The Barelas Rail Yards Re-Visited
Above top is the gargantuan Machine Shop at the Barelas Rail Yards, as seen from the Blacksmith Shop. Very few buildings have been renovated, as the groups involved discuss how best to find new, sustainable uses. I love the fiery sunstrikes on the building as it sets just before the OneBeat concert. For the scale of the building, notice the person at the bottom right.
The OneBeat Music Festival , a music diplomacy project that gathered 25 random-but-talented musicians from 17 countries, landed at the MetroABQs Barelas Rail Yards for a one-night show. What a fantastic venue for an impromptu concert! The Rail Yards are being reimagined and (slowly) r enovated, creating wonderful new places to live and play Downtown.
Barelas Rail Yards: The photo above is from in the completed Blacksmith Shop, which has hosted a classical concert and hosts the Rail Yards Farmers Market each Sunday, starting again next Spring. The OneBeat:ABQ at the Rail Yards show, below, had the musicians mingling in the crowd, playing extempore solo pieces, or with a few co-conspirators, while onlookers circled around. Then the OneBeat musicians headed for the stage for a three-hour jam session, mixing instruments like a marimba, drums and a bass, or a flute player accompanying three singers, all from different parts of the world.
The event also featured local artists who created interesting visual and tactile pieces. From 516arts.org: Utilizing painted surfaces, highly crafted objects, knitting looms, natural materials, video and performance, the artists have reflected on their journeys, making often participatory pieces in response. Interwoven with these musical performances (were) art and video installations along these same themes. Visitors were welcomed to interact with a series of art installations across the enormous space.
Directly above is a view of Downtown from the Blacksmith Shopthe Barelas Rail Yards are only 7 blocks from Route 66/Central Ave. Besides the Wheels Museum space and the Blacksmith Shop, few other Rail Yards buildings are safe enough to enter. The Tank Shop, two above, is one of them; constructed of glass, concrete and brick, the shop is on the list to be renovated.