Santa Fe All Stars EP 2007

What began as a "why not" proposal by a beer-hall waitress has gone on to become something of a small-town supergroup. The Santa Fe All-Stars consist of roots luminaries Joe West, Sharon Gilchrist, Ben Wright and Susan Holmes, all brilliant on their own-at least according to the locals of New Mexico's capital city.West, of course, has long been the slightly askew alt.country king of Santa Fe, a songwriter as smart and talented as they come and completely fearless when it comes to either campy parody or straight-up emotion. Gilchrist (from the Peter Rowan & Tony Rice Quartet) continues to enchant audiences with her glorious musicianship and lovely countenance; Wright, a man just as comfortable ripping through a weird rock set as fingerpicking through an old standard, is as indispensable as they come, and Holmes has been a rhythm section stalwart for years. Collectively they are a can't-lose proposition. Their type of roots music- smart, fun, a little twisted-is the soundtrack to Santa Fe.