August 12, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Sunset for 'Twilight'?

by Molly Tanenbaum

As summer approaches its end, so do the Brown Bag and Twilight concerts that have serenaded Palo Alto throughout the season's sunny afternoons and crisp evenings. But if next Tuesday's concert, the last of this year's series, does not spur residents and local businesses to pledge their dollars, the program may once again be in jeopardy.

The Tuesday concert features Maria Muldaur and her Red Hot Bluesiana Band. Muldaur is best known for the 1974 hit "Midnight at the Oasis" and has received several Grammy nominations. The concert will take place in a new location in the California Avenue business district.

The event is likely to draw a crowd; some of the shows have had more than 1,000 people in attendance, said Suzanne Warren, producer of the two concert series. But the program needs funds as well as fans.

Since 2003, when the city decided to cut Twilight and Brown Bag concert funding for subsequent seasons, fervent community fundraising has kept the well-attended musical events afloat. About $25,000 of donations have supported production costs for the past two years, including musician fees, publicity and planning. The city still covered the labor needed to set up and tear down each concert, amounting to $15,000.

Now, the city has eliminated that $15,000 as well for the 2006 season and beyond. Thus, the concerts must rely solely on fundraising to generate the entire $40,000 needed to sustain the series in its current form, Warren said.

Despite the concerts' popularity, this increased deficit has not been easy to make up, she said. With only one more Twilight Concert remaining, fundraisers have barely surpassed the halfway point to their $40,000 goal.

If Warren and community volunteers do not collect the remaining $20,000, the summer concert program will have to be scaled back, she said.

"People are used to having nine or 10 Twilights and nine or 10 Brown Bags and that wouldn't be possible," Warren said.

Reacting to that possibility, Palo Alto City Councilman Jack Morton said, "For something that has so much community participation, to see it become a victim of budget cuts seems to me unfair." He and other volunteers have been involved in efforts to preserve the concert series.

"I couldn't feel good about being a councilperson and watch something like this die," he said.

Warren and the volunteers have sought alternative sources of revenue to respond to the city's funding cuts. They have sold compilation CDs and beer, and invited local businesses to the shows to sell goods and contribute a percentage of their sales.

Perhaps the most effective fundraiser was started by longtime Palo Alto resident and music enthusiast Elliot Bolter two years ago. After learning that the 2003 season might be the last, Bolter solicited audience member pledges in the hopes of raising the $20,000 needed for the 2004 season. He assured contributors that he would only collect if the grand total of everyone's pledges exceeded $20,000, which they did.

After that success, Bolter has continued to support the concert series.

"He's out there every concert noontime and evenings trying to get people to pledge. He's been wonderful," Warren said.

Bolter's dedication to the survival of the concert series stems from his passion for events that bring Palo Altans together.

"I enjoy seeing people being themselves, from the cradle to the grave. It's really quite a fun climate to see the whole family," Bolter said.

He cited Candela's Aug. 2 performance as a major highlight from this season's Twilight Concerts. The group's Latin rhythms brought audience members of all ages to their feet to dance, he said.

"This was a blast. I've never seen such active children in all my life and involved parents," Bolter said.

Warren hopes that Muldaur's performance will be just as much of a hit. "I heard her at a concert eight years ago and she was fantastic," she said.


What: The Twilight Concert Series finale for this year, featuring Maria Muldaur and her Red Hot Bluesiana Band.


Where: On California Ave. between Birch Street and Park Boulevard. Attendees are advised to bring lawn chairs, as there is no available seating.


When: Tuesday, August 16, 6:30 to 8 p.m.


Cost: Admission is free.


Info: Go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/artsculture/twilightconcerts.html for information or to donate to next summer's concert series. Checks (payable to City of Palo Alto Summer Concert Series) can be sent to Suzanne Warren, Twilight and Brown Bag Series, City of Palo Alto-Arts and Culture Division, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94301. For more about Maria Muldaur, go to www.mariamuldaur.com.

'Midnight' at twilight

Maria Muldaur, who's singing at next Tuesday's Twilight Concert, has coined a term for her musical style: "Bluesiana." She says it's a fusion of R&B, blues and Louisiana music.

Best known for her 1974 hit "Midnight at the Oasis," Muldaur has just released "Sweet Lovin' Ol' Soul," a tribute album to women blues singers.

A Greenwich Village native, she grew up listening to bluegrass, folk, blues, jazz and gospel. She then traveled to North Carolina where she learned the fiddle from Doc Watson and his family.

Muldaur has played with such musicians as mandolinist Dave Grisman, guitarist Ry Cooder and harmonica player Paul Butterfield, and also took the stage in 1983 as Linda Ronstadt's replacement in a production of "The Pirates of Penzance."

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