The Mancos Creative District is offering a free songwriting panel featuring several performers set to appear at the annual Mixed in Mancos event.
The panel meets Friday, March 6, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Mancos Commons, 135 W. Grand Ave. It is open to anyone interested in songwriting and music.
Participants include Fred Kosak and Alissa Wolf of the Durango-based Stillhouse Junkies; Dale X Allen of Genuine Cowhide; and Sunny Gable of the Mancos band Mean Irene. Paul “Bubba” Iudice of Farmington Hill, who performed at the 2024 event, will also participate.
Emcee Mark Stevens, an author and musician with Midnight Cowboy and Flashback, will guide the discussion. The news release described him as one “who has never written one song and is mystified by the process.”
“The songwriting panel is a terrific opportunity to find out how songwriters produce their magic and listen to them discuss their process in an intimate setting,” Stevens said. “And it’s a great prelude to the big show itself.”
Mixed in Mancos 2026 will take place the next evening, Saturday, March 7, at the Mancos Opera House. Doors open at 5 p.m., with performances starting at 6 p.m. by Mean Irene, followed by Stillhouse Junkies at 7:30 p.m. and Genuine Cowhide at 9 p.m.
The event, hosted by the Mancos Creative District, celebrates original music from the Four Corners region. The concert is professionally recorded and later released as an album on CD and vinyl, with locally created cover art.
Mancos-based Mean Irene mixes traditional country and folk with contemporary rock and pop. Members are Guy Ewing (bass); Sunny Gable (vocals and guitar, mandolin and fiddle); Jeff Moorehead (dobro); and Dennis Unsworth (drums).
Durango’s Stillhouse Junkies blend roots, bluegrass, Texas swing, blues and rock. The trio features Kosak on guitar and mandolin, Wolf on fiddle and Jeanette Adams on bass.
Genuine Cowhide began in Austin, Texas, and now is based in Dolores. Its sound is described as “nitro-twang,” combining “twangy rock 'n' roll,” “trash country, hillbilly honky-tonk and spaghetti Western swing.” Members are Tracy Wiebeck on bass; Corey Duran on drums; Moe Cooley on acoustic and electric guitar; and Allen on electric guitar.
Buy tickets at mancoscreativedistrict.com.
