Petaluma musicians stage impromptu concerts

With music venues closed, Petaluma musicians have been performing for neighbors.|

It’s Friday late afternoon, the end of a heatwave and another week of shelter in place - but with a new twist. A handful of people have paused their neighborhood stroll, interrupted dog walks, and stopped to watch from their front porches. Kevin Russell and (Socially Distancing) Friends gathered five-strong in a west Petaluma driveway for a western swing jam session.

In the quiet of the shelter-in-place orders, concerts have gone the way of Zoom and livestream. Downtown Petaluma’s public pianos stand silent on the sidewalk. Even Petaluma Pete now plays his Steinway in regular “Garage Grand” shows from his home driveway. It’s an all too vivid reminder of the coronavirus lockdown.

When Petaluma performers are forced to social distance they find ways to keep playing live music, creating new concert venues at home. Part of an emerging movement in Petaluma, bands and musicians are giving unannounced, free concerts for their neighbors.

Kevin Russell and Friends have been playing together from a member’s driveway regularly since the start of lockdown. With violin, bass, guitar, mandolin and vocals, the band that normally plays venues like Redwood Cafe and Lagunitas drew a small crowd in the quiet neighborhood. They have done no advertising to keep the gathering limited in support of shelter in place precautions.

Russell and Friends played more than two and a half hours of western swing and blues music, including classics like “Unchain my Heart” and “Love Potion Number Nine.” Couples arrived and danced in masks to the swinging mix of jazz, bluegrass and folk music. Regular attendee and neighbor Mary Davies cheered them on, highlighting how important the small gathering was for her community.

“You don’t have to have a stage to make music, to make art, to make community,” she said.

Weeks earlier, another Petaluma band, Dirty Red Barn, came together and gave an energetic outdoor performance of their Americana repertoire. The band spread out in the spacious front yard and encouraged social distancing for those gathered.

The idea to perform outdoors came to the group as a whole, said guitarist and host Dave Brouilette.

“We hadn’t seen each other for a couple months,” he said. “We had a lot of gigs lined up this summer that we were going to be doing, and we were just missing each other and playing for people.”

The event was unannounced to keep the crowd small, but the music itself drew the neighbors’ attention. Sarah, who lives nearby, said her husband just happened to go outside for a walk and hearing the music, came back to get her.

“They did a cover of ‘Wagon Wheel,’ I love that song,” she said. “And if you think about it, we don’t - can’t - have these kinds of events anymore, like concerts and live music. And it makes you feel like, gosh. I really miss this!”

Neighbors Mary and her husband Kenny also enjoyed the music, but recognized that not everyone felt so comfortable with the event.

“I think that someone called the police,” Kenny said. “But people were in clusters, it looked like families staying together. It was all in fun. We saw people smiling and happy.”

Dirty Red Barn livestreamed the event from the group’s Facebook page where Brouilette explained the police call came in response to noise and amplified music, not concerns about the shelter-in-place. The band got the OK to continue from the responders, adjusted their volume, and played on.

Another driveway on Petaluma’s east side is home to local band Los Gu’achis and their southwestern musical influences. The band keeps traditional music alive, playing danceable polka, waltz and folk tunes at their weekly lunchtime live sessions.

Singer-songwriter Hannah Jern-Miller, formerly playing with the all-female band Foxes in the Hen House, gave a concert from a wisteria-covered porch, the third porch besides her own that she’s played since lockdown. Jern-Miller gave an hour-long concert on guitar and harmonica, playing favorites like “Over the Rainbow” and “In the Pines” in her signature lyrical bluegrass style. She was joined by Ben Dubin for some close harmony and messages of hope and love in the folksy lyrics.

People of all ages are drawn to the music, proud of their community. Families watched with small children dancing and babies bouncing from nearby porches. Family groups had taken precautions, standing apart from other family units and wearing masks.

“During this time when people feel so distant, it was great to have this feeling of unity,” neighbor Susie said. “I mean, the neighbors would normally do a lot together. But this music was just so special. We live on the best street in Petaluma.”

At the end of her set, Jern-Miller explained to the audience how COVID-19 changed her venue options.

“In the before-times, we actually used to go on real tours,” she said. “But we started to do this at our own porch. Then word got out and we went mobile. This is like a tour, but a porch tour. I go around the neighborhood now, looking at porches, like oh! We should play there!”

Jern-Miller plays regular evening night concerts too, from her own balcony in west Petaluma to a bandana-donning, mask wearing audience spread out across the street in lawn chairs. To their fans, these artists and musicians are hometown heroes bringing hope and resilience to their communities.

“It’s such a refreshing break to my week,” said regular attendee and neighbor Sue Sullivan. “I love it.”

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