Jesus Gonzalez
Bri Schillings
Stephen Bulman
Lisa Sanders
The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library is pleased to present the 2024 Fall season of Acoustic Evenings concert series, beginning September 6, 2024. The Acoustic Evenings series at the Athenaeum showcases some of the finest acoustic musicians in San Diego. Three acts fill each program and attentive audiences delight in the intimacy of the unplugged storytelling format. Refreshments are available at the intermission reception and post-concert meet-and-greet. San Diego Music Hall of Fame founder Jefferson Jay organizes and hosts the series. The project advances the Athenaeum’s commitment to support diverse San Diego talent. Acoustic Evenings is an unforgettable and personal experience for San Diego music lovers. The series, continuing through September 27, 2024, is set in the Athenaeum’s Joan & Irwin Jacobs Music Room.
The series opens Friday, September 6, with gold-record recipient Wax, Jesus Gonzalez, and Rob Deez. Wax is mostly known as a rapper with millions of views on YouTube to show for it. He is also a producer, songwriter, singer, and comedian. Rob Deez classifies himself as a singer/song-rhymer appealing to comedy, hip-hop and small coffee-shop concert audiences. Deez is a longstanding patron of San Diego’s musical theater community, particularly City College’s Saville Theatre. Local visionary and musician Jesus Gonzalez creates vast and lush layers of soulful vocal harmonies, different instrumentation, and percussion using a looper. Gonzalez’s original and improvised songs invite you to be present with your heart and to fall deeper with your sense of self. In a recent interview with NPR’s top-shelf artists series, Jesus said, “At the core of it all, I think my music is simply shouting ‘Can you believe we’re all here?!’”
On Friday, September 13, the series continues with singer-songwriter Bri Schillings, singer-guitarist Sierra Marin, and Santiago Orozco. Schillings shares the belief that heartfelt music has the power to heal through what she calls “soul vitamins.” Her seductive and powerful voice will take you on a journey where the heart and the soul meet. Sierra Marin took a different direction post-graduation from UC Santa Barbara by busking at markets and on street corners across the United States for two years. This experience solidified Marin’s shared belief with Schillings on the incredible healing power of intentional music. Singer and songwriter Santiago Orozco is a Colombia native who has spent the last decade living on the road in coastal Southern California. Winner of NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert contest in 2015, he incorporates electronic elements into his well-established acoustic guitar sound. He draws inspiration from house rhythms, Caribbean moods, Spanish Rumba, Reggae, Brazilian, Balkan, and Middle Eastern grooves and has supported international and national touring artists, such as The Roots, The Wailers, Fred Wesley, Mike Love, Los Amigos Invisibles, JJ Grey & Mofro, Lucinda Williams, Richard Thompson, Sister Nancy, Chris Isaak, Aterciopelados, Jarabe De Palo, Vokab Kompany, The Bunny Gang, and El Gran Silencio.
The series continues Friday, September 20, with Tom Griesgraber, Aaron Bowen, and Steve Bulman. American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Aaron Bowen is best known for his unique, seamless blend of styles ranging from virtuosic guitar-based jazz, old-time country, and psychedelic rhythm and blues. In early 2017, Paris label More Than Folk Records released Bowen’s fifth studio album Wide Sky—a haunting, Americana-styled collection of songs. Multi-instrumentalist-composer Tom Griesgraber is known for many roles, including behind the scenes, in the music industry, but the Berklee College of Music graduate is best known onstage for his mastery of the unusual Chapman Stick. The relatively narrow instrument produces music that to the uninitiated listener sounds like an ensemble. Those who have seen Griesgraber perform live, however, know that the sonorous music produced comes from the magic of a unique virtuoso. A seasoned guitar player of 30 years, Stephen Bulman specializes in percussive fingerstyle music. Known for his distinctive use of harmonics and pitch bending, his tranquil compositions create a soothing auditory experience.
The series concludes Friday, September 27, with San Diego Music Hall of Fame inductee Fred Benedetti, Sandé Lollis, and Lisa Sanders and Brown Sugar. Benedetti studied classical guitar with Segovia and practices jazz, folk, rock, and flamenco styling. He is featured on over 200 records and numerous film and television soundtracks/ads. Singer-songwriter Lisa Sanders has a distinct country/bluesy/Americana sound; her genres include folk, pop, gospel, rock, and jazz. Sanders has garnered an extensive list of accolades as a recipient of San Diego Music Awards’ Best Acoustic Artist (two times), the San Diego Readers’ poll for Best Acoustic Artist, third-place for new folk in the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, The National Women's Association Living Legacy award, the National Association of Professional Women’s Legacy Award, and San Diego Music Hall of Fame inductee. These achievements have given her the opportunity to open and work with musical legends, including the Truckee Brothers, Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt, Al Green, BB King, and Babyface. Sandé Lollis is an award-winning San Diego–based singer-songwriter known for her ability to weave captivating stories through her music. Drawing inspiration from personal experiences, conversations overheard in cafés, favorite books, and random thoughts, she crafts original melodies paired with introspective lyrics that explore the complexities of love, heartbreak, and life's twists and turns. Her voice and honest lyrics have struck a chord with listeners, with many praising her ability to connect on a deep emotional level. Lollis’s performance is soulful and wholly uplifting and earned her well-deserved San Diego Music Awards nominations for Best Country or Americana Album in 2022 and Best Country or Americana Artist in 2023.
The concerts will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for these events. Your name will be on an attendee list at the front door. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. These events will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of each concert.