NORTH BAY BOH E MI A N | AUGUST 6-1 2, 20 14 | BO H E M I AN.COM
28
A NON-PROFIT EVENT BENEFITTING LOCAL YOUTH GROUPS
$&
FREE SHUTTLE from Park & Ride Lot on St. Joseph Way
Music
COTATI
A Non-Stop, Multicultural 28 Acts Extravaganza at La Plaza Park ~ Cotati 5 stages
KIDS 15 AND UNDER
2 L 2
FREE
#( L #)
9:30 AM TO 8:00 PM - BOTH DAYS
INTERNATIONAL CAVALCADE OF STARS Russia: Trio Voronezh Italy: Vincenzo Abbracciante Brazil: Matuto CHINA: Jianan Tian USA: the legendary Dick Contino plus a host of multi-cultural acts, some of your favorites and a few surprises 28 Acts, 5 Stages - including:
Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic, Alicia Baker, Bruce Gassman, Jet Black Pearl, Polkacide, Tara Linda, Motor Dude Zydeco, The Great Morgani, The Mad Maggies, Sourdough Slim, Paul Betken, The Steve Balich Sr. Polka Band AND SO MUCH MORE!
Complete lineup -
www.cotatifest.com
Zydeco Dance Parties Buy tickets Oliver’s Markets, The Last Record Store, in Santa Rosa and People’s Music in Sebastopol
12:00 to 5:00 pm
Friar Tuck’s Pub 5:10 to 5:55 in park SUNDAY.
(707) 664-0444
www.cotatifest.com
$17 each day (advanced sale $15) Kids under 15 free or $25 for both days. Call 888-559-2576 for tickets or visit website at www.cotatifest.com Festival Hotline: 707-664-0444 Volker Financial & Insurance Services
MUSICAL MUSE Music is magic in a modern world, says songwriter Jesse DeNatale.
Soul Power
Jesse DeNatale headlines benefit show in Point Reyes BY CHARLIE SWANSON
I
meet singer and songwriter Jesse DeNatale at Wildwood Cafe in Graton for coffee. By the time our cups arrive, we’re already steeped in a discussion about the philosophical nature of music. “It’s magic in a modern world,” says DeNatale. The local musician, now living in Sebastopol, is pondering what he calls a compulsion to document and connect. For DeNatale, music is as essential as food and shelter, a malleable but intangible force he can’t live without. Born in San Francisco, DeNatale is a soulful folk artist who’s been widely praised for his natural crafting of deeply felt, personal stories in the tradition of troubadour artists like Bob
Dylan and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. DeNatale’s two albums, 2003’s Shangri-La West and 2006’s Soul Parade, are adored by critics and fans alike. DeNatale doesn’t currently have plans for a follow-up record, though he continuously writes new material and prefers to engage with live audiences, even performing unannounced to allow unsuspecting crowds to discover his music without preconceived notions. “Sometimes, when you discover a new song, it feels like it discovered you,” says DeNatale. “And maybe sometimes it does.” A longtime North Bay local, DeNatale first lived in Point Reyes Station when he moved from San Francisco, a community he is still closely connected with. “You can fall in love with a place, but it’s the people that keep you there, it’s their joys and struggles you celebrate.” Case in point: This past January, the Porrata-Powell family learned that their youngest child, four-yearold Ezequiel, was diagnosed with a rare cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma, and would require chemotherapy. A month later, husband and father Roneil Powell passed away in his sleep. He was only 43. When news of this tragedy reached DeNatale, his immediate impulse was to help. Now, with the generous support of the community, DeNatale is performing a special benefit concert on Sunday, Aug. 10, at Toby’s Feed Barn in the heart of Point Reyes Station. For the show, DeNatale is playing with a full band and has recruited one of his favorite songwriters, Jonathan Richman, to open with drummer Tommy Larkins. Richman is best known for founding the protopunk band Modern Lovers, and his influence is widespread. Beyond the fundraising aspect of the show, DeNatale hopes the show will act as a display of support and solidarity for the Porrata-Powell family, and he guarantees that at the concert there will be at least one song that I will love. “And what’s better than finding that one song?” Jesse DeNatale and Jonathan Richman perform on Sunday, Aug. 10, at Toby’s Feed Barn, 11250 Hwy. 1, Point Reyes Station. 7pm. $20. 415.663.1223.