Live Music in Santa Fe - April Events at Meow Wolf (with Playlist!)

SANTA FE — Music and parties are an important piece of our culture at Meow Wolf, so we thought it would be a good idea to highlight some of the bands and DJs playing at Fancy Town, our concert venue inside the exhibition.

These are a few (but by no means all!) of the people we’re jazzed about this month. Nightlife events at Meow Wolf happen all month long and you can learn more about them on our events page.

‍The upgrades we recently finished for House of Eternal Return touched our music venue too, according to Max, who books much of the live music that comes through the concert space. The Meow Wolf crew has improved the music venue by “flying” the speakers above the stage, making it easier for people to see the performers from any spot in Fancy Town.

The venue is also outfitted with new lights that allow us to make even greater use of our projection mapping system, turning the show into something that’s every bit as visually engaging and immersive as the rest of the exhibition.

“Our emphasis is the experience,” Max said of the venue. “It’s not a consumer experience, it’s the showgoing experience. You’re not buying something, you’re experiencing something.”

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Guests to the live music venue can expect to see other guests dancing inside of adjacent art installations or lining the upper level of Fancy Town as they look out from terraces and windows. The shows sometimes utilize more space than that, as was the case recently when Denver’s 40-person band Itchy-O started their set underneath the sculptures in the parking lot and marched into the venue, where they spilled off the stage and mingled with the crowd for their entire two hour set.

“We’re not corralling people or treating them suspiciously,” Max said. “We trust them first. We try to be decent to humans so they can enjoy their limited time here in the venue.”

So thanks, Santa Fe nightlife humans, for helping us make that happen. Without further ado, here are some of the events rolling through Meow Wolf for the month of April. Click on the headlines or the event images for ticket info. As a bonus, we've uploaded a playlist to YouTube to give you a taste of what's in store for Santa Fe this April. Concert details following the playlist.

Event and Concert Venue Details

Dance Monster feat. Neon Indian ~ April 8

Back when Meow Wolf was an itty bitty baby pup the collective hosted dance parties against a neon black-lit backdrop inside Santa Fe’s VFW. They then moved to Molly’s bar under the name “Dance Monster.”

Now that we have a larger space of our own, the dance parties have returned and grown to Godzilla-like proportions. We’ve since hosted the likes of DJ Tennis, Derek Plaslaiko, Nicolas Jaar and many more. Speaking personally as a Santa Fe tech-head who previously had to drive for hours to see acts of this scale, I'm thrilled.

Dance Monster is looking for more victims this month with a DJ set by Neon Indian, the nom de guerre of Brooklyn-based artist Alan Palomo. Palomo is known for his dreamlike synth pop productions, but he also has been touring for years as a professional DJ. He’s supported at our music venue by Santa Fe’s own Spoolius Mélange (Spencer Toll and Christian Sommer) and producer Reighnbeau (Bryce Hample), who is coming to us from Albuquerque. It’s shaping up to be a great dance party.

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Chicano Batman ~ April 11

For a more soulful experience, you may want to check out the four-piece LA outfit Chicano Batman. Retro and drawing on a range of influences including jazz, reggae and Latin music, Chicano Batman also has a warm, fantastically-textured organ humming under many of their tracks. They are supported by SadGirl, a three piece band whose reverb and snakey guitars sound right at home in the desert, and The Shacks, a rock band that features Shannon Wise’s soft, dreamy voice.

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The Four Horsemen Tour with B. Dolan, DJ Abilities, Cas One vs. Figure ~ April 20

B. Dolan is a street fighting hip hop artist whose tracks target everything from police brutality to homophobia to government-backed drug running. His verse on "Film the Police," a rework of N.W.A.’s classic "Fuck the Police," is especially choice. Also on the stage is DJ Abilities, an alt hip hop producer signed with Rhymesayers, and Cas One vs. Figure, an aggressive duo who combine indie hip hop with electronic music you may hear on a dance floor during the apocalypse (which is any day now).

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Whitney ~ April 25

Whitney is a Chicago-based indie rock band who define themselves by their melancholic, pining atmosphere. They list Townes Van Zandt, Jim Ford, The Band and even Pavement among their influences. They credit their sound to their analog-only recording sessions. Sometimes the best way to be creative is to impose limitations on yourself. They are supported by LA’s Golden Daze. Members Ben Schwab and Jacob Loeb have a full-length debut on the way through Autumn Tone Records.

As I said earlier, we have plenty of other events to see at our Santa Fe music venue this April. Click here for listings of everyone who is coming through our concert space in the immediate future. I'll be back in a month with a new collection of events and a brand new playlist for May. — Billiam