Valdito, NM – The second annual Music on the Rocks returns to northern New Mexico’s Sipapu Ski and Summer Resort tomorrow with expanded hours and more live entertainment. Entry to this event is free.
The day-long music festival will include eight concerts by local and regional artists while featuring an eclectic blend of music styles, including folk, blues, country, pop and disco-funk-bluegrass.
Taos standout and festival headliner, Last to Know, is a six-piece band blending world rhythms with jam-band passion, while muddying the lines between Americana roots music, disco, funk and bluegrass. LTK has shared the bill with Hot Buttered Rum String Band, The Motet, Buckwheat Zydeco, Culture, The Vince Herman Trio, The Skatalites, and Leftover Salmon.
Last to Know’s concert will begin at 6:00 p.m.
The event kicks off at 10 a.m. when artist booths open and nationally known singer and songwriter Carl Struck takes the stage. Throughout the day, event participants will also enjoy wine tastings by Dixon winery, La Chirapada, and craft beer specials. The resort’s newest outdoor patio restaurant, Paradise Riverside Bar and Grill, will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the restaurant’s full bar and new espresso menu will be available all day.
Located 20 miles southeast of Taos on Highway 518, the festival takes place in Sipapu’s base area, next to the Rio Pueblo, which makes for a nearly perfect setting, said festival director Deborah Lake.
“Music on the Rocks offers an intimate, lush, alpine environment, all while celebrating both local talent and introducing listeners to up and coming artists,” she said. “We love good music, and we are thrilled to continue to offer this family-friendly event for free again this year.”
Sipapu’s slopeside lodging, located steps from the festival stage, is still available, and a few limited campsites are still open. Sipapu is offering free lodging specials to celebrate the resort’s second annual music festival; for more information or to reserve a room, call (575) 587-2240.
Campers will also enjoy cooking over an open flame and roasting marshmallows on a campfire once again. Just today, Carson National Forest reduced fire restrictions to Stage 1 in all districts. This decision completely opens Carson National Forest, including Sipapu’s 20-hole disc golf course, mountain trails, and the over 300 miles of nearby roads and trails used for hiking, off-roading, ATV-ing, fishing and other adventures. Under Stage 1 Fire Restrictions, campfires and charcoal or wood stoves are allowed within developed recreation sites.
Dry conditions throughout the state prompted Forest officials to enter into Stage 3 Fire Restrictions on June 30, which effectively closed Carson National Forest and prohibited all activities on Carson National Forest lands. Sipapu is surrounded by Carson National Forest.
“Like all of our guests and the visitors in this area, Sipapu has been eagerly awaiting today’s news,” said Stacey Glaser, Marketing Director at Sipapu. “In honor of this announcement, we’re offering new promotions to get people out of the summertime heat and back to the cool, crisp air of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.”