Play Bill

Bill Lanphar wasn’t the best-known singer-songwriter-guitarist who called Santa Barbara home. But he might very well have been the best-loved among his peers. 

Lanphar, who had a rock band when he lived in L.A. before relocating to Santa Barbara and La Conchita, started playing music during open mic nights at Dargan’s Pub and quickly became part of singer-songwriter circles that have supported original music in town for decades. Over the years, he formed many long-lasting musical alliances, making appearances at such singer-songwriter friendly venues as SOhO, Cold Spring Tavern, the Cambridge Drive Concert Series, MichaelKate Interiors and Palm Loft Gallery in Carpinteria. 

Lanphar, who passed away in 2019, was especially appreciated for the subtleness of his always melodic songs which penetrated in their simplicity and humanity. He was also a treasured colleague in duos, trios, and larger ensembles. 

Now, Bill’s brother Tom and a whole host of his musical colleagues have put together a tribute concert for Lanphar at the Alcazar Theatre, just down the street from the Palm Loft in Carpinteria. The lineup for “Play Bill: Covering the Music of and for Bill Lanphar” on July 26 – boasts nearly two dozen of his former colleagues and compatriots, all of whose lives, musical and otherwise, were touched and enhanced by knowing Lanphar. 

Among them are Antara & Delilah, the folk-pop duo that delighted local audiences for more than a decade, releasing five albums before disbanding when Delilah moved to Maine. Lanphar was part of the band whenever the duo played as more than a twosome, and Antara later formed a trio called Telltale with Lanphar and Heather Stevenson, who will also be appearing at the tribute. 

“Bill wrote the most incredible songs, just consistently heartfelt and melodically catchy,” Antara said. “The way the three of us sounded singing harmony was even more amazing than it had been with Delilah.” 

The attraction of Telltale was so strong that Antara, who herself relocated to Arizona a decade ago, found herself frequently driving back just to sing with Lanphar and Stevenson, the trio making plans to record and play some public dates before Lanphar died. 

So like many of the local musicians, Antara jumped at the chance to be part of Friday’s concert, where she, Delilah and Stevenson will be singing four of Lanphar’s songs, as well as one she wrote for him. 

“His music deserves to be heard and deserves to be played,” she said. “The fact that all these people would come together to play his music should tell you how important he was to that community, and how vital his music continues to be.” 

Meanwhile, Tom Lanphar and Bill’s son Dustin are putting together a band with Roy Donkin (founder of Cambridge Drive) and others to recreate Bill’s early effort, a 1970s rock band called Sundown. Other local singer-songwriters including Bruce Goldish, Susan Marie Reeves and Arturo Tello (Palm Loft organizer) will offer their versions of songs from Lanphar’s later catalog. 

“It’s when I hear other people interpreting his songs that the beauty of his songwriting really comes out,” Tom Lanphar said. “It’s one of the best ways to keep his music and his memory alive. When we sing his songs, we’re really connecting to him.” 

The Alcazar concert will also be the first time his music has been played at the theater by anyone, as previous song circles were held in much smaller venues. 

“With their renovation and modern sound system, it’s a dream for me to have his music played there,” Lanphar said. 

Bill’s brother said that he hoped the larger venue will also serve to introduce Bill’s music to a wider audience who might never have heard his brother perform. 

“It would be beyond fantastic if we could expose new ears to his music,” he said. 

The concert is in a way a fitting tribute to a man who would have been too shy to ever want it while he was alive.

“He was never one to want the spotlight, more bashful and reserved in public,” Antara said. “But he was always super generous in supporting other people. It’s amazing that we’re all coming together to play his music.”