Society Hall  "where community celebrates!"

Society Hall is thrilled to welcome back regional favorite Tish Hinojosa, celebrating the release of her new CD With a Guitar and a Pen, with a special CD release concert Sunday, January 12th at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $20 and are available at the Green Spot at 711 State Ave in Alamosa, or at the link below. The concert will also stream live on the Society Hall Facebook page and You-Tube channel.

Singer-Songwriter Leticia “Tish” Hinojosa was born on December 6, 1955 in San Antonio, Texas to Mexican immigrant parents. She is the youngest of thirteen siblings. Displaying her lifelong interest in music, Hinojosa began performing at an early age. She has released 16 albums between 1987 and 2024 in English and Spanish in a variety of musical genres such as folk, country, pop and Latino. Hinojosa’s interest in cultural diversity is a recurrent theme in both her work and her personal life, and is expressed not only through her award-winning cross-cultural musical productions but also in her volunteer work with several humanitarian organizations and causes.

Tish left San Antonio in 1979, moving to northern New Mexico where she honed her songwriting and singing skills and worked as back-up singer for country artist, Michael Martin Murphey. She also lived for a period in Nashville, Tennessee. During this time, she worked as a demo singer for Mel Tillis’ publishing company. She eventually settled in Austin, Texas in 1988 where she was welcomed by Austin’s vibrant live music scene.

In 1987 Hinojosa recorded her first self-released album, “Taos To Tennessee”. After her move to Austin, she was signed to A&M Records and released her first internationally acclaimed record “Homeland”. The song “Donde Voy” (Where I Go), earned quadruple platinum status in South Korea. In 1992, she signed with Rounder records, releasing five albums with that label. “Culture Swing” was named Folk Album of The Year by the National Association of Independent Record Distributers (NAIRD). “Cada Niño”, a bilingual (Spanish-English) children’s record won the prestigious “Parent’s Choice Gold Award” in 1996. Other records on this label are “Frontejas” a collection of original and traditional Spanish language songs celebrating the Texas-Mexican border, “Sign of Truth”, and a live record, “The Best of Tish Hinojosa Live”, recorded at one of Austin’s premier listening rooms “The Cactus Café” on The University of Texas campus in 2002.

In between her time at A&M and Rounder Records, Tish recorded with Austin based “Watermelon Records”, releasing her popular Spanish language live record “Aquella Noche” (That Certain Night), and the Christmas themed “Memorabilia Navideña”, re-released later in 2002 as “From Texas For a Christmas Night” on the New West record label.

In 1994, Tish signed with Warner Brothers Records in Nashville and produced two albums alongside acclaimed producer Jim Ed Norman – “Destiny’s Gate” and the bilingual and all Spanish “Dreaming from The Labyrinth”/ “Soñar Del Laberinto”. In addition to an active recording and touring schedule, Hinojosa appeared on multiple television broadcasts including the ABC TV special of the Alma Awards in which she was an honoree and performed duets with Dwight Yoakam and Kenny Loggins. She also made three separate appearances on PBS’s “Austin City Limits”, appeared on Good Morning America, on ONYX TV in Germany, WDR TV Germany, SWR TV Switzerland, and VPRO TV Netherlands.

Hinojosa’s humanitarian works include serving as spokesperson for both The National Latino Children’s Agenda and The National Association of Bilingual Education, and was active with The United Farmworkers of America. Tish also performed at The White House by invitation of President and Mrs. Clinton.

Hinojosa was married to entertainment attorney Craig Barker from 1982 to 1999. Barker managed her career and filled in as bass player in her band. The couple have two children, Adam Craig Barker, born in Nashville in 1984, and Maria Cristina Barker (Nina), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1987. Tish lived in Hamburg, Germany, from 2005-2013. While there, she recorded three albums, “A Heart Wide Open”, “Our Little Planet”, and “After the Fair”, and continued touring throughout Europe and the U.S.

In 2018, Tish recorded an album entitled “West”. In 2019, she was inducted into “The Texas Institute of Letters” – the second singer-songwriter after Willie Nelson to achieve that honor. Tish and her husband, Lynn Nixon, divide their time between Austin, Texas, and Tubac, Arizona. She continues to write, record and tour. She enjoys spending time with her large extended family in San Antonio, with her children, and five grandchildren.

Hinojosa continues to support Humanitarian, Bilingual, and cultural causes, particularly Hispanic cultural causes through her performances and participation in school and cultural outreach programs.

Don't miss the warm and wonderful Tish Hinojosa, returning to Society Hall at 400 Ross Avenue in Alamosa on Sunday January 12th at 7:00 PM. Doors will open at 6:00. Tickets are $20.00 and are available at the link below or in Alamosa at the Green Spot. Society Hall – Where Community Celebrates!

Alexa grew up in a musical family in the horse country of Southern California, where her father collected vintage guitars. She began studying classical voice when she was seven, and she attended the Orange County School of the Arts and Elon University, where she delved into musical theater.

At age 17, however, an entirely different musical spark was ignited when she saw The Wailin’ Jennys open for Nickel Creek, and she took the hard-left turn from musical theater to Americana. She had been on her way to Broadway, but the lure of performing original material was strong.

As she says about her change of focus: “Musical theater’s be-honest-and-tell-the-truth training taught me how to tell other people’s stories as if they were my own. But because they weren’t my own, there was no real passion.” Nowadays, Alexa’s live performances of her original songs signal the advent of a major new voice in folk, with passion to spare – with Taste of Country writing, “Alexa Wildish has been steadily building herself a reputation of being a soulful and deeply emotional artist.”

Before the pandemic changed everything, Alexa had auditioned in 2019 for The Voice, wanting to increase her visibility as a singer. As a songwriter, she was equally ambitious, submitting her work to Planet Bluegrass competitions that resulted in her taking home first place in 2019 at Rocky Mountain Folks Festival. With her unique command of vocals, guitar, and octave mandolin, Alexa traveled to Nashville just before COVID shut down the country to record her self-titled debut EP, released in 2020.

Alexa Wildish’s new EP, After Love, released on September 27, 2024, comes after her celebrated run as a contestant on NBC’s The Voice in 2023. Her appearance on The Voice was a life-changing event for Wildish, who released her self-titled debut EP of original music in early 2020. While her performances on the show were watched by millions of viewers, behind the scenes, Wildish was on a journey of profound self-discovery and vulnerability, one in which she honed her craft as a stellar vocalist and showcased her talent in the art of conveying what is at the heart of a song.

Ingrid Avison is a Colorado based singer-songwriter who believes in music and songwriting as spell-casting. A superb vocalist, Ingrid brings a subtle tremble in her voice that is pure and grounded while lifting into a full throated wail almost effortlessly. Ingrid lives in a world of secrets; as a desert wanderer she discovers them, as a therapist she holds them, and as a writer she confesses them, letting you in on the raw, intimate details of what it means to be truly alive today. Her songs blend catchy melodies, insightful and provocative lyrics and biting social commentary.

It’s telling that Ingrid’s debut recording is a sophisticated mélange of Americana and at times otherworldly cinematic soundscapes that breath life into her compelling stories of desert sojourns, lost love, death and time traveling into other dimensions.

Ingrid’s creative journey coalesced quickly as she has made room in her life for her new found passion. Living in a quiet cabin home in the mountains with her dog, Olive, and cultivating a steadfast dedication to the songwriting muse has been essential. She recently released her debut EP, produced by her neighbor, Steve Szymanski, a co-founder of Planet Bluegrass, who says it felt meant to be. “I actually first met Ingrid walking her dog down our road and invited her over to my studio to record some of her new songs.” A musical bond quickly ensued and is manifest in the music on Ingrid’s debut EP.

High Desert Acoustic Duo is a musical collaboration of cello, fiddle, guitar and vocals from a broad range of traditions as well as original songs. Cellist Mark Dudrow is well known and much admired for his virtuosic playing in many regional ensembles and accompanying many artists, and Justin Dean is an equally accomplished fiddler, and veteran of many musical adventures and projects around his northern New Mexico home.

For more than 20 years Mark and Justin have entertained audiences along the upper Rio Grande. Their unique blend of songwriting and tunes draws inspiration from all points on the musical map and also from the raw rugged beauty of the landscape around them.

The Duo specializes in live performances and the connection that happens in the moment with an audience, so unless you happen to catch a live show at a brewpub, local benefit, farmer’s market or backcountry wedding you are more likely to find them hiking, skiing, harvesting firewood or floating in the backcountry than on YouTube!

They are known for performances that manage to be both tight and polished and yet delightfully improvisational, displaying both of the members' wonderful instrumental skills. As Salida music promoter Clark T. Roberts says, “These guys aren’t serious, but they’re seriously good!”

Chris Arellano and his brother Rodney on bass and vocals are both natives of Costilla, New Mexico, perched right on the Colorado border at the southern end of the San Luis Valley. They both grew up playing in their father’s band around southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. Chris's musical journey has since taken him from the Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles, to major label record deals in Nashville, through performances in New York City to running his own music teaching academy in Oregon.

The Arellanos have a remarkable range of musical influences and expressions, from the Norteno music they grew up playing in their father’s band, to the high desert folk/Americana music Chris learned to love in Red River, New Mexico, while learning to write songs with his friend and mentor Eddy Lee Bullington, well known to area audiences as a member (with Michael Hearne) of the popular South by Southwest band, and also as a member (with Don Richmond) of the regional favorite Hired Hands. Chris and Rodney are able to blend these different musical streams seamlessly, and delightfully, in the music that they call “Nuevo Americana” (also the title of Chris's 2nd CD), creating a true expression of the beauty, richness and diversity of the musical heritage of this area.

If you add in Chris's superb command of multiple stringed instruments and voice, honed by years of experience as a recording artist, studio musician and producer in Nashville, with the amazing sibling harmony he and Rodney so effortlessly create, along with Rodney's rock-solid bass work and you have the ingredients of a remarkable performance, and an amazing musical evening. Chris and Rodney will also be joined at Society Hall by Taos legend Jimmy Stadler on keyboard and guitar

Chris's second CD, released on Alamosa's own Howlin' Dog Records, features several original songs, two of his father's Norteno-styled tunes, as well as songs from his mentor Eddy Lee and Nashville legend and friend Verlon Thompson. The CD has received rave reviews from fans and DJ's alike, and is in heavy rotation on regional radio. Two cuts from Arellano’s previously released self-titled album held #1 positions on New Mexico Radio Charts and Cuentas Que Te Vas and Puno de Tierra were respectively the #6 and #3 most requested songs of the year in 2015. This CD project also received a Los 15 Grandes De Nuevo Mexico Music Award from the New Mexico Latin Music Academy. In 2016 the album received nine seperate nominations for New Mexico Hispano Music Association Awards, including Songwriter of the Year, Artist of the Year, and the Rising Star Award.

Aaron A. Abeyta is a Colorado native, Professor of English and the former Mayor of Antonito, Colorado, his hometown. Abeyta is also the co-founder of The Justice & Heritage Academy.

He is the author of five collections of poetry and one novel. For his book, Colcha, Abeyta received an American Book Award and the Colorado Book Award. His most recent book, Ancestor of Fire is shortlisted for the Reading the West Book Award. In addition, his novel, Rise, Do Not be Afraid, was a finalist for the 2007 Colorado Book Award and El Premio Aztlan. Abeyta was awarded a Colorado Council on the Arts Fellowship for poetry, and he is the former Poet Laureate of Colorado’s Western Slope, as named by the Karen Chamberlain Poetry Festival. Abeyta is also a recipient of a Governor’s Creative Leadership Award for 2017. Abeyta was a finalist for Colorado Poet Laureate, 2019.

Society Hall board member and Alamosa musician and record producer Don Richmond remarked, “We are so excited to host Aaron at Society Hall, and to share his incredibly powerful poetry with our audience. To me, he is the true poet-laureate of our region, and everyone should experience this area we love through his words, eyes and expression.”

Aaron has over 100 publications including 'An Introduction to Poetry, 10th ed.,' Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, & Drama, 8th ed.' ‘Conversations in American Literature: Language, Rhetoric, & Culture’ ‘The Leopold Outlook’ ‘Colorado Central Magazine’ ‘The High Country News’ and numerous other journals.

For more information on Aaron, visit his website at aaronabeytapoet.com.