by Cielo Rodriguez on
FOR DIEGO LUCERO, deputy director of the City of Albuquerque’s Department of Arts & Culture, this year’s Route 66 Summerfest will feel like walking through the evolution of the Mother Road. With four stages of live music, the lineup of acts will span every musical era over the past century, ranging from early jazz and 1960s rockabilly to 1980s yacht-rock headliners the Docksiders. “Summerfest is a community celebration,” he says. We talked with Lucero for a preview of the July 18 event that’s jam-packed with classic music and even more classic rides.
New Mexico Magazine: What have you added to make this year’s Albuquerque Summerfest special for the centennial of Route 66?
Diego Lucero: Although it’s an annual celebration for locals with live music, for the centennial year, we've stepped it up a bit and are really focusing on the significance of New Mexico’s car culture. Car culture for us, and especially on Route 66, is everything. We’ll be doing 100 cars for 100 years, with a mixture of all types—from lowriders to classic cars and motorcycles. It will be like walking through different musical eras.
NMM: Why was it important to represent music from multiple genres and eras?
DL: Music is one of those things, like cars, that’s always been tied to the Route 66 experience. The program was carefully curated to move through the decades. With four different stages across Central Avenue, you can get a little bit of everything. You can hear jazz from the 1920s on one stage, to the ’40s and ’50s, and then lots of yacht-rock funk from our headliner, the Docksiders.
NMM: How does this celebration help the community connect with the Route 66 centennial.
DL: I feel like the whole festival mirrors the evolution of Route 66 itself. This year is truly a once-in-a-generational time. Because Albuquerque has one of the most iconic and longest urban stretches of the Mother Road, it means a lot. It’s really a capstone celebration for the community in the summer, especially this year. For us, seeing the community come together out on Central is truly special year after year. There's something noteworthy about closing the streets and creating a public gathering space filled with cars, art, food, music, and families.