There might not be a ton of reggae bands based out of Burque, but many of the groups who do call the city home have developed a signature, Southwest-influenced sound. And The Riddims might just be the most popular and prolific reggae band in town. They call themselves “high desert reggae” and the band members jam a diverse array of music outside the traditional reggae mold – hip-hop, metal, ranchera, you name it. Despite drawing from diverse musical backgrounds, they manage to write unique music and try not to sound like anyone else out there today. That might explain why over their 12-year history, The Riddims have been billed with some of the top acts in the business: New Kingston, Hirie, Seedless, E.N. Young, Through the Roots, Arise Roots, Iya Terra, The Supervillains, Brewfish, Fayuca, Black Bottom Lighters. They have shared the stage with legends such as Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, and have worked as the backing band for the one and only Sister Nancy – one of reggae’s most respected pioneers. The band has gone through some lineup changes during their career, but in 2025, guitarist, vocalist and founding member Myles Chavez is joined by bandmates Donovan Ortiz (keyboards, vocals), Tony Rinaldi (trombone,vocals), Kevin Sanchez (drums), Adam Moffett (bass) and Chris Cruz (percussion). If you like innovative roots reggae with a Southwest twist, and you haven’t seen them live somewhere in New Mexico, where have you been? Maybe The Riddims should be the next concert you attend, and Chavez is more than happy to give us a few reasons why.
Will you describe your sound for us?
We try to be as original as we can and as unique as we can, and we try not to think of our writing style as what we would like to sound like or who we’d like to sound like. We try and let it just hang out. For a while we were kind of unsure of our genre, but we’ve come to call it high desert reggae. Albuquerque is such a unique place, and New Mexico is such a unique place. So if you’re from there, I think you have a little bit of genuineness to you. I feel like everyone out of New Mexico – especially the artists – are just rare gems with unique styles. We all grew up listening to Al Hurricane and all the Spanish house cleaning music. So there’s a few songs that kind of emulate that style. I think that our New Mexico roots shine through in our unique reggae sound.
What are your favorite venues to play and why?
I gotta say – and I’m sure all the guys feel the same way – Launchpad has probably got to be our favorite spot to play, because I feel like we all have a lot of history at that venue. We’ve all played there not even in just this band, but in numerous bands. We’ve had countless amazing sold-out nights at the Launchpad. It’s a hometown [venue], and it’s a staple of Albuquerque.
We also really, really like playing a spot in Huntington Beach called Sea Legs at the Beach. You’re playing on the stage and the dance floor is the sand, and it’s just such a vibe. Coming from Albuquerque to a venue like that, and being on the stage and having all these Californians that we don’t know singing our lyrics back to us on the beach is a dream come true. We’ve gotten to play that venue every year for the last five years, and we love that venue. So, that’s probably going to be our second favorite.
What are your lyrics about?
it’s kind of whatever I’m feeling in the moment, or whatever emotions are heavy on me in the moment – or even us as a whole band. A lot of the guys will contribute lyrically to the song. So, most of the time it’s me coming to the guys with some ideas and kind of nervously being, like, “Hey, do you guys like this? What do you guys think about this?” But a lot of times they put in their two cents, and we make it kind of a collaboration of all of our own ideas. We’re all really comfortable with each other. We’re not really scared to let all of our emotions hang out in front of each other, so we’re really lucky in that sense. Could be happy, sometimes sad, sometimes we’re feeling some lovey dovey stuff. But we always try and keep it genuine. So, whatever’s right there in the forefront of our hearts, that’s what we’re putting out there.
“Along the Way” is a really good one for us. We wrote that one with a lot of passion, a lot of heart. The lyrics go heavy for all of us, and we really enjoyed this whole process of recording that one. We got to do it at 17th Street in Orange County with our friend Lou Richards, who recorded The Dirty Heads and countless other amazing artists. And “Friday Night” just because we love to have a good time. We love to get the crowd moving. People spend their hard-earned money to come see us. You know, they’re spending their weekend time with us on the stage, so we always want to make sure it’s a party. People are having a good time, and “Friday Night” seems to emulate that kind of energy. So we really like that song.
What bands or genres inspire your music?
For sure, Sublime. We’re all heavily influenced by hip-hop too – old ’90s hip-hop. We all love rancheras and Spanish music. We love that beach reggae-style, though: Sublime, Tunnel Vision, the Ziggens, as well as Black Flag and all that fun stuff. On the road during these 12-hour drives, we’re bumping everything from country to metal to hip hop to everything. And I think it all creeps its way into the back of our minds whenever we start to write stuff.
What is the best show you have ever played and why?
We got to back the legendary Sister Nancy and be her band for two shows. To be on stage with such an iconic legend and watch her do what she’s been doing for 40-plus years – and the crowd just loving her and we’re behind her making the music – was amazing. We did a show in Santa Fe at the Plaza and then we did the Tico Time reggae festival up there in Aztec, New Mexico.
We’re heading out on the road in April, and we’re starting off the tour with our annual 420 Fest at the Launchpad. It’s always a big show. We do it with High Desert Relief dispensary every year, and this year it’s going to be on April 18.
Listen Up:
For music, merch, upcoming shows and more, visit their website theriddims.netlify.app. Their records are available to purchase on most major streaming platforms.
Check out the video for “Along the Way” (featuring Shakamon) which was filmed in both New Mexico and California.
Watch them perform the legendary song “Bam Bam” with Sister Nancy at The Rise and Vibes Music Festival in 2023 here.