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Bringing the blues back: Levi Platero performs at South Broadway Cultural Center
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Levi Platero remembers growing up in To’hajiilee, listening to the sounds of blues artists like Elmore James and Jimi Hendrix.
Platero would soon join his church band, practicing his guitar skills and performing on Sundays. As a child, his father bought him a $40 guitar from a pawn shop and from then on, Platero would progressively learn more chords until he knew the instrument like the back of his hand.
“All my friends lived in Albuquerque and I grew up on the reservation 30 miles outside of Albuquerque, so during the summer I just spent my time at home playing guitar,” Platero said.
Years later, Platero is performing in venues across New Mexico, and will headline at the South Broadway Cultural Center on Thursday, April 10, as a kick-off concert before he makes his way to the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Colorado.
“It’s kind of like the road to Red Rocks celebration and a really cool send-off for me,” he said. “I’m excited to have a show that will start the tour up into that area.”
The blues artist said it’s a dream, going from being a concertgoer at Red Rocks to being the person on stage performing for crowds of people. His Colorado concert, which is Sunday, April 13, is the first time he will perform at the venue. Platero will perform alongside other artists like Los Lonely Boys, Eric Gales, Harper O’Neill and Jack Hadley during the Tequila Blues Fest.
“I’ve been waiting and dying to have an experience like this,” Platero said. “I’ve been doing this professionally since I was 13, and I turn 33 soon, so I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
Platero find his inspiration from blues music, adding that he also dips his toe into contemporary and alternative sounds.
“As a kid, I’d be listening to these old blues artists,” he said. “That’s kind of how it all, how I fell in love with blues music and music in general, and that’s kind of manifested into what I perform and what I like to play, and what music I’ve created over the past decade.”
Platero finds inspiration everywhere, writing songs with themes from heartbreak and love to depression and addiction, but his biggest musical influence comes from his dad, who always encouraged his musical career and helped inspire him.
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“I write about every day stuff and I write about the way that I feel,” Platero said. “I just wanted to be like my dad because he played music and wrote songs and recorded his own music, and he did all of this in the church and gospel.”
Platero is gearing up for the release of his third studio album, which is set to come out in the summer. He will perform at two more blues festivals this year, one in Omaha, Nebraska, and another in Colorado. Though he is proud of his success, Platero often finds himself shocked that his music career continues to move forward.
“I’m very grateful and thankful and excited,” he said. “I haven’t seen the fruits of my labor until recently, and I was given this opportunity and I’m not going to take it for granted.”
