Événement

BOON HIKER BAND returns to PCA!

The Boon Hiker Band is looking forward to another opportunity to sing in the resonant and lovely Piedmont Center for the Arts. We had a grand concert last time around and have some new tunes to share. Any of you still hanging on to this spinning ball, willing and able, come on out and give us a listen!

Boon Hiker Band includes John Bidwell, Clare Broussard, J.T. Devine, Robin Eschner, Natasha Haugnes, Dennis Hysom, Chris Smith, and John Tuttle. The 8 members of the group bring dynamic vocal harmonies to the heart of the original compositions, and arrangements of covers, all supported by various combinations of guitar, bass, keyboard, banjo, accordion, dobro, lap steel, and percussion. The songs lean toward Americana/Folk/Indie traditions, with energetic and vibrant musicianship provided by the three East Bay members - Natasha, John T, and John B (Quake City Jug Band; The Lonestar Retrobates; Walavista Sidewalk Jams). The five North Bay members bring additional mayhem on instruments and enhance the vocal textures and harmonies with their choral backgrounds (Acorn MusEcology Project, Chimney Full of Birds, Cantiamo).

The bond these band members share began many years ago during time spent in outdoor settings such as the Strawberry Music Festival, occasions that involved singing and playing music circled round through every kind of weather and time of day. The person at the center of all was Bay Area composer, guitarist, singer, and beloved stellar person on the planet, Bill Horvitz. Bill always wanted to play one more song, steadily encouraging each person to join in, to try something new that was just out of their comfort zone. He loved hiking in the mountains almost as much as he loved sharing music. Bill died of pancreatic cancer in January of 2017. Later that year, when we next met up for a music festival, the Boon Hiker Band was formed. The name came from a dream in which Bill was introduced, as he hiked down a switchback trail in the mountains, as The Boon Hiker.