A classical guitarist who began playing at age 13, Patrick Burns has recently turned his talents to songwriting, and often sits in with various Santa Fe bands. When he filled in for the vocalist of Buffalo Nickel, who had laryngitis, La Fiesta Lounge did such booming business that the bar manager asked him if he had a band of his own. Burns told him he was just wrapping up work on his first CD of original songs—and just like that, he had a date and venue for a CD release party at La Fonda.
 
BURNS, a collection of 12 original songs, will be introduced to the world at La Fiesta Lounge Jan 16-17. The bandleader plans to bring guest vocalists Kay Khan and Cynthia Becker, as well as bass player Larry Diaz and drummer Steven Iliff. He describes their sound as “Americana, all over the map—a little rockabilly blues, country, jazz,” marked by his lifelong love of songwriting.
 
A music teacher at Santa Fe High School, Burns studied guitar with a student of Francisco Tarrega, and  later edited and annotated a biography of Tarrega, the “father of classical guitar.” Not surprisingly, what he loves best about La Fiesta Lounge is the authentic Southwest ambiance and history—“It’s the best room in Santa Fe,” he says, “designed by John Gaw Meem himself. The Southwest feeling... and it's a wonderful crowd that likes to dance.”