NM fave MAX GOMEZ is hitting the road with HOWE GELB and his friends in SLANT CAN, who will be onstage together all night—trading songs, stories, and traveling down roads unknown. No setlist carved in stone. Just friends and music in the great desert towns that have inspired them for years.

MAX GOMEZ was born and raised in Taos, New Mexico, where he fell under the influence of country and blues singer-songwriters at an early age. After becoming a fixture in the New Mexico music scene, Gomez left home to pursue a broader horizon. His debut album, Rule the World (New West Records), earned critical acclaim and launched a touring career that has taken him coast to coast across the U.S., into Canada, and throughout Western Europe. Last year, Gomez released Memory Mountain, which debuted at #1 on the Alt-Country Radio Chart, further solidifying his reputation for timeless, resonant songwriting. Praised by Rolling Stone and No Depression as an emerging voice in Americana, Memory Mountain affirms that distinction with depth and charm. Over the years, Gomez has shared the stage with the likes of James McMurtry, Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Patty Griffin and Jeff Beck.

HOWE GELB long has been saddled with such ticklish titles such as “godfather of alt-country” (only in the UK) and “elder ambassador of desert rock,” but please never utilize the moniker Americana. Just call it American music; the result of a melting pot of the poor and tired and the huddled masses yearning to be free. In three decades plus, he’s managed to mash elements of erosion rock, de-composition, crunchy & western, something close to blues, punk snark, lo-fi hi-fi, pseudo jazz, gospel a-choir-ing, semi-standard piano standards and a side swipe of Andalusian gypsy flamenco. If musical classification were likened to masonry, then one can prepose that Howe Gelb’s stone work is but the mortar in between all categorical bricks. Howe has a catalogue of over 60 albums with his various incarnations, including GIANT SAND. He’s produced albums for John Doe and K.T. Tunstall. He was instrumental helping M. Ward and Grandaddy get their first albums out, and his ’90s rhythm section from California became Calexico after turning them on to his hometown of Tucson. His most recent release at the end of 2025 was in a collaborative band known as THE GECKØS : featuring himself along with M. Ward and the music of Ireland’s Mark McKowski.

$29 advance / $35 door / 7pm doors / 7:30 show

This concert, a collaboration with Occasional Music, is part of the Common Ground Gathering— sponsored in part by New Mexico Spirit. Special thanks to KUNM.