The Sunshine (built in 1924): according to Historical ABQ, “before the Sunshine building was built, it was located on what was known as The White Elephant which was a saloon [owned by Joseph Barnett] that closed down in 1920 due to prohibition. Barnett then went on to hire noted architect Henry C. Trost to build Sunshine Theatre which would include a 920 seat theater and become the second ‘sky scraper’ in downtown Albuquerque. The building also includes offices on the upper levels of the building that housed F.D. Fogg and Company, a fine jewelry retailer. Sunshine remained in operation until 1974 when the theatre stopped showing first-run movies but then eventually closed its doors as a movie theatre in 1980 and was seriously threatened with demolition in 1984. In 1990s the theatre was renovated its current day purpose in the downtown which is a live music performance venue.” For most of these venues, you can see old pictures and set lists on Concert Archives.

El Rey Theater (built in 1941): according to their website, “the Historic El Rey Theater, located here in downtown Albuquerque, has taken on many roles over the course of its spatial history. including a grocery store, a few different bars, various kinds of shops, but mostly a movie theater and a venue for shows. Since 1981, the El Rey Theater building itself has solely been used to further bring art to as many people as possible in the form of musical shows.”

Caravan Club (built in the 1960s): The blog “Dirt City Chronicles” has a few posts entitled ‘Burque Garage in which they narrate Albuquerque’s “first rock era” in the 1960s. They don’t mention specific venues, although do state that, “formed in1965, The Berrys earned their stripes playing teen dances.” I’m not sure where these types of dances were held (perhaps schools?). In the 1960s there was a popular music venue along Route 66: the Caravan Club. According to KRQE, “through the 1970s, it was the city’s largest country western club, with a 50 feet by 20 feet dance floor.” It closed in 2016 and was demolished in 2017 to make way for a new library, which pays tribute to the old Route 66 site with its sign.

The Launchpad: opened in 1997, this local news clip details the history of the venue

The Attic and Compound: neither of these venues are open anymore, but they were once located on San Mateo. Below you an see a screenshot from google street view from October 2007. This post from the blog Duke City Hardcore Punk writes, “The Attic was located upstairs in the same shopping center as The Compound. Many legendary local and nationwide/international bands played at The Compound during its life on San Mateo. San Mateo was kind of a hotbed for music in those days.”

House Shows: This blog documents bands in NM in the 80s. This post from the blog Duke City Hardcore Punk writes, “when I was in high school, Mayor Marty Chavez was notorious for trying to establish a curfew for all-ages concerts and generally being against all-ages shows here in the city. The first house show I went to was in someone’s basement.” This website gives some great insight into the earlier punk/DIY scene in Albuquerque. They write, “in the summer of 1979 I moved to Albuquerque to start a Ph.D. program in statistics. One night I went to see a showing of ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll High School,’ featuring the Ramones at a movie theater on Central Avenue when I met a girl who was dressed exactly like Riff Randell from the movie. She invited me to a house party a few days later, where I danced… to the latest punk, ska, and new wave records with people who later became bandmates and friends; from that point on I became immersed in the Albuquerque underground music scene.” Playing in a band called the Crawling Walls, they’ve listed the shows they played in Albuquerque in the early 1980s, many of them being houses:

“Club Rec” at 2210 Arno SE

“Que Pasa Rec Center,” which they list as being on the Kirtland AFB (!!)

“Casa Armijo” at 1021 Isleta SW (a historic site, it is now a school)