Music & Performance Venues
The Filling Station
First-class underground theater (with rental options!). These folks know how to push their envelope. Our beloved troupe Mother Road’s been here pumping the quality since forever.
The Kosmos
A charmed coffee/gallery/performance venue in Downtown’s all-but-forgotten northern industrial area. Tons of bands, punk to electro, have graced the Kosmos stage in the short while since we published our first review in mid-2010.
the Launchpad
Synonymous with live music in the Burqueverse. For over a decade this downtown staple has given us the best local and touring bands, in both all-ages and 21+ denominations.
The Outpost Performance Space
Among the premier mid-size venues in the 505, routinely hosting jazz legends and the odd spoken word event. They also organize the New Mexico Jazz Workshop. Intimate, professional-feeling, with good techs and a fine art gallery to boot (the Inpost, natch).
The Petting Zoo
One of the best avant-garde in-your-face live cabarets around. Anywhere cake-feeding is a regular occurrence is alright by us. Current stomping grounds of Sunday School.
The Sub Culture Underground
The Sub Culture Underground is a production company striving to balance environmental vibes with quality. They promote for fans over numbers, and safe environment for DANCING. Looking for solid ambience, and a dance floor where you can be sure that ass you’re grinding on is 18? These are your people.
The Vortex
For over 30 years, a maverick among black box theaters. They’ve put on some of the best, most intriguingly avant-garde productions the Duke City’s ever witnessed, and reworked well-known classics to suit.
Tricklock Company
Tricklock hosts the Revolutions Theatre Festival, the best thing going in truly unique, experimental theatre with acts from all over the globe. The company itself is now in-house with UNM; catch their original work at Rodey, the X Theater or Aux Dog.
Winning Coffee Co
Through its many iterations over the years, Winning’s has remained the little guy’s alternative to the big and bigger. Not a chain, or a corporate robot, Winning’s is the grungy, delicious little coffee train that could.