Friends y Familia,

We’re getting the old band back together! And to celebrate this momentous occasion, we’ve come up with a plan for a week of fellowship and musical reconnection.

Down w/ Chico Reunion Music Festival

August 22, 2026 · Saturday · 3-10pm

Several Bands (TBD, Poster/Lineup to come!)

Tacos B4 Vatos Food Cart

Peñasco Theatre, Peñasco, New Mexico

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Our old band, Down w/ Chico, formed in Boise, Idaho in the Summer of 1996. For me, personally, this band was a formative experience—it was my first, real rock ensemble of original material. I wanna say, it was much the same for all four of us: Justin Nelson, a fresh Boise implant from the bluffs of the Missouri River in South Dakota; Mike Tungate, our only true Boise O.G. resident (now 20+ years a New Mexico resident); Cloud, a.k.a. David Francis, a.k.a. DFMIII, a.k.a. Dave—just in from years of following the Dead tour, out of the Virginia/D.C. area; and myself, new to Boise and fresh out of my 4-year stint in the USAF.

In June of ’96, we met via The Boise Weekly classified section, under “Musicians Wanted”, each with a guitar in hand. Mike reluctantly took up drums, Justin reluctantly took up bass duties, and Cloud and I, being the two prima donnas of the group, maintained our positions on guitar. We got to work right away and soon had a dozen plus original songs to gig within Boise city limits.

In two years (1996-1998) we played more than a dozen, maybe close to 20 proper gigs; but soon enough, we had all moved on to different bands and musical projects, always coming together to play in each other’s bands, film projects, and artist collectives (between 1998 and 2002). By then, I had moved home to New Mexico for a couple years, Cloud moved to San Diego, and families began forming and growing—life occured!

Although Down w/ Chico never fully realized their potential, nor even put down a proper studio album (it may just be part of our future plans!), we all look back fondly at the time we spent making art and music together, and how those formative years and experiences (and early shows) formed our future creative musical endeavors.

We’re still pals—shoot, Mike’s my brother-in-law!—and we have been planning on meeting up this summer, August 2026, in my hometown of Peñasco NM, to reconnect, with the lofty goal of playing a proper show of the old songs from the late 90s.

We’ve been lucky enough to receive a partial residency at the old Peñasco Theatre right in the middle of town, so we’re really excited to get moving on it all.

This concept is obviously TOTALLY and COMPLETELY self-indulgent, so we are offering fun rewards and designs for those who donate $10 or more to our crowd-funding campaign. Donations will cover the bulk of the theatre rental and theatre residences (our generous residency granted by Peñasco Theatre is a discounted weeklong rental), along with payment for the bands opening for Down w/ Chico, a sound engineer for the festival, filming of the event—which will come out to approximately $3,100 (to include costs of reward prizes: custom t-shirts, stickers, koozies, art prints, etc). Any cover charges taken at the door will also go directly to bands performing at the festival and to the Peñasco Theatre.

Also, on the evening of the festival, August 22, at Peñasco Theatre, we'll be raffling an original painting on canvas of mine, titled "Ripom", ink on canvas, 28"x64", $1,500.00 value (photos of painting in slideshow above). Every crowd-fund donor and attendee will be entered to win this painting along with a few other drawings throughout the night. (You need not be present to win).

Below are the rewards and tiers for all who donate to our crowd-funding campaign:

$10 to $25 Donation

(1) Ticket to DW/C Reunion Show

DW/C Bumper Sticker Pack

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$26 to $50 Donation

(1) Ticket to DW/C Reunion Show

DW/C Bumper Sticker Pack

DW/C Koozie

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$51 to $90 Donation

(2) Tickets to DW/C Reunion Show

DW/C Bumper Sticker Pack

DW/C Koozie

(1) 12”x16” Tomás Montaño Art Print

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$91 & up Donation

(2) Tickets to DW/C Reunion Show

DW/C Bumper Sticker Pack

DW/C Koozie

(1) 12”x16” Tomás Montaño Art Print

DW/C T-shirt  

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Donor gifts will ship out the week of August 24-30, 2026. *Donors who attend August 22, 2026 event at Penasco Theatre, will receive gifts at that time.

Email: Tomas Montano at firecrackerheart@gmail.com to provide your address for shipment of your award, and your *T-Shirt size (*T-shirts awarded to individuals who donate $91 or more).