mother who split his childhood between cosmic country landscape of New Mexico and a heartland farm in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Throughout his high school years, he cut his teeth at the Old Blinking Light in Taos - honing his songwriting chops and developing a unique style that melded all of his influences. “The school I went to was playing at that bar,” Gomez says. Country greats like Mentor Williams and Lynn Anderson frequented the bar and were early fans and supporters of his music. Just a few years later, he sent some of his songs to Shawn Mullins via MySpace, and the two connected and began co-writing almost instantly.

By his early twenties, New West Records released his debut album, Rule the World, the title track of which was selected by Esquire as one of the top 10 “Best New Songs” at the time. 

After touring steadily with the likes of John Hiatt, Patty Griffin, James McMurtry, Shawn Mullins and Buddy Miller, Gomez paired with producer Jim Scott for 2017’s Me & Joe. Me & Joe was praised by outlets like Rolling Stone, who noted that Gomez has an “easy twang that arrives at the halfway point between tender folk balladry of Kris Kristofferson and the pop melodicism of Coldplay’s Chris Martin.” No Depression described him as “a young artist with a knack for crafting instantly memorable melodies that seem like they’ve been floating in the ethos forever.” The soundscape is acoustic and warm, with melodies that flow naturally. Trenchant lyrics express wise-beyond-his-years observations on the ways of the heart, with laconic phrasing in a cafe mocha timbre and guitar skills that can stand alone. Max Gomez is, in short: the whole package.

Joining him will be an artist who needs little introduction: multi-year “Best of Taos” award winner Michael Hearne. The host of the Big Barn Dance Music Festival and writer of classic tunes such as the fan favorites “New Mexico Rain” and “High Road to Taos,” Hearne is critically acclaimed, nationally renowned and locally revered. In the 1980’s, Hearne toured as a member of Michael Martin Murphey’s band, recording on Murphey’s 1982 self-titled album for Liberty Records. Hearne has penned songs for Jerry Jeff Walker and Gary P. Nunn (“Lesson to be Learned from Love”) and his New Mexico anthem, “New Mexico Rain,” was recorded by country music legend Johnny Rodriguez. Michael has also co-written with Mentor Williams, Andy Byrd, Shake Russell, Keith Sykes, and many others. With many miles behind him and countless stages beneath his feet, Michael has amassed a dedicated and ever-expanding fan base. Making a name for himself in his chosen hometown of Taos, Michael’s signature sound on the guitar and beautifully distinctive voice have become an integral part of any two-stepping event in the area. 

Leslie Stevens rounds out the bill. At the center of Stevens’ music is a notoriously heart-catching voice. She can belt it out grandly when she wants to, but the Los Angeles singer also possesses a distinctively honeyed tone that imbues her new album, Sinner, with a radiant charisma that sparks both ebullient love songs and more intimate ballads. Stevens’ voice is so beguiling that she has developed a thriving sideline as an in-demand singer who has recorded and toured with a litany of disparate musicians, including Florence + the Machine, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Father John Misty, Jenny O., Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne, Jonny Fritz, and John Fogerty.  Her bold original songwriting elevates her music from a merely dazzling vocal showcase into an artistically ambitious, poignantly affecting and sometimes startling work. Her first solo album, The Donkey and the Rose, led Los Angeles Times to declare that she is “one of the city’s best” and L.A. Weekly to anoint her as Best Country Singer in 2018. 

The concert will be held at Taos Center for the Arts on Saturday, December 28 at 8 pm. Tickets are available for $30 in advance and $35 day of show via http://www.ktao.com. 

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