Mary & Mars

Presented by Nusenda Credit Union

Join your Santa Fe neighbors on the Railyard Plaza beside the landmark Water Tower for great FREE concerts all summer long.

• Feel free to bring chairs to the concert.
• Food and drink are available inside Second Street Brewery and Violet Crown Cinema, plus food trucks will be available. 
• Bring your water bottle—we will have filling stations.
• Come down early to get a spot on the Second Street Brewery patio to enjoy a a cold beer with the music!
• Violet Crown has patio drink & dining options too.
• Ample parking is available in the underground garage just north of REI.
• Download a map (JPG) showing all of the Railyard parking and transportation options.

Register for the event and we'll also send you updates if there are any schedule changes as well as info on future free programs and events around Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

Mary & Mars staged a modern Bluegrass revolution in the unlikely town of Santa Fe. In the early 2000s, the hard-driving trio toured throughout the Western States and played festivals around the nation for just a couple years before heading in separate creative directions. In their short tenure, they shared the stage with such heavy hitters as Leftover Salmon, Railroad Earth and Yonder Mountain String Band. After Mary & Mars, mandolinist Sharon Gilchrist toured and recorded with bluegrass legends Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, all-star band Uncle Earl, and continues to teach and play with countless other bluegrass legends. Guitarist Ben Wright (D Numbers, Meow Wolf) and Josh Martin (bass) went on to form Grateful Dead tribute band Detroit Lightning and both have been ubiquitous in the Santa Fe music scene for two decades. The Mary & Mars song "One Less Fiesta" continues to receive local airplay and many New Mexico fans fondly remember the band's wild Friday night residency at The Cowgirl.

As well as being one of Santa Fe's most beloved songwriters, Joe West is also a local impresario, producing theatrical events around his hometown of Santa Fe and throughout the state of New Mexico. But it is his music that has found a greater audience around the globe.Quirky, offbeat and melodic, his award-winning "theatrical folk music" is a singular mix of country and rock, which he has been recording and releasing on cassettes, CDs and vinyl records since the mid-eighties. He has toured extensively throughout the States and Europe, opening and sharing the stage with the likes of Peter Rowan, The Violent Femmes, Arlo & Sara Lee Guthrie, Mojo Nixon, and James McMurtry. Over the last few years Joe has created a rock opera, produced music for film and television, originated a conceptual radio show, created a film festival, and founded a theater company that performs his dark horror-comedies with original live music.