Elvis is in the House

More specifically, Elvis was in the hanger. Elvis did portray a pilot in a few of his movies so he was quite comfortable singing in one of the hangers at the Hollister Airport.

Ah, but that was Donald Elvis and his Hound Dogs performing at the Hollister Airshow on Saturday afternoon. Pretty durn good they were. And, like the original singer, Donald Elvis was charming the ladies with his voice, looks, and shaking pelvis.

Mr. O's Academy of the Arts 2014 Spring Concert

Next Sunday, May 18, 2014, Mr. O's Academy of the Arts will hold its Annual Spring Concert from 12 noon to 5 PM at the school on 360 Sixth Street in downtown Hollister. The free event will feature local musicians Kaleb Askew, dogHouse, Tim Duffy, Jeff Hardy, David Huboi and the Architecturals, Mariachi Alma de Mexico, Bob Reid, and Mr. O's Jazz Band.

For more details, call Mr. O's Academy of the Arts at 831-636-3813.

Mr. O's Jazz Band played at the
2013 Downtown Wine & Beer Stroll

Three Free Community Concerts

That's right! Free music concerts will be happening in Hollister over the next two weeks. Three of them. And, each concert is free. So, no complaining about there being nothing to do in our town. You can complain that you wish you had known sooner. But, not to me.

Free Concert Number One

Tonight the Marine Corps Jazz Band will be performing at the Veterans' Memorial Building on the corner of San Benito and Seventh Streets. Time: 5:30 PM. For more details, check out Mr. O's Jazz Band Facebook page.

 

 

Free Concert Number Two

The County-wide Music Festival featuring the elementary, middle, and high schools bands in San Benito County will be taking place tomorrow evening (Thursday, April 3) at 7 PM at  San Benito High School. It will be held in the Mattson Gym, which is on the corner of Monterey Street and Nash Road. Mr. O's Jazz Band will also be performing at the festival. 

Free Concert Number Three

This year, the Watsonville Community Band is performing its 66th Spring Concert Series -- The Hounds of Spring -- throughout the Central Coast. The band will be in Hollister on Sunday, April 13 at 2 PM in the Veterans' Memorial Building. The band's members come from Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Clara counties. For more about the Watsonville Community Band, head over to its web site or its Facebook page.

Spring!

The first moment of Spring starts at 9:57 AM today. So says the Old Farmer's Almanac.

The coming of Spring usually makes me go search for this song by Daniel Valdez, a local musician and one of the founding members of El Teatro Campesiño. It's a sweet song called "Primavera" from his 1973 record Mestizo.

A Night of Music

Last night, the Husband and I attended "A Night of Music" at El Teatro Campesiño in San Juan Bautista. What a joyful night! The event showcased many local musicians.

The evening began with a premiere of Voices, the collaborative works of Emiliano Valdez and Michael Annotti, which they developed in partnership with Mr. O's Academy of the Arts and the San Benito County Arts Council. The songs of Mr. Valdez and Mr. Annotti were inspired by stories of many of the residents of San Benito County. One song, for example, was about working in the canneries. Their CD will soon be released.

Playing out the night was  Mr. O's  Jazz Band, under the direction of Mr. Joe Ostensen. As always, Mr. O's band, composed of teenagers and adults, were grooving and moving the audience away.

Here are some links to check out the sounds of these wonderful local musicians:

• Michael Annotti   
• SoMoS, which features Emiliano Valdez on guitar and vocals and Michael Annotti on keys 
• Mr. O's Jazz Band