Albuquerque has an amazing culture of live theater -- from community theater, to experimental theater, to university theater, to professional theater. The Albuquerque Theatre Guild with its 31 member organizations exists to toot the horn of live theater in Albuquerque. 

Just to give you an idea of the theatrical diversity available in our city, here's a random glimpse into a single week in April: "Godspell Junior" by Stephen Schwartz at the N4th Theater; "Bless Me Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya at The Vortex Theater; "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" by Martin McDonagh at The Filling Station; "The Lion in Winter" by James Goldman at Adobe Theater; "The Mandrake" by Niccolo Machiavelli at the Fusion Theatre Company.

And then there's Gamelan! I always think of percussion as half music, half theater. Gamelan is a percussion ensemble with roots in the metallophone orchestras of Southeast Asia. Albuquerque's Gamelan Encantada presents traditional Javanese music plus contemporary and experimental music, with a focus on works by New Mexican composers. And they give classes! 

The music scene in Albuquerque is thrilling. Again, the gamut runs from our extraordinary New Mexico Symphony Orchestra to myriad local and imported ensemble groups that take your head off with raucous rock, get you dancing with our own brand of Salsa, keep you cool with great jazz, excite you with contemporary "classical" music, and night club music at places like Vernon's Hideaway and the Q Bar.