| | Published November 8th, 2023
| Live music at Town Hall
| | | By Sharon K. Sobotta |  | | Jeff Tamelier Photo provided |
If you've got a hankering for some live music but the idea of traveling to the city or even a bar is not quite what you're in the mood for, Peter Sabine is curating and producing what may be just the thing for you, as he brings some concerts back to the Town Hall Theatre. The concerts kicked off on Nov. 3 and the next one, featuring The Sunday Paper, is just days away on Sunday, Nov. 12.
Sabine says that outside of a few concerts that happen in the summer and in early fall during the Lafayette Art & Wine festival, there's very little live music during fall and winter. "The Town Hall Theatre is the perfect venue to host live music events because it's centrally located," Sabine says. On top of that, he says, the theatre's rich history makes it perfect. "The theatre capacity is 180, which makes it large enough for ticket sale proceeds to cover the event and the cost of top-notch musicians."
Sabine is particularly excited for The Sunday Paper's performance because, he says, it's been a long time coming. It'll represent their first concert since March 2020, at which time they were the featured final performance at a Martinez venue called Armando's. "This is their comeback performance to showcase the phenomenal talent of the musicians."
Sabine describes The Sunday Paper as a musical force backed by tight arrangements by powerful musicians with a special Bay Area Funk style. The group includes and has included the likes of members of Tower of Power, Cold Blood, Sly & The Family Stone, Santana and Herbie Hancock, guitarist Jeff Tamelier, keyboardist Tony Stead, bass player David Margen, drummer T Moran, saxophonist Daniel Casares, trumpet player Mike Olmos, and vocalists Tony Lindsay and Alex Ligertwood.
For guitarist Jeff Tamelier, playing in Lafayette at the Town Hall Theatre is a homecoming of sorts. "Lafayette is where I learned to play music," Tamelier recalls. "We moved from San Francisco to Lafayette in 1964. I went to Burton Valley Elementary School, Fairview Middle School and Acalanes High School. I'm very sentimental about Lafayette. I have a lot of great memories here."
Tamelier describes the band's music as "all over the map," but says there will be some special musical surprises for partakers. "We play rock, funk, fusion and we have two former Santana vocalists joining us so you'll get some Latin rock as well. The crowd can definitely get their groove on."
Although Tamelier is in his early 60s, he says his fiery passion is still burning strong. "I've been playing with some of these guys for 50 years. I'm still trying to play as often as possible, whether it's live or making records," he says. "I'm very grateful that people still come out and watch us play and now kids and grandkids come too."
The music of the group streams on all major platforms. The live concert will be at Lafayette's very own Town Hall Theatre at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12. For more information about this and other plays, performances and educational opportunities, visit www.townhalltheatre.com. |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA