A feeling of Mardi Gras was in the air last Friday night as I
ate jambalaya and crab cakes while sitting on the veranda watching
revelers dance by.
A feeling of Mardi Gras was in the air last Friday night as I ate jambalaya and crab cakes while sitting on the veranda watching revelers dance by. The waitress at the new Firehouse Bar and Grill on Fifth Street placed aqua-colored beads around my neck, and the party began. The street was filled with people young and old as they boogie woogied to classics like “Black Magic Woman” and “Barracuda,” played by a bluesy local rock band called Soul Kiss.
What better way to relax after a hot summer day than sipping an ice-cold Hurricane, a tall concoction of tropical fruit juices and rum, while grooving to free music?
There is so much great music in Gilroy these days that I almost can’t stand it. What I mean is that there is so much going on that I can’t find enough time to go see and hear as much as I’d like to. Every Friday night, a section of Fifth Street is closed off, people bring their own chairs, and a live band gives a free concert, thanks to the dedicated efforts of Gilroy volunteers.
Tonight’s free concert on Fifth Street will feature virtuoso John Garcia. As a professional singer and guitarist for the last 30 years, John Garcia has performed with John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Johnny Winters, Paul Simon and Huey Lewis. Bo Diddley once described John as “one hell of an entertainer.” As a blues guitarist, there are few his equal.
Garcia was booked for the concert by the Theater Angels Art League, a local non-profit group that raises funds for community arts, as well as outreach and support for arts projects, including Gilroy’s future arts center. The league’s president, Sylvia Myrvold, organized this season’s Fifth Street Live Music, which has brought so many people out to have fun downtown the past few weeks. The concert series first began four years ago when local grant writer Sherri Stuart had the idea to start the series as a way to get more people out enjoying music together locally. It was the all-volunteer effort of league members who made the dream a reality.
And this summer, the concert series is attracting more people to downtown Gilroy than ever.
“It’s finally catching on,” local arts activist Arline Silva said. “This year the money raised from raffle prizes pays for the band and our out-of-pocket expenses. We’re not relying on grant money to make ends meet anymore.”
“It wouldn’t be possible without everyone working together to bring this special gift to the community,” Stuart said. “It is thanks to the businesses and people that donate raffle prizes, the musicians who perform for very little other than their joy in bringing their art to Gilroy, and the arts-loving volunteers who give their time and energy to pull together the logistics.”
In addition to enjoying the Soul Kiss last Friday night from 7 to 9 p.m., a number of downtown concert-goers attended a free concert of solo piano music given by A. T. Bundros, which began after the Fifth Street Live concert ended. Bundros, a local music director, performed a number of his own original compositions. My favorite was “This is What the Nihilist Sang as She Watched the Sun Set Into the Pacific”. To catch more of his talent, don’t miss the upcoming Sept. 26 concert by “Divos!” at Hecker Pass Winery.
You heard it here first: if you enjoyed last year’s “Divas!” concert, this is the male counterpart to that show. Sponsored by the arts league, Divas! was a smash hit one-night-only, all-woman revue which featured Gilroy’s most talented female singers. Divos! will feature 10 of Gilroy’s most talented male singers and proceeds will help keep future downtown streets concerts alive.
There are two more Fridays left for you to bring your own chair or nab a primo spot at one of the nearby restaurants and come enjoy the music. Don’t miss it.
