I would like to thank everyone involved in helping make the Native REZ-olution Youth Concert XIII a success! Firstly I want to thank the bands for traveling here to perform on our rez. Six Million Dead (Gila River, AZ), Project BC (Albuquerque, NM), Tribus (Gallup, NM), Wavelengths (Yah-ta-hey, NM), One Way Sky (Gila River, AZ) and Community Pancake (Durango, CO) and special thanks to Dritty Pope (Flora Park, NY) for being my Co-Emcee.
A HUGE THANK YOU to the Southern Ute Cultural Preservation for putting on the 101st Annual Southern Ute Tribal Fair (SUTF) and including the Youth Concert once again! Your staff is always helpful, and you all are greatly appreciated for all the hard work, although some don’t appreciate how hard it is to put an event of this magnitude together, your hard work does not go unnoticed! Thank you goes out to Durango Party Rental for the stage and hospitality tent, set up and tear down.
I want to thank the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Tribal departments that were responsible for funding and assuring our guests and attendees were safe and taken care of; Legal, Finance and S.U. Police Dept., also the following departments and entities that had a hand in helping with the concert in one-way or another; Forestry, GIS, and The Southern Ute Drum. Thank you to the Sky Ute Fairgrounds and crew for hosting the three-day powwow and all the Tribal Fair events. The SUFG crew are always there to ensure all the event’s needs are met. Tribal Fair Security team for keeping everyone in line and pointing everyone in the right direction, thank you! Thank you to KSUT Tribal Radio 91.3 FM and REZ-olution Radio Hour for the live on-air interviews with the bands and promoting the Youth Concert, as well as representation in the SUTF Parade. A.D. Designs for printing the exclusive concert poster, the posters were a hit!
Thank you to those that contributed to sponsorship, or by donating items for raffles, or preparing food, or even donating time to volunteer in assisting with the Youth Concert: Bertha Box, Andi Hiett-Cook, Ula Gregory, Tabitha Formea, Velma Armijo, Lee Litz, Omar Valdez, Nishoni Johnson, Dazzleen Elkriver, Oolcu Buckskin, Cynthia Buckskin, Blenda Ortiz, Sapphire Ortiz, Alexis Ortiz, Jade Richards, Jodiah Richards, Mataya Rock, Miracle Ortiz, AhKeem Williams, Syre Sanchez, Danielle Burns, Joseph Maez, Brandon Blevins and Arianna Bridges.
Businesses and Organizations that either donated items for the giveaways or set up a booth at the Youth Concert, you are appreciated as well; Main Street Music (Aztec, NM), Jimmy Music Supply (Durango, CO), The Hive (Durango, CO), Integrated Insight Community Care (Durango, CO), SASO (Durango, CO), Native Love (Ignacio, CO), Waci-Ci Trading (Ignacio, CO), Southern Ute Behavioral Health, Johnston Harden, Nishoni Johnson and Devyn Valandra.
As anyone who puts shows or events like this together, knows it takes many hours of preparation, organizing and coordinating with many people to make this happen. From seeing the bands perform prior to booking them, to securing funding, lodging, food, and working with the volunteers to assist in making the event run smoothly.
Every year I learn something new, or what I can improve on. This year I ensured there was a variety in genres, and although some music isn’t for everyone, music is as varied as people’s individual tastes.
If I forgot to include anyone’s name, it was unintentional, as there are so many components to the Youth Concert every year. So many people donated without hesitation, some – once they heard the purpose and focus of the Youth Concert donated items, food, money, etc. You are truly appreciated.
Thank you,
Robert L. Ortiz
Native REZ-olution Youth Concert