I lived in Pueblo from 1989 to 1991. This was before the Pueblo Songwriters and Musicians Association was formed, but my then-husband played in bluegrass jams just about every week (many of them at our house).
Pueblo was once a major steel town, but when the steel mill closed down, it was looking for a new identity. When I lived there, I met many of the artists in town, who were drawn to Pueblo in part by cheap housing and inexpensive studio space. My daughter did a summer internship at the Sangre d Cristo Arts and Conference Center.
Pueblo has a little over 100,000 people. This music association sounds more active and more cohesive than in many other communities, perhaps because there is less to do in town and more incentive to work together.
The Pueblo Chieftain Online: "From the ashes of the Acoustic Cafe rose the Acoustic Gallery, to this day a mainstay of the PSMA agenda. Started in May 1998 at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center, the Cafe - which spotlights musicians playing unamplified instruments - is held at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month at Zippers.
An amplified cousin to the Acoustic Gallery is the Electric Gallery, which marks its six-year anniversary this month. Like the Cafe, the Electric Gallery also takes place at Zippers, at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month.
Other events that have had a PSMA presence include the Riverfest, the Colorado State Fair and the Chile and Frijoles Festival.
While PSMA members are dedicated to the local music scene and its players, lending a helping hand to the less fortunate through music has always been a paramount goal. To this end, PSMA for six years has staged the Wayside Cross Homeless Benefit, a multi-day event featuring a parade of bands and musicians volunteering their time and talent for the local homeless mission.
Another priority is the Adopt A Music Student program, started in 1999 to provide musical instruments and support to underprivileged schoolchildren. Through the years, the association has donated instruments and funds to music programs at Corwin Middle School, Cesar Chavez Academy, Central High School, Desert Sage Elementary and Beulah School."
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I have great admiration for cities and towns that once thrived, have fallen on hard times and find a new and different energy that keeps them going. It's not always easy, when a city goes from prosperity to the opposite, when there are great economic upheavals or when the ethnic balance shifts from something comfortable to something else less so for many long-time residents. Once of my favorite books is "Gritty Cities," published back in 1978. It celebrates the industry, architecture and neighborhoods of a dozen cities -- all of them in the East but similar in many ways to Puev;p
I have great admiration for cities and towns that once thrived, have fallen on hard times and find a new and different energy that keeps them going. It's not always easy when a city goes from prosperity to the opposite, when there are great economic upheavals or when the ethnic balance shifts from something comfortable to something else less so for many long-time residents. Once of my favorite books is "Gritty Cities," published back in 1978. It celebrates the industry, architecture and neighborhoods of a dozen cities -- all of them in the East but similar in many ways to Pueblo.
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