Wildlife West Music Festivals

In addition to our other special events, Wildlife West produces an annual music festival! Wildlife West's concert series began as a series of smaller events, and these events have been consolidated into one large, multifaceted event to be held on the first weekend of August every year, bringing you the best of bluegrass, traditional western, world music, and other genres. Wildlife West's covered amphitheater and indoor "bean barn" venues provide shade and shelter, and plenty of seating. Our music festivals include workshops, contests, open jams, and other events, providing entertainment and fun for musicians and visitors alike! All our music festivals allow plenty of time to fully enjoy the zoo and other Park features. Bob Gray of Hot Club of Santa Fe calls Wildlife West "the best outdoor venue for bluegrass in New Mexico," and Syd Masters says Wildlife West is "the best outdoor venue in the State!" Come see for yourself!

Wildlife West is just 20 minutes east of Albuquerque in nearby Edgewood, New Mexico, and parking is always free! Free weekend camping (dry camping) is provided. Children under 12 are admitted free. No alcohol or open fires are permitted at the festivals. Need lodging for your visit to the festival? Check out our list of hotels and motels in nearby Moriarty, New Mexico. To get a feel for the fun you can expect, visit our past performances page.

8th Annual Wildlife West Music Festival - August 6 through 8, 2010

This year's music festival is scheduled for August 6 through 8, 2010. We are currently working to line up performers for next year's event, and will post information as it becomes available. Mark your calendar! Our headliners (below) will be joined by Hot Club of Santa Fe, Atomic Grass, Cheap Shots, The Muddy River String Band, The Martin Family Band, and more! For more information and a schedule of performances, see the event flier. Ticket prices are as follows:

Friday night dance: $10
All day Saturday: $25
Sunday: $15
Saturday and Sunday: $35

Pie Auction 6:15 on Saturday Aug 7th during music festival. Donate a pie or buy a pie for the wildlife.

Schedule and Fiddle & Mandolin Contest Rules

The Claire Lynch Band

We're pleased to announce that our headline acts have signed on for this coming year's festival! This year's event includes the return of Grammy Award nominee Claire Lynch, who was with us for the 2007 Wildlife West Music Festival. Claire Lynch’s sweetly pure voice has always been in high demand. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Ralph Stanley and Emmylou Harris (among others) have called on her to sing on their records, while Lynch’s original songs have been covered by A-list folks in the acoustic world. But it’s Claire Lynch leading her own band that garners the most accolades – including 2 Grammy nominations, countless specialized awards and other nominations - along with reverent standing ovations for her shows at prestigious music festivals and theaters.

Now Lynch is at the top of her game. Making records and music since she was 19, she has long been recognized as a creative force in bluegrass music and at the forefront of women who have expanded the genre. She most recently released Crowd Favorites, a collection of fan-picked songs from her storied career -- but she’s also been working on new songs and new ways to make them. Whatcha Gonna Do, to be released early this fall on Rounder records, takes her in a new direction with innovative and more contemporary-bent acoustic arrangements. And her band is a tight meld of some of the best in the business – Mark Schatz, Matt Wingate and Jason Thomas, all award-winning bluegrass and acoustic stars in their own right.

Pat Donahue

From swing to jazz to bottleneck blues to folk, Grammy-winning acoustic guitarist Pat Donohue plays it all with a flourish of artistry and melodic inspiration. Chet Atkins called Pat one of the greatest finger pickers in the world today; Leo Kottke called his playing “haunting.”

Pat is certainly one of the most listened to finger pickers in the world. As the guitarist for the Guys All-Star Shoe Band of Minnesota Public Radio’s A Prairie Home Companion, Pat gets to show off his savvy licks and distinctive original songs to millions of listeners each week.Besides the weekly radio broadcasts, Pat plays about 30 concerts a year nationwide and teaches at such popular music camps as Augusta Heritage Center and Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp.

Pat’s musical tastes are eclectic. Though he considers himself foremost a folk guitarist, Pat’s influences are rooted in bluesmen Blind Blake, Robert Johnson, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Muddy Waters and Miles Davis. He manages to blend jazz and blues with folk, and the mix is seamless. Over the years he has captivated audiences with his unique original compositions, dazzling instrumentals and humorous song parodies, including Sushi-Yucki and Would You Like to Play the Guitar?

Honors include a 2005 Grammy for his participation on Pink Guitar, a compilation of Henry Mancini tunes on acoustic guitar, several Minnesota Music Awards, and the title of 1983 National Finger Picking Guitar Champion. His original tunes have been recorded by Chet Atkins, Suzy Bogguss and Kenny Rogers. Pat has also been a featured performer at major music festivals including the Newport, Telluride and Philadelphia Folk Festivals. Pat joins a legendary list of notables, as The Martin Guitar Company recently introduced a Custom Signature Edition Series OM-30DB guitar designed to his specifications.

Spring Creek

Spring Creek, the award-winning Colorado bluegrass band, is breaking out into the national scene with a passion that’s winning over fans everywhere they go. These musical road warriors have held tight to the bluegrass tradition, while presenting a youthful, fresh sound. They eat, sleep and drink their craft within a musical community steeped in bluegrass. Never satisfied with the ordinary, these four voraciously search for unique or little-known songs, which they mold and shape through intricate instrumental arrangements and pristine vocal harmonies.

In 2009, Spring Creek joined the ranks of Ralph Stanley, Kenny & Amanda Smith and Steep Canyon Rangers as a Rebel Records recording artist. Spring Creek’s creative original songs and meticulous harmony vocals caught the attention of the nearly 50 year old Charlottesville, Virginia bluegrass label—which has never signed a Colorado-based band. Spring Creek recorded this past winter with famed Nashville songwriter, sideman and producer Jeff White (Vince Gill, Alison Krauss + Union Station) for their spring release, Way Up on a Mountain.

Spring Creek was selected from a field of 121 bands to perform as an official showcase artist at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s 2009 World of Bluegrass convention this fall in Nashville. Spring Creek are the 2007 Telluride and RockyGrass Festival winners, and are the first band to win both titles in the same summer. Their reputation for excellence made them the most in-demand Colorado bluegrass band this past summer, earning them spots at more than 10 regional festivals. In addition, the band’s original crowd favorite “High Up in the Mountains” won the Vox Populi Award for Best Americana Song from the Independent Music Awards.

Following up on 2006’s Rural & Cosmic Bluegrass, Spring Creek released Lonesome Way to Go in 2008 and their third disc, Way Up on a Mountain, on Rebel in May 2009. This 12-track album of kickin’ Colorado bluegrass has charmed fans, critics, DJs and festival producers alike with its expert vocals, instrumental work and impressive writing.

Small Potatoes

SMALL POTATOES is Jacquie Manning and Rich Prezioso. This Chicago-based duo has been touring on the folk circuit since 1993. They’ve traveled a million miles, becoming sought-after regulars at many clubs, coffeehouses and house concerts across the U.S. They have made repeat appearances at major folk festivals, including the Kerrville Folk Festival, the Walnut Valley Folk Festival, and the Philadelphia Folk Fetival. They were one of the “most requested” acts at the Falcon Ridge New Artist Showcase. Jacquie is also a winner of the 1998 Kerville New Folk Songwriting Contest.

They call themselves eclecto-maniacs. They describe their music as “Celtic to Cowboy” and say it has taken them “years of careful indecision” to come up with a mix of music that ranges from country, blues, and swing to Irish, with songwriting that touches on all of those styles and more. Their four recordings, “ALIVE!”, “WALTZ OF THE WALLFLOWERS”, “TIME FLIES”, and “RAW” cover all these styles. They both sing, they both play guitars and an array of other instruments. They even yodel. DIRTY LINEN MAGAZINE called them “one of the most polished, inventive, and entertaining shows on the circuit.” SING OUT MAGAZINE called them “wonderfully eclectic” and said “Small Potatoes might well be leading mainstays on the folk scene for years to come.”

Wildlife West MUSIC festivals