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From the Edge of the Colorado Plateau is a reporting collaboration between KSUT Public Radio and KSJD Community Radio. It seeks to cover underrepresented communities in the Four Corners.The multi-year project will cover Native, Indigenous, Latino/Latina, and other communities across southwest Colorado.

Youth heavy metal concert in Ignacio brings in an all-Indigenous lineup of bands

A band plays on stage outside. They are young and Native American. Two guitarists, a bass player and a vocalist stand near the front of the stage, and a drummer is in the background.
Clark Adomaitis
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KSUT/KSJD
Icy Whisper, a heavy metal band from Flagstaff, AZ, with members from the Navajo Nation and Hopi tribe, perform at the 14th annual REZ-olution concert at the 102nd Annual Southern Ute Tribal Fair.

The 14th annual Native Rez-olution Youth concert took place at the Southern Ute Fair on September 7. Concert-goers in black T-shirts and black leather boots moshed to an all-Indigenous lineup of seven heavy metal and rock bands.

The alcohol-and drug-free event features a unique lineup of bands every year. Robert Ortiz, Graphic Specialist for the Southern Ute Drum, started the concert years ago. Editor's note: Ortiz currently sits on the KSUT Board of Directors and serves as treasurer.

Loren Anthony, a Navajo actor and motivational speaker, plays bass with the band Hell Throne, which traveled from Phoenix, Arizona, to perform at the Rez-olution Youth Concert.

“The scene has still shown nothing but love, nothing but community, nothing but unity,” said Anthony. “This type of event promotes not drinking, where people can come and feel safe and have a place to be. Metal music in general, has always been aggressive and has a lot of true meaning to its words. A lot of the lyrics that a lot of these bands write are music that's about real life, about the struggles.

Heavy metal is more than just music. It gives people an outlet to express frustrations and societal challenges faced by many Indigenous communities. A specific subgenre of heavy metal, called Rez Metal, has even developed recently in Native American Communities.

We come here, and we promote love and peace,” said Ernest Capono, guitarist for Hellthrone. It's weird to hear that from all these metal bands, but there's a lot of people that don't feel like they belong. There's a lot of pain. When people are struggling, they need to feel like they are heard and they belong. When you come to something like this, and you see the moshing, and you see all the pain and the anger, we're allowing the misfits to fit. We're allowing everybody to leave here with a smile.

A rock band plays on stage at night, with the stage under a spotlight and backlights. Three guitarists and a drummer are in the background, and the singer is at the front of the stage, arms extended toward the crowd.
Clark Adomaitis
/
KSUT/KSJD
Lo Cash Ninjas, a ska band with members from the Navajo Nation, play at night at the 14th Annual Rez-olution Youth Concert.

Secret Earth, a band from the San Felipe Pueblo, mixes hip-hop with heavy metal. Lead singer Patrick Velasquez feels right at home performing their experimental music at the tribal fair.

We come from tribal fairs and feast days. Everybody being here is kind of what we're used to, people gathering, and it's really humbling. It's a driving force for us to be around our own kind. Being up there and seeing everybody from different tribes made me want to scream harder,” said Velasquez.

Dylan Eustace, the guitarist for Secret Earth, agrees.

I usually get nervous and stuff. But playing shows and playing out here for my brothers and sisters, I don't feel nervous. I feel good,” said Eustace.

Velasquez and Eustace each have a message to share with youth attendees of the show:

If you want to do something, just do it. It doesn't really matter as long as you're not hurting anybody and you're having a good time. Just make sure that you put everything into it,” said Velasquez.

Don't be afraid to be a little bit out there. Don't be afraid to commit to your art if you think that it sounds good,” Eustace added.

The Rez-olution Youth concert happens every September at the Southern Ute Fair.


This story is part of Voices From the Edge of the Colorado Plateau. Voices is a reporting collaboration between KSUT Public Radio and KSJD Community Radio. It seeks to cover underrepresented communities in the Four Corners. The multi-year project will cover Native, Indigenous, Latino/Latina, and other communities across southwest Colorado.

Explore more Voices stories on the KSUT website.

Clark Adomaitis is a shared radio reporter for KSUT in Ignacio, Colorado, and KSJD in Cortez, Colorado, for the Voices from the Edge of the Colorado Plateau reporting project. He covers stories that focus on underrepresented voices from the Four Corners region, including the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes, the Navajo Nation, Hispanic and LGBTQ+ communities, and more.
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