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“Live music inspires joy.” That’s the slogan for the 3rdThursday California Avenue music festival, which happens, as the name suggests, on the third Thursday of the month on Palo Alto’s California Avenue. Over the course of the past year, the festival has brought a lot of live music – and a lot of joy – to the community, participants said.
“3rdThursday has been a wonderful addition to the Palo Alto landscape,” Palo Alto City Council Member Julie Lythcott-Haims said in a press release from event organizers. “It shows us that our community yearns for opportunities to let their hair down, relax and be human.”
3rdThursday is celebrating its first anniversary this month, with a theme of “We Are One,” and its Thursday, May 16, lineup of musicians includes classic rock band The Wandering Acoustics (California Avenue at Ash Street, 7-9 p.m.), “bluesy folk and roll” group Mick Overman & The Maniacs (California Avenue near El Camino Real, 7-9 p.m.) the teenage jazz phenoms of Nathan’s Fearless Five (California Avenue at Birch Street, 6-9 p.m.), and, in what is billed as the event’s first classical performance, Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra’s Wind Octet (414 California Ave. parking lot, 6-7 p.m.).
In addition to the musical performances, there will be line dancing and Zumba; a kids’ play area; art displays; and a photo booth.
And, seeing as it’s a birthday party of sorts, there will be cake and cupcakes, courtesy of Stanford Research Park – one of the festival’s sponsors.
“‘We Are One’ kind of encapsulates what I’ve been wanting to create with this event,” producer Carol Garsten said, thinking back over the past year. Garsten is a longtime co-chair of Los Altos’ First Friday music series and was pondering her next phase in life after deciding to close her brick-and-mortar retail shop, Nature Gallery, after 35 years.
“I have way too much energy and community connections and verve to sit at home in my rocking chair,” the Palo Alto resident remembered telling herself. “What I want to do at this point in life is, I want to do something that brings my community together and brings joy.”
She said the inspiration for starting 3rdThursday was partially sparked when she read a 2022 Palo Alto Weekly article that profiled the Los Altos First Friday event but also introduced her to what Maico Campilongo, the owner of Terun and iTalico restaurants and a musician himself, was doing with live music on California Avenue. Early last year, she attended Terun’s 10th anniversary celebration and got to talking with Campilongo, and the seeds for 3rdThursday were planted. With the support and sponsorship of local businesses, the City of Palo Alto and the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, and participation from community members and artists, it’s been going strong since its opening night in May of 2023.
Like any 1-year-old, it’s evolved over the course of its infancy.
“At first we were like, ‘We need to be like First Fridays in Los Altos!” Garsten recalled of the event’s early days, with many bands crammed into the lineup. Los Altos’ event, though, covers the whole downtown area rather than just one street.
“That was way too much music; it was bleeding over,” she laughed. Organizers also tried expanding all the way down to the Caltrain station but found people weren’t keen to leave the car-free zone.
At first a temporary, pandemic trial, California Avenue between Birch Street and El Camino Real is now remaining car-free for the foreseeable future.
“I’m very happy the street is permanently car free,” Garsten said. “It’s been an experimental year to try and figure out what works. And it’s been a great experiment. There was so much knowledge to gain, so much feedback from the community, from the city, from the chamber, from the music groups.”
Part of 3rdThursday’s aims is to not only spread happiness and entertainment via music but also to engage local businesses, many of whom offer specials during the event.
“The thing that you can’t buy online is the community connection and experience,” she said. “We need to support our local businesses and we need to support each other.”
Garsten said for her personally, there have been many highlights, including the lineups of music organized by local concert promoter Mark Weiss of Earthwise Productions. Musical artists of many backgrounds and genres have performed over the year, and now receive a small stipend for participating.
The Wandering Acoustics performed at the very first 3rdThursday and will be back at the May 16 event.
“These types of events are important because I believe in music being able to join strangers together through a communal spirit, breaking down social/political/racial barriers and helping people bond over a shared interest,” bassist and vocalist Russ Kao told this news organization in an email. He lived in Palo Alto as a teenager and has fond musical memories of California Avenue in particular – shopping at Draper’s music store and hearing concerts at The Keystone. Over the decades he’s seen venues to play and hear live music vanish from the area but is optimistic about the post-pandemic outdoor music scene.
“The Keystone no longer exists, so it’s wonderful to see Carol bringing live music back to California Ave., where people of all ages can enjoy different styles of music for free,” he said. “We started our band a year and a half after the beginning of the pandemic when outdoor dining started to become popular, and we found a lot of opportunities to play outdoors. It’s nice to see live music making a comeback.”
Music has long been a part of Garsten’s life. She spent part of her youth in London, where her late mother Norma Tager worked in the rock ‘n’ roll scene writing lyrics, designing costumes and working on big events, with musicians such as Stewart Copeland and members of Hot Chocolate as her neighbors and associates. With strong memories of her mother’s artistic and community connections, and Garsten’s own background in the arts, it feels like 3rdThursday is “bringing together a lot of the creative elements in my life. Knowing that from a young age that live music inspires joy,” she said, returning to the event’s credo. “I just can’t tell you how many people I see walking around on 3rdThursday just, like, beaming.”
Looking ahead, “getting feedback from the business, community members, bands, city officials, (and) 3rdThursday team members is essential,” Garsten wrote in a post-interview email. “We encourage people to fill out our survey form on our website (3rdthursday.fun) or at 3rdThursday Central, 414 Cal Ave., every month.”
At the May 16 event, the public is also invited to share feedback with City of Palo Alto staff and Urban Field Studio’s design team “about ideas, priorities and preferences of the street design concepts for the future of Cal Ave.,” Palo Alto’s Chief Communications Officer Meghan Horrigan-Taylor wrote in an email to this news organization.
3rdThursday themes are set for the rest of the year, including “International Voices and Dance” in June, “Summer Fun & Games” in August, “Dancing in the Streets” in September, “Sustainability Fun Fair” in October, “ThanksCaring” in November and “World Holidays” in December. Garsten said she’s especially looking forward to the July edition: a fundraising wine walk on July 18 – “LoCAL Libations” – featuring products from local wineries.
And she’s excited to deepen connections with the city and with community groups, getting more folks involved and engaged.
“In months to come we look forward to having the book mobile out from the library, jugglers and hopefully a contraption where people ride bikes to power a band!” she wrote.
May 16, 6-9 p.m., on California Avenue in Palo Alto. More information is available at 3rdthursday.fun.