Southwest Colorado Concerts present ‘Sounds of the Cortez Farmers Market’

Last Nickel, Ranger Rick and the Swamp Things, The Lindells, and Donny Johnson will be sampling some Cortez Farmers Market favorites at the Montezuma-Cortez High School Auditorium in Cortez on Jan. 26.

The performance in the Southwest Colorado Concerts season starts at 2 p.m.

Last Nickel performs “traditional newgrass,” crafted in Dolores. With the drive of bluegrass, the soul of gospel and the lyrical heart of folk, Last Nickel sits the traditional and the contemporary down at the table to arm wrestle, Julie Ayers, publicity volunteer for Southwest Colorado Concerts, said in a press release. The group brings together diverse musical backgrounds, blending traditional musical themes with original twists. Their music paints pictures of the timeless relating of people and places, and the mess and majesty therein. You are just as likely to find the band performing on a local stage as you are to find them searching out inspiration on a river or mountain near you.

Ranger Rick and the Swamp Things is a local group of four musicians using a variety of acoustic instruments to excite the musical passion of anyone who has ever “tapped a toe!” You will surely have a favorite as they cover songs from the movies, the road, the Old West, the islands and the swamps of Louisiana, Ayers said. You may even want to sing along.

As husband-and-wife performing songwriters, Chris and Kim Lindell entwine their “earthy yet ethereal” lead vocals and harmonies over guitarwork and backbeat rhythms. The guitar-bass interplay highlights their intuitive musicianship and long-creative partnership, Ayers said. They taught themselves to write songs on front porches, in kitchens, on ribbon-of-highway road trips, around campfires with friends and walking long miles of trail in old-growth forests, high mountain meadows and stony ridges. They write the kind of songs that bring forth visions of a vast landscape and the lives sustained within it.

Donny Johnson, know as the “singing troubadour,” is a longtime favorite in the Four Corners area. This country singer promises music inspired by stars such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, George Jones and Merle Haggard.

This concert is free for Southwest Colorado Concerts season ticket-holders. For all others, its $10 at the door. Season tickets, which are valid for the four remaining concerts, will also be available for $55 for adults and $10 for youths.

For more information, visit swcoloradoconcerts.org, or contact Julie Ayers on 970-882-1284 or Eric Wilson on 970-739-8508.