SBAcoustic@CAW

The Santa Barbara Acoustic Instrument Celebration launched as an annual guitar convention back in 2016, branched into presenting a series of concerts that included workshops, and arguably peaked with bringing fingerstyle wizard Tommy Emmanuel back to town. But when the pandemic struck in 2020, it was hard to get audiences to return, and after trying a number of approaches, founder Kevin Gillies eventually pulled up stakes entirely two years ago. But it wasn’t long before he returned to town to try again, bringing a series of shows to SOhO encompassing touring artists in a variety of genres under the aegis of SBAcoustic.

Now, Gillies is going in a different direction that involves artistic collaborations and a different venue: the Community Arts Workshop on Garden and Ortega streets. Dubbed 4xSB to indicate that the concerts are for and by local musicians, the new series launches September 7 with The Idiomatiques, the gypsy swing band who feature rock, Latin, bossa nova and more within the genre. The band will be celebrating the release of a new album, Indigo Nocturne, with an opening set from The Nightbirds, a new trio that adds R&B vocalist Jade Hendrix to the Sam n’ Ash duo featuring accordionist Samantha Harvey and mandolinist Ashley Hoyer.

“I really wanted to showcase local talent, because there are so many good musicians around town that don’t necessarily get the spotlight,” Gillies explained. “CAW wanted to start doing music shows and become a little local venue, so this is a great way to put that together.”

Gillies said the series is a “baby step” toward enacting a long-standing vision to create a music and visual arts festival wherein each event in the series is programmed to also feature an artist. A new exhibition featuring pottery will be opening that same night.

The second event, on October 12, features longtime local acoustic blues duo Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan, the Cold Springs Tavern regulars who haven’t played a formal concert in town since their 40th anniversary celebration at the Lobero in 2019. Opening is Elderberry, a folk and old-time quartet led by Sean Hutchinson. The plan is for a couple of luthiers to show off their wares on the show’s periphery.

The initial series wraps up on November 2 with Hawaiian slack key masters Leokane Pryor and Kimo West, featuring local hula dancers, with Santa Barbara stalwart John Lyle opening.

“It’s all music that I relate to, not one particular genre,” Gillies said. “I care about the cultural history behind music, how music originated in other parts of the world over centuries and migrated to America, and how the sounds come together.”

We might add …and play at a volume that requires attentive listening, rather than the floor shaking intensity of a club scene. To that end, Gillies has arranged for acoustically helpful drapery to be hung on the three solid walls at the space at CAW, with the audience spilling out into the open air. 

Visit https://sbacoustic.com for more.