To classify Chris Duarte simply as a bluesman is an understatement.  In his own words, "rockin' blues" or "punk blues" describes him best.  "Ferocious blues" also fits.  Legend has it that Chris will play so hard that his fingers bleed in a set.  The legend is true.  Photos attest.

The UNM Creative Writing Program invites you to join them at FUSION | The Cell on October 22, at 7 PM, for a reading by Molly Beer, author of Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution.

Come to FUSION on Wednesday at 6–8:30 PM for a figure drawing session. Study from a live unclothed model with a classical art approach with no adornment, draping, or garments unless requested by the model. 

Join Elevated Entertainment at FUSION on Sunday, October 18, at 5 PM for an evening of soulful music, storytelling, and celebration as Albuquerque’s own singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Dee Brown celebrates the release of Life, the first album in his three-part Life, Love, and Faith project. This is an official event of the Rising High Arts Festival! Elevated Entertainment is the MC for the night!

Join us at FUSION for "Unity in Rhythm: A Drum Circle Event," presented by Drum Unity, a monthly uplifting gathering that weaves the art of drumming with meditative and community-building experiences.

The Headbangers Market is returning to FUSION on Saturday, October 17, from 3–10 PM! The ABQ Headbangers Market is Albuquerque’s annual celebration of heavy metal, local music, art, small businesses, and the community that surrounds them.

Get ready to laugh your way through a hilarious evening at Rising High Comedy Night, featuring some of the best local comics on Friday, October 16, at 7 PM! PLUS an afterparty with a DJ in FUSION’s Velvet Echo Lounge! Hosted by comic and show producer Nax, the evening brings together Victor, Count, Sarina, Hannah, and headliner Tripp

Three Muses Performance Collective (3MPC), Albuquerque’s newest performing arts company, is bringing a retrospective of their curated storytelling series featuring women on various themes.

The Sovereign Lens Film Festival is a one-day community-centered short film festival uplifting stories that reclaim, reframe, and celebrate historically excluded and self-determined storytellers.

Come to FUSION on Wednesday at 6–8:30 PM for a figure drawing session. Study from a live unclothed model with a classical art approach with no adornment, draping, or garments unless requested by the model. 

Our featured readers include Manuel González, the current New Mexico State Poet Laureate, and the Native American Community Academy (NACA) Spoken Word Poetry Team, including poets Keira Farias, Marissa Victorino, Luciano Lingnau, Luc Gutierrez, Violet Begay, and Summer Cruz-Haskey.

Come to DNA’s monthly meeting on Monday, October 12, from 5:30–7 PM, at FUSION. This meeting is open to everyone within the neighborhoods’ boundaries.

This year, you can look forward to your favorite fungi producers, fermented beverages and foods, hands on demonstrations covering all things fermentation and fungi, educational presentations and of course, our beloved Battle of the Breads Competition! 

On October 10, we’re taking over FUSION | The Meadow for an all-day mashup of live music, deep grooves, inspiring rhythms, authentic funk, and whatever happens when Albuquerque gets together and decides it’s time to dance.

Caribe is coming to FUSION | 708 on Friday, October 9, at 8 PM (Doors at 7:30 PM). Step into the spirit of New York’s legendary Village Gate for a special evening celebrating the groundbreaking Salsa Meets Jazz series and the extraordinary music created when giants of jazz and Afro-Caribbean music shared the same stage

Author and journalist T.J. English is coming to FUSION on Friday, October 9, at 6 PM as part of the Rising High Arts Festival. English is the author of Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Underworld, and is currently on tour for his latest book, Blood in the Desert: The T. J. English Reader. Bringing another dimension of storytelling, Blood in the Desert spans subjects as varied as jazz, boxing, police corruption, and violence in the desert Southwest.

With the dynamic Writing On The Wall and a tour calendar busting at the seams, Coco Montoya is as excited as he's ever been to perform the new songs live with his burning-hot band. Montoya's well-earned reputation as an eye-popping live performer precedes him.

Come to FUSION on Wednesday at 6–8:30 PM for a figure drawing session. Study from a live unclothed model with a classical art approach with no adornment, draping, or garments unless requested by the model. 

Come explore the illuminating world of animal communication at FUSION on Sunday, October 4, from 2–4 PM.

The Region of Jerry Project is coming to FUSION | 708 on Saturday, October 3, at 7:30 PM. The Region of Jerry Project is a soulful, heartfelt tribute to The Jerry Garcia Band.

Sandia Soundscapes features electronic and electro-acoustic music that will stimulate your ears, eyes, and mind. It will appeal to lovers of ambient, cinematic, and other creative non-mainstream styles; fans of jazz, classical, world, and other adventurous music will also find a home at our events.

Celebrate what would have been legendary guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan's 72nd birthday with Levi Platero and special guests.

Start time changed to 6:30 PM. Join us for an intimate literary reading featuring Albuquerque poet Sara Daniele Rivera, who will be joined by past workshop facilitators. In the second half of the evening, the event will turn into an open mic, where your voices can be heard!

The Albuquerque Art Business Association (AABA) is proud to present the 2026 AABA Full Members Exhibition at FUSION, as an official part of Rising High Arts Festival, celebrating the remarkable diversity, creativity, and talent of Albuquerque's artist community.

The Poetry of Flowers Collaborative developed organically—perhaps even a little haphazardly. Each artist brought a personal connection, a particular talent, or a completely unexpected way of seeing a flower.  Maggie Seeley, the poet, initiated or responded to that vision with words, and then the artwork and poem began to speak to one another.

Come to FUSION on Wednesday at 6–8:30 PM for a figure drawing session. Study from a live unclothed model with a classical art approach with no adornment, draping, or garments unless requested by the model. 

Fresh off the road with ZZ Top and George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Baker rolls into New Mexico with her powerhouse band and a live show built on blues, rock, soul and the kind of raw, commanding vocals that have quickly made her one of the genre’s names to watch.

The HEART Is AWAKE presents a new TEMPLE OF SOUND, bridging the worlds of experimental and psychedelic music with sacred sounds and vibrational journeys. You’re invited to experience a sound blessing from Shingetsu Billy White.