Events on Central

Two of the most introverted names in contemporary rap share a bill at El Rey, which is about as well-suited to their specific brand of murky, introspective boom-bap as any...

The 1984 film plays in full on a big screen while a live orchestra performs Elmer Bernstein's score underneath it, which turns out to be a genuinely different experience than watching it at home for the fifteenth time. Popejoy is a proper concert hall with good sightlines and real acoustics, so the music actually lands...

Tablao Flamenco Albuquerque runs a proper tablao format, not a fusion showcase, with dedicated bailaores, a cantaor, and a guitarrista performing traditional flamenco in a purpose-built room at Hotel Albuquerque. Balloon Fiesta week floods the city, so the Old Town corridor gets loud and crowded early, but this room has walls and a start time...

This is a multi-band cover night at Launchpad, kicking off what the name makes clear is at least a two-night run timed to Halloween season. Launchpad's long room rewards the format: you can drift toward the bar when a set isn't for you and move up when one is. Tickets are through Hold My Ticket,...

Two of the most quietly influential voices in left-field hip-hop share a bill, with Surf Gang and skate legend turned rapper Na-Kel Smith opening. El Rey holds around 500 and the floor gets close fast, so arriving early puts you in a better position than the ticket alone does. Tickets are through Hold My Ticket,...

Launchpad's annual Halloween cover band run is exactly what it sounds like: a stretch of October nights where different acts take the stage as someone else entirely, costumes and all. The festival pass structure means you're buying into the whole run, which is the right call if you've done this before, because individual nights tend...

This one leans into local lore: Milton Yarberry was Albuquerque's first city marshal, hanged in 1883, and this magic and storytelling show uses his story as the spine of a one-hour indoor performance. Painted Lady is a small, quirky space, so seats are limited and the intimacy either works for you or it doesn't. Tickets...

Levi Platero, one of the most technically serious blues guitarists working out of New Mexico right now, leads a rotating cast of guests through an SRV birthday tribute at FUSION | 708. This kind of open-guest format lives or dies by who actually shows up on the night, and Platero's reputation tends to attract players...

The Lobo Sports Vault takes over the screening room inside one of Central Avenue's landmark theaters for a full Saturday of college football, with a buffet running through the early...