Levitt AMP Gallup Music Series (2022)

LINEUP

5/21: Dante Elephante

Formed in 2010, indie rock band from Santa Barbara, California. Ruben Zarate: Guitar/Vox, Kevin Boutin: Guitar/Vox, Tommy Devoy: Drums, Johnny Lopez: Bass, Elijah Blackwell: Keyboards/Synths

5/28: Taylor Ashton

Growing up in Vancouver, BC with his father, Taylor Ashton was always playing with words.  “My dad and his friends loved making up little jokes and verses, and they always encouraged me to write.  I think my dad was surprised that he had made this little person who was now making things of his own, and his encouragement made me believe I was some kind of poetic genius,” laughs Ashton.  

While his childhood poems may have left something to be desired, Ashton’s debut solo album The Romantic, which came out in 2020 on Signature Sounds Recordings, thrilled fans with its satisfyingly clever, yet confessional and intimate songwriting.  Ashton primarily accompanies himself on the banjo, and the production on The Romantic is full and lush, and easily at home in the folk-pop world.  On his new EP Romanticize, however, the Brooklyn based musician presents re-imaginings of  songs from his solo debut, with everything from orchestral inspired string arrangements, to club dance beats and stripped down solo performances, giving us a window into the many avenues of his creativity, and the potential of his songs to transcend the boundaries of genre. 

6/4: Side Pony

Whitney Rose is a Canadian-American country musician from Prince Edward Island, Canada. She has released four studio albums through Cameron House Records and Six Shooter Records. Her self-titled debut album Whitney Rose  was released in 2012 and Heartbreaker of the Year in 2015. South Texas Suite was released in 2017 andRule 62 in October 2017. She was raised by her mother Laurie Rose and her grandparents, Jean (née Dunn) and John P. Rose (1947–2015), in Charlottetown.

6/18: DEF-I

Hailing from Albuquerque, NM and emerging from the underground indy rap circuit, Def-i’s eclectic repertoire has provided him with much success and opportunity; MC, Producer, Artist-Educator – Def-i has been featured on Sway In The Morning, NPR, BBC, Van’s Warped Tour, Democracy Now!, HipHopDX, PBS, & more. 

6/25: Ray Zaragoza

Raye Zaragoza is a galvanizing presence, a self-assured artist making music to fight for, represent, and celebrate those left too long outside the spotlight. Known for tenacious feminist anthems and fearless protest folk, her stage presence teems with determined morale. As a Japanese-American, Mexican, Indigenous woman, Zaragoza spent much of her early life trying to assimilate with the world around her, to meet punishing standards of beauty synonymous with just one color of skin—and not her own. She has come a long way from that youthful pain, proclaiming “I am proud to be a multicultural brown woman with insecurities and a vibrant intersectional identity that I continue to grapple with. I hope young girls of today will know that the It Girl is whatever the hell they want to be.”

7/2: Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble

Curley Taylor and his band, Zydeco Trouble, hail from the heart of Creole country in Louisiana. Born into a musical family, drums were Curley’s first instrument.  Curley began his professional career at age 16 by playing drums in his father’s band, Jude Taylor and the Burning Flames, a band deep in Louisiana Blues, Soul and Zydeco.Curley’s soulful, bluesy vocals and the band’s hard driving zydeco beat blend to create their unique style of zydeco and blues that keeps audiences dancing. It’s always a party when Zydeco Trouble comes to town.

7/9: Lindy Vision

Lindy Vision (Albuquerque, NM) is an indie-rock band comprised of three Black Native sisters: Dorothy (vocals/lyrics/synth), Natasha (guitar/vocals), and Carla (drummer/beat maker/synth). The band who has been described as a “female Devo” with hints of M.I.A., Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Santigold, recently released their newest EP, Adult Children Part 2. If you missed them last year this is your chance to see this amazingly talented and group.

7/16: Mozart Gabriel

Mozart Gabriel arose from the waters of Taos Pueblo & Red Rocks of the Navajo Tohjiilee. From a village of powerful traditional singers, the red willow tribe gave him his name Mozart at Birth. His travels brought him later to Nashville TN where he made a career in music videos for the local independent artists. It soon brought him to Barcelona to craft his sounds, with many musicians and many projects featuring Liam Cloud. Soon after The Vicious Strikes were formed to rock the underground scene!

7/16: Fox Royale

Fox Royale make anthemic, jangly indie-rock that sparkles with the same energy as acts like Cage the Elephant and
Vampire Weekend. Before they were in a rock band, the members of Fox Royale were in a traveling orchestra.The
band was born when high school friends Nathan Hurley, Davis Drake, and Evan Todd along with Nathan’s younger
brother Caleb began jamming in their parents homes. Eventually they started thinking “Hey let’s try a little harder at
this.” The band then began touring extensively for three years, Eventually earning a stage in front of War Road music
management, who gave them their first record deal. Fox Royale has since put out two singles with a third that dropped April 9th.

7/23: DDAT

Having been featured on NPR, Yahoo, MIC.com, SiriusXM, TED Talks and more, D’DAT has been described in the aforementioned terms for good reason. Combining the inspirational and heartfelt lyrics of James Pakootas with the hard- driving instrumental fire of award-winning trumpet player Delbert Anderson, the deep funk of international touring artist and drummer Nicholas Lucero, and the intellectually explorative and expanding groove of Mike McCluhan on bass, D’DAT has carved its own path with high desert-forged influences and world-class musicianship.

7/30: Taylor Scott Band

This performance will be in the Historic El Morro Theater located on Coal Avenue.

Taylor Scott is known for his soulful brand of funk-infused rock n’ roll and gut-punching lyricism, punctuated by his prodigious guitar skills. So it made sense to enlist the production expertise ofSteve Berlin (Los Lobos) to help him realize the vision for his 2019 scorcher of an album,All We Have. After releasing a live EP in 2020 recorded at legendary San Diego venueThe Belly Up, Scott was compelled to get back into the studio to lay down what had transpired musically over the last couple of years. The decision to team up with Berlin again to produce was a no-brainer. Look for new singles as we head toward the new album release this summer.