A (Temporary?) Fond Farewell
My life has changed for the better even if that means taking a Substack break.
Hi friends,
You may have noticed that Check This Out! is finding its way to your inbox less these days.
This isn’t because of laziness or disinterest.
It’s because my life has changed considerably since I launched this baby over three years ago. Things are great but also hectic.
Check This Out! was born out of an early covid-era depression in another city during a real gnarly bout of unemployment. This newsletter got me out of a slump, allowing me to write again about music, the thing I love the most in this world, and it’s introduced me to many great friends, even if we haven’t met beyond our keyboards.
I kept things going reasonably easily when I founded Mama Mañana Records almost two short years ago. But since starting an already amazingly fruitful live music promotion branch of the MMR family last year and offering two to three shows a week, I’ve struggled to keep up with CTO! I’ve tried writing fewer entries, but any great Substacker knows consistency is key, and I can’t offer that right now. I’m done beating myself up for missing another Tuesday or Friday column.
Without enough hours in the day, it’s also made me approach music in a way I don’t enjoy. Listening to new releases with the mindset that I HAVE to find that great new release to share with you while juggling these other professional ventures makes the listening experience not so fun, and I have to change that.
So, for the time being, I’m taking a break from the newsletter and Substack. I’m not deleting it; I genuinely hope to return to it this summer. But for now, I owe my days to the multiple phenomenal artists who have upcoming projects releasing on Mama Mañana Records and to this amazing New Mexico music scene that is kind enough to embrace the bills I enjoy curating while connecting communities excitedly. Without the artists, there is no label or promotional venture, and I should give them the same effort they put into the game.
While I can’t announce the label projects at the moment, here are a few cool things I’m looking forward to.
On March 8th, Mama Mañana Presents is hosting the Santa Fe queen of alt-country, Esther Rose. Safe to Run, her fantastic album from last year, is critically acclaimed, and she has spent much of her time since on the road. I’m ecstatic to have her by for a hometown show with hopefully a few surprises in store. Tickets are available now if you’re around.
The following weekend, it’s time to bring things full circle when Deth Rali visits from Denver for two nights. Since the beginning, those who have been readers might have read my feature on their founder and band leader, Jay Maike. It came along in my first few months of CTO! when everyone still wasn’t leaving the house, Maike was kind enough to be the newsletter’s first interviewee after I came across his debut EP. A lot has changed for both of us, including him now playing with an incredible full band, and I’m happy to host them on March 15 and 16, with two great local openers in Lyra Muse and MMR’s own Gold Tides.
Finally, the whale taking up most of my time and energy is the LOCALS ONLY Festival on April 27th. As I’ve said many times, the New Mexico music scene is severely underrated and is indeed humming again after the pandemic temporarily offed it. What better way to celebrate this than bringing a dream lineup of local bands together on a hopefully warm spring day and putting this winter behind us? I have mentioned all of these bands in the newsletter at some point, and I am thankful that they are all as eager as I am to put on a great party for the community. We’ll also have a load of great local vendors and some of the best food trucks in northern New Mexico.
Anyway, I appreciate your readership over the years. It’s tough to put this down when it’s as popular as ever, but it’s time to rediscover the music magic and work on the irl projects that are calling my name.
While the new label/promotion website is being built, you can follow all of this on Instagram @mamamananarecords. And if you’re ever in Santa Fe, please say ‘hi’!
Until next time - keep digging for those aural gems!
Kiley ✌️
Oh man, I'm bummed you won't be around here, but I am *really* excited that Mama Manana and how the shows are taking off they way they have! Looking forward to your triumphant return later this year. In the meantime, I'll see you on IG!
I'll miss your recs and insights in the newsletter, but sounds like some awesome stuff that you've got going. I'll stay tuned for the Mama Manana releases and the cool NM scene you're promoting. Catch ya on the flip side!