The 39th Annual New Mexico Music Awards was held on Sunday, May 17th in Albuquerque at Sandia Resort and Casino in Albuquerque with nearly 400 people in attendance. Attendees and guests were treated to dinner followed by performances from Emmy nominee Jim Oliver from Santa Fe, Taos Blues guitarist Jess Wayne, alternative Americana artists Lamby, Native American artists Indigie Femme featuring G Precious and Kateri Keevama and rounding out the program, R&B music from Peralta’s Isaac Aragon and the Healing
Over 40 awards were presented in categories that ranged from Best Adult Contemporary/Adult Pop music to Best Album of the Year.
Also presented were the Eric Larson Lifetime Achievement Award to longtime western music artists The Curio Cowboys.
Performing in New Mexico and the beyond for over 35 years, The Curio Cowboys’ journey began as just a bit of fun, but then became something more important, the preservation of western swing music.
Performing on vintage instruments rounds out the authentic vibe of the band’s sound as the premier western swing preservationist band in the southwest. Their latest album is entitled Oklahoma Waltz-the songs of Johnny Bond.
Photography by John Carr
Daniel Boling took home honors for Best Album of the Year for his album IT MATTERS, a project that featured iconic folk songwriter and artist Tom Paxton. The album was recorded at The Kitchen Sink in Santa Fe and produced by Daniel Boling and Jono Manson
The Norman Petty Producer’s Award went to Danny Rubin and Jono Manson for their album Likable produced by the duo and recorded at The Kitchen Sink in Santa Fe.
Other winners include Alan J Coleman for best Country Album for Cupid’s Alley, recorded at InCrowd Productions in Albuquerque and produced by Ron Crowder, Terry Burns, John Funkhouser, Arnaldo Acosta for their Artrio-two, the follow up to their first award winning effort. The album was produced by Burns and Funkhouser and recorded at ABQ Post.
Best Pop Album honors went to Memoryy for her album Exit Interview produced by Shaun Hettinger at Neon Moon Studios in Albuquerque. Shaun was a 2017 Pop Album winner and was an early recipient of the Eric Larson Endowment. Shaun has gone on to produce music for film and television and has done work for Netflix, Amazon and Lionsgate and has worked on projects like Star Wars. Shaun is a true New Mexico Success story.
Best Rock album was awarded to The free Range Buddas for their self-produced album Hatched, recorded at Engine70 Studios in Santa Fe.
Other winners included Jim Oliver, Roswell’s JD Cox, Linda Castañeda from Edgewood, Silver City’s Stefan Schyga, and Doug Figgs recording in Alamagodo.
A complete list of winners follows.
2026 New Mexico Music Award Winners
Finalists are listed as follows unless otherwise indicated:
Artist
Title
Producer(s)
Studio/City
Adult Contemporary/Adult Pop
Teri Lynn Browning
I Surrender
Andrew Primm, Teri Lynn Browning
Northern New Studio
Santa Fe
Ambient
Jim Oliver
Aurora
Jim Oliver
Oliver Music Studio
Santa Fe
Americana
Rich Rajacich
While the Getting Is Good
Jono Manson
The Kitchen Sink Studio
Santa Fe
Bluegrass
LAMBY
Jesus in the Holler
Brian Nelson
Queen Bee Music Association
Santa Fe
Blues
Tiho Dimitrov
Irresistible
Tiho Dimitrov & Jono Manson
The Kitchen Sink Studio
Santa Fe
Country
John Douglas Cox
I’m Out Gettin’ Hammered While She’s Out Gettin’ Nailed
John D Cox
Bear Trax Studio
Roswell
Electronica
DKW Project
Tonight I’m Your Ride or Die
Dare N Wade
Pebble Beach Studio
Albuquerque
Folk
Dr. Hall
Down From the Mountain
Howard M Hall
Smoky Mountain Music Creations
Santa Fe
Hip Hop
Qwst
Be Better (feat. Gilly Soul & PAAKMAN)
Dom Major
Music Made Entertainment
Albuquerque
Indie Rock
Drastic Andrew
Outta This World
Matthiew McClinton
FrogVille Studios
Santa Fe
Jazz
Chris Jonas
Windy Josh
Chris Jonas
Roving Bovine Studio
Santa Fe
Latin
Josué Urrutia
Tal Vez
Dennis Jasso
FW Studios
Santa Fe
Metal
Zachariah Julian
Violence
Kenny Riley
Rio Grande Studios
Albuquerque
Modern Rock
Danny Winters
Taming the Beast
Danny Winters
Danny’s Studio &
Recording Center of New Mexico
Albuquerque
Native American
Indigie Femme & G Precious
Colors of The People
Larry Mitchell
IndigenousWays Studios
Santa Fe
Best New Mexico Song
Bob Dodge
Heaven New Mexico
Bob Dodge
Engine70 Studios/The Kitchenette
Santa Fe
Novelty
David Kuncicky
Grandma Had a Sayin’
David Kuncicky
La Barberia Studios
Santa Fe
Pop
64 LoveMachine
Be My Baby
Jimmy Medina, 64 Love Machine
Recording Center of New Mexico
Albuquerque
Rap
EnVee Tha Queen
Crash Out
Navajo Muzik
EnVee Music
Albuquerque
Rhythm & Blues
Isaac Aragon
Baptized by the Rain
Artha Meadors, Isaac Aragon
Empty House Studios
Albuquerque
Reggae
Iriebellion
Free
Michael Davis
Moonflower Sounds-Taos
Frogville Studios-Santa Fe
Religious/Gospel
Charlotte Rose Marie
Oh Well (I’ll Still Praise You)
Ben Lawry
Molly Brown Records
Albuquerque
Seasonal
Eryn Bent
Christmas in Santa Fe
Eryn Bent
Wilderness Sound Studios
Albuquerque
Singer/Songwriter
Greg Johns
Dear Dave and Sue
John Wall
Wall of Sound
Albuquerque
Western
Doug Figgs
Cowboy’s Legacy
Peter Renfree
8 South Studio
Alamogordo
World
Stefan
Deseo
Stefan Schyga
Innovative Strings
Silver City
Best Arrangement of an Original Recording
(Artist and title.)
Turquoise Thistle
for
Turquoise Thistle
Velvet Danced with Iron
Best Cover Song
Carlos Steele
Ohio
Ken Riley
Rio Grande Studios
Albuquerque
Best Instrumental Performance
(Artist and title.)
Deep Energy Orchestra
for
Captain Quirk
Best Mastering Engineer
(Engineer, facility, artist and title.)
Michael Carpenter, Juan R Gonzalez
Moonlight Recording Studio
for
Monique Perish
Whiskey Bottle
Best Recording Engineer
(Engineer, facility, artist and title.)
John Wall, Roman Wagner & Nick Stern
Wall of Sound
for
John Wall & Roman Wagner
Project 18
Best Original Song
(Writers and title.)
Linda Castañeda
for
You Don’t Even Know
Best Vocal Performance
(Artists and performance.)
John Douglas Cox
for
Cruisin With Susan
Best Video
(Video production, artist, title and studio.)
Dave Garner
for
MusicHouse Mal/ Malvina Canon
Low Riding Truck
Best Album Design
(Art design, artist and title.)
A.J. Chippero
for
Deep Energy Orchestra
The Science of Sound
Best Country Album
Alan J Coleman
Cupid’s Alley
Ron Crowder
InCrowd Productions
Albuquerque
Best Jazz Album
Terry Burns, John Funkhouser, Arnaldo Acosta
Artrio-two
Terry Burns, John Funkhouser
ABQ Post
Albuquerque
Best Pop Album
Memoryy
Exit Interview
Shaun Hettinger
Neon Moon Studios
Albuquerque
Best Rock Album
Free Range Buddhas
Hatched
Free Range Buddhas
Engine 70 Studios
Santa Fe,
Norman Petty Producer’s Award
(Producers, artist, title and studio.)
Danny Rubin and Jono Manson
for
Danny Rubin and Jono Manson
Likable
The Kitchen Sink
Santa Fe
Best of the Year
Daniel Boling
IT MATTERS featuring Tom Paxton
Jono Manson & Daniel Boling
The Kitchen Sink
Santa Fe
Thank you to our wonderful New Mexico Music Community for all of your support. If you find mistakes in the listing above, please let us know at contactnewmexicomusicawards@gmal.com
Duplicate trophies will be available until June 30th. We offer them at cost plus shipping and will post a price for them by June 1st.
The New Mexico Music Awards are sponsored by Quickbeam Systems, Guitar Center of Albuquerque and Jason’s Music Publishing, with additional support from The Candyman Strings & Things of Santa Fe, High Fidelity Mastering, Tonewood Amps, Grandma’s Music and Sound, Listen!NM, Two Pups Boutique and Moonlight Talent Management.