Sunland Park to open new entertainment hub, seeks local talent for 2025

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — A new lifestyle and entertainment center that’s set to open in Sunland Park next year is looking for up-and-coming Borderland talent to throw on its 2025 performance roster, as well as a group of people who can “contribute feedback and insights into the venue’s programming.”

Independent Nation, a new multipurpose entertainment venue and lifestyle center, is slated to open its doors next year at 420 Sunland Park Drive, the company behind the project announced Monday.

The complex will host multiple performance spaces built for festivals, concerts, comedy shows, boxing matches and MMA events, alongside bars, restaurants, “immersive entertainment” and a cannabis dispensary.

“This place is really built around the community and around the culture,” said Amit Bijlani, a principal partner at Independent Nation. “So one of our main focuses is on local artists.”

Bijlani said that a common issue local musicians face is an inability to grow their audience past a certain point, largely down to the fact there are no mid-sized venues capable of accommodating a band that can fill a 1,500-capacity room, but hasn’t yet reached the levels of a venue that seats 5,000.

“I think one of the issues in the region that we have from artists to a bunch of other areas, is that we lose a lot of our talent to other communities,” said Bijlani. “So we really want to be a place that helps to keep people in our region, and give them a place where they can grow themselves — they can have opportunity — without having to leave and go to places like Austin or Nashville.”

Bijlani said the economic impact of Independent Nation is expected to be far-reaching because of its diversity of offerings, as opposed to a traditional venue or amphitheater that only hosts four to six events per month.

Likewise, by boosting the available amenities in the Borderland region, the team believes they’ll be able to bring more businesses and more talent to the area, thus driving more economic opportunities.

“We’re really hoping that we’re going to be a job-driver ourselves, we’re going to create a whole lot of indirect jobs but then additionally we’re hoping we’ll have ripple-on effects where, you know, we incentivize other businesses to come here, and then generate more jobs, and it ends up being really positive,” said Bijlani.

Independent Nation is billing itself as an entertainment complex that’s “by fans and for fans,” meaning the company behind it has been soliciting feedback from the community on what events they want to see, what kinds of music they’re interested in, what activities and amenities are important, and what the complex should look like.

“We’re really focused on bringing the community what they want,” said Bijlani. “The more feedback we receive, the better we feel we can deliver that.”

To learn more about how to get involved with Independent Nation, and become a Founding INthusiast member complete with “Passport Perks” such as early ticket access, discounts, VIP experiences and priority notifications for concert announcements, click here.

Meanwhile, musicians, comedians and performers interested in auditing for Independent Nation’s 2025 talent roster can learn more about that here.

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