Ear to the ground

“Oh my god! Downtown Durango is on fire!”

-Occasional visitor reacting to the plume of black train smoke hanging over downtown last Friday

DAM fine music

A Durango cultural icon has undergone a minor facelift. The Durango Society of Cultural and Performing Arts, the group responsible for bringing concerts from Steve Earle, Charlie Musslewhite, BeauSoleil and countless others to Durango, has a new name. Henceforth, the promotion group will be known as DAM, or Durango Acoustic Music.

Chris Aaland, president of DAM, explained that for one, DSCPA just didn’t roll off the tongue.

“The DSCPA Board of Directors simply thought that Durango Society of Cultural and Performing Arts was too wordy and not very representative of who we are,” he said.

Aaland said that the 16-year-old group has always focused on folk and related genres like bluegrass, blues, world music and alt-country, and the new name better reflects that mission. Durango Acoustic Music will leave the “performing arts” to other community organizations. “Other entities in town do a much better job of bringing the entire spectrum of the performing arts to life than we do,” he said. “The Community Concert Hall, Durango Arts Center and Abbey Theatre all produce a much broader spectrum of events.”

In addition to the name change, DAM is in the process of launching a website, revamping its marketing, examining its ticket pricing, and looking into adding additional ticket outlets. Current DSCPA members will automatically become Durango Acoustic Music members, and continue to receive the same benefits.

In terms of benefits, DAM already has a stacked fall line-up for local members and concert-goers. Alt-country singer-songwriters Katy Moffatt and Rosie Flores will perform a DAM show at the Durango Arts Center on Sept. 22. Folksinger Lucy Kaplansky returns to the region with an Oct. 2 show. DAM also will bring the folk-pop of Eddie from Ohio back to Durango on Nov. 13. There’s also early talk of possible shows by Alejandro Escovedo, John Mayall and Eliza Gilkyson.

Mars on the mind

The red planet is coming into rare form this week. For the last month, Earth has been catching up with Mars in an encounter that will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded history. Peak viewing will be on this Sat., Aug. 27.

Next to the moon, Mars will be the brightest object in the night sky. The planet will be easy to spot. Mars will rise in the east at nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30 a.m. Bearing in mind that no one alive today will ever see this again, it might be worth a look.