I’m playing a concert in La Veta Saturday night, and I wanted to tell you a little bit of my experience with this little mountain town over the past 36 years. When I first moved to southern Colorado in the Fall of 1985 I was fresh out of college in Nebraska in the past year and had lived in Dallas for 5 months trying to put together a duo with a great guitarist there that didn’t pan out. I took a temporary job selling stereo equipment for a little shop in Pueblo while I tried to get a corporate job in computers. One of my first customers was an elderly couple who were buying a new receiver to replace an old classic Sansui 4000 receiver that I still have to this day. (It had switchable mono/stereo buttons and even reversible stereo channels!) The couple lived in La Veta, and they wanted me to deliver the new receiver and hook it up for them and take away the old Sansui. So I made a trip to La Veta to see them and discover this little gem of a town. I didn’t spend much time there, but it was the first time I had gotten so close to the Spanish Peaks (Huajatolla) that I had driven by many times over the years. I was enchanted, and when my temporary job in stereo ended after the Christmas shopping season and I hadn’t gotten hired on at the corporate job I was seeking I decided to do some live music like I had done in college. One of the places I booked to play was the Cuchara Valley ski resort and the Timbers bar at Cuchara just up the road from La Veta. I began to hear stories up there from the folks of Cuchara and La Veta of the camaraderie and specialness of the place, and I was hooked. I didn’t play in the resort that much before it unfortunately closed, but I knew I wanted to play in the area more. Over the next few years I played up and down the Front Range and into the mountains with a base in Beulah until I settled in Pueblo West at a house job playing at the Pueblo West Inn for 10 years. When that ended I just had to go back up the road to La Veta. There I became re-enchanted by the people and the creative spirit and love that they held for life and the place they lived. Over the past 20 years I have played all over La Veta and Cuchara for the wonderful folks who appreciate life, art, music and genuine living. Some of the folks are from there and some have settled there, but they all share an excitement and an authentic joy that is infectious. I love playing there! That’s where I’ll be this Saturday night at an outdoor concert at the Hoobler’s house. More below.
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What have I been up to?
My senior facilities went very well last week. It is so good to be singing for folks where you know it makes a difference to their lives.
My Tuesday online show was doing the music of John Denver, and it was so rewarding. John’s music meant so much to me as I was learning guitar and trying out my musical wings. We had a great group of friends as always.
Wednesday playing at the Gold Dust Saloon in Pueblo was a lot of fun too. I had so many local friends come out, and it was very sweet. I’ll be doing the Gold Dust on first and third Wednesdays each month for the foreseeable future.
Saturday night I played a Pueblo Arts Alliance fundraiser that was wonderful too. It was outdoors in a beautiful setting along the river with some stellar folks.
My Sunday online show was very nice too. I did a couple more John Denver tunes that I didn’t get to on Tuesday as well as songs from the Everly Brothers and Tom T. Hall who had recently passed.
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What am I up to this week?
My Tuesday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be doing songs by Nanci Griffith. She passed last week at the age of 68, and I followed her music very closely and did a lot of her songs. She was a wonderful Texas songwriter known for songs like “Love at the Five and Dime” and her cover of Kate Wolf’s “Across the Great Divide”. I think it will be a wonderful show and I hope you’ll tune in.
Saturday 7-9 I’ll be playing the La Veta show I mentioned above at Hoobler’s outdoor concert site. Jim and Peggy Hoobler are sweet folks who have been involved in music and history for years around the area, and last year during COVID they began having outdoor socially-distanced concerts on their lawn when all the indoor venues had to close. I have played for Jim and Peggy for many private shows over the years, and I can’t wait to play at their outdoor stage. It’s the only time I’m playing in La Veta this summer, and it should be a blast. Bring a lawn chair and the beverage of your choice to their house at 707 East Virginia Street. It’s $20/person. You can call 719-989-1530 for more info. No reservations required.
My Sunday online show 7-8:30 mountain time will be the favorites and requests that are always so much fun. I love the folks who come out to share each other’s company and my music. Come on out if you can. I’m always learning new tunes and polishing up old ones.
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That’s it for this week. I have a few other fun shows coming up including playing in Westcliffe September 4th, Yellow Pine on September 9th, and a Pink House concert in Colorado Springs on September 12th. I hope a bunch of folks from the Springs area will come out to this concert. You can find more info on that at https://pinkhouseconcerts.com/gt.
Take care,
Tom
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Details this week:
Who: Tom Munch
What: playing and singing an online concert of Nanci Griffith songs
Where: facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts
When: Tuesday, August 24, 7-8:30 pm mountain time
Who: Tom Munch
What: playing an outdoor concert at Hoobler’s in La Veta
Where: 707 East Virginia Street, La Veta
When: Saturday, August 28, 7-9 pm
Details: $20/person, bring lawn chairs, beverages, friends!
Who: Tom Munch
What: playing and singing an online concert of favorites
Where: facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts
When: Sunday, August 29, 7-8:30 pm mountain time