Thursday, May 12, 2016

Open your mind to new (old) music

I GOT A phone call last Friday from an older woman complaining about our Concerts In The Plaza. "I don't know any of the songs," she said. "Can you get people to play songs that we know?"

She explained that she and her husband were 80-plus years old. The young man playing guitar and singing last week was quite good, but he was young and the songs were not familiar to her or her husband.

Well, you can get your money back if you aren't happy, I told her.

"But I didn't pay anything to get in," she said.

Right.

At least you can listen to the girl singer!
The woman was very polite and I appreciated her calling. I've helped arrange the acts for both the Plaza shows and the Midsummer Arts Faire. I'm also helping with getting some great acts for the wine event at Clat Adams Park in September, and I get calls all the time from people who want to know about local performers.

Since she was older, the woman simply wasn't open to new music and a different genre. And that is really, really sad.

Look. I'm not going to pay to see an overwrought girl - power lip-syncer - or some country "artist" who has somebody write all his songs for him and an army of musicians and stage techs to make him sound and look good. I would rather save my pennies for the next Who tour.

But if it's a free event and the weather is nice, why wouldn't you go at least check out a local performer, and give him or her a fair shake? Enjoy those talented young musicians!

Cori Lyssy and I are playing tomorrow at the Plaza and we are both really excited. Most of the stuff we play is recognizable, though it might take you a second or two. We love to play and we enjoy it when people enjoy our music. And if you don't, well, that's OK, too.

We try out best. And you can't beat the price, especially if you have an open mind.

No comments:

Post a Comment