Southwest Collaborative Music Convergence 2026
August 28-30th
Flagstaff, Arizona
Artists (so far)
Al Faeet (gongs), Chelsey Trejo (multi-instrument), Drake Hardin (electronics), Eric Matchett (ac. guitars),Ishta Paz (Bass and sax), Lauren Sarah Hayes (electronics), Lone Eagle (voice), Michael Begay (guitar and effects), Owen Davis (percussion), Rosie Hutchinson (Violin), Sage Bond (guitars), Teo Morris (violin), And more...
Please join us for the 3rd Annual Southwest Collaborative Music Convergence! Spanning three days and two nights of large ensemble concerts, on the street shenanigans, and discussions, this is a one-of-a-kind experience for musicians and audiences alike. Along with co-director Thollem McDonas, Interference Series has invited a wide variety of collaborative musicians from around the region to create unique sonic experiences that express the dynamics of the Southwest ecologically, socially, culturally, linguistically, and politically. We are grateful for the opportunity to bring together all of these exceptional artists who have spent their lives honing their craft through collaboration with others. Most of all, we are excited to share it with the community!
The Convergence is an extension of a concert held Feb., 2023 in Tucson that Thollem curated as part of the Peaceful Sky Benefit. PSB was organized in order to raise awareness of the increasingly dangerous exercises the U.S. military is conducting in the southern desert. Based on the enthusiasm of the participants and the audiences, it became clear that the Convergence needed to happen again. The artists for this year's Convergence includes musicians from the region at-large, as well as local musicians from Flagstaff and the Navajo Nation.
See/hear you out there!
A special thanks for funding support from Creative Flagstaff, the City of Flagstaff BBB Tax Revenue Fund, and the NAU Honors College.
Ticket info coming soon
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Event Schedule
Fri, Aug 28th (PM)
Large Ensemble Concert tba
Sat, Aug. 29th (Day)
Pop-up concerts and processions throughout downtown
Sat, Aug. 29th (PM)Large Ensemble CCA (Theater)
Sun, Aug 30th (am)
*Artist Talks (Theater)
10AM - 12PM
at tba
During the 2025 Convergence we were lucky to be joined by many impromptu performers from diverse backgrounds. One of the most memorable guests was local Flagstaff Poet, Cathy Tompkins, who graciously read these works live alongside our many musicians. She has shared her work with us to be archived here along with future photos and recordings.
The Next Best Thing
I want to bring it to you, dear one,
To share even a modest gift
But chances are I’ll get it wrong
Not knowing your heart’s desire
Or more importantly
Finding it disagreeable
so
I will be content with
Bringing it to myself
My life, my purpose,
My contribution,
My next best thing
Might not measure up
To your expectations
So I have no choice
But to reject your yardstick
And proudly define my own
Shall I Play?
Once were fairies
Orbs
Mists
Green men
Dancing
To the music
Of hushed trees,
Click of beetle battle,
And march of ant fellows.
Around the fire,
We danced, too.
Wonder held us.
The stars in the skies
Walked us from season to season
But we danced
To make promises of
Those possibilities.
All dreams a certainty.
What we value
We sacrifice
Forgetting
But knowing deeply
Without fine finger tips
As if through a veil
Stardust always ours.
Only our fears
Well fed,
We lure
Implore
Invoke
Beg
Beseech
Petition and
Compel
Action on our behalf
While we figure out
How to endure
When there is not enough
Whatever
Making games of such beckoning
And basketed sacrifices.
Voiced now through muffled veil
Such soft bidding
Should we dance
We might still see fairies
Where the stars play.
Swings
Ups and downs
Ins and outs
Highs and lows
Bang or bust
Bull or bear
Order or chaos
Ignore the trough
Miss the point
See what's coming
Don't hold your breath
Be prepared for this ride
Hold your own close
Entropy weasles in
Plateaus give way to canyons
Mountains to sand
Confidence to fear
Harmony to dissonance
Friends becoming enemies
Entropy doing double time
Wondering darkly about
7 generations hence
Come back to this fire
Our strength in numbers
Shoulders ready
Now play
Play with sound
Play with possibility
Play with an eye to
Turning our sandcastle
Into a fortress
Improv
The very air vibrates
With the Next Best Thing
The only purpose of such wild creation
Voice meets voice
Sound meets sound
Noise meets noise
Some echo moments of time and space
Chaos a prankster
Ready to put a foot in the door
An entry to unexplored space in time
We hear through a muted veil of memory
Knowing that order is comforting
But change inevitable
Only fear trips trust
Then new rhythms restore it
Poems © 2025 by Cathy Tompkins
