LIVE ON THE WATERFRONT AT THE POINT SAN PABLO HARBOR!
Sean Hayes
+ Lila Nelson
Friday, August 19, 2022
7 pm Doors | 8 pm Show
$30 ADV | $35 DAY OF SHOW
Includes Parking
Music on the meadow stage (outdoors)
Food Available On Site By Black Star Pirate BBQ
Local Beer, Wine, and Beverages
No outside food or alcohol please
Bring layers, blankets and chairs
Kids 16 and under free
Sean Hayes
Sean Hayes is a Bay Area singer-songwriter who makes music to dance to or cry to, or maybe both at the same time. He was born in New York City, raised in North Carolina, and honed his earliest musical chops in a band playing Irish and old-time tunes — but his unique style of deeply felt, R&B-inflected folk really matured during his two decades singing and playing in cafes, bars, and night clubs of San Francisco.
His voice layers wonder and heartache upon grit and gravel, sex and soul. His lyrics carry an unpretentious wisdom. He’s dueted with Aimee Mann; been covered by the Be Good Tanyas; and toured with Anais Mitchell (performing songs from Hadestown, before it was an award-winning Broadway show). His songs have appeared on NPR, NBC and HBO.
Be Like Water, out Nov. 19, 2021, is Hayes’ ninth full-length, and his first record in five years — a time period in which, after nearly 20 years in San Francisco, Hayes moved north with his family to Sonoma County. The resulting songs are warm and enveloping, bluesy and lived-in, and have the feel of someone stretching out their legs on a back porch, perhaps a little unused to having the space to do so.
Album opener “Shine” sets the tone — exuberant yet unhurried, it serves as a get-well note and rally cry for his friend Charley Crockett, the acclaimed country-blues singer who underwent heart surgery in 2019. On tour together in 2016, the musicians bonded over their shared history of busking — of singing for the joy of it in the humblest of settings.
“Tell me how you keep believing, is it just a feeling?” asks Hayes over layered, effervescent guitar, before landing on the song’s hymn-like refrain: “You shine when you’re singing; keep shining, keep singing.”
Other inspirations run the gamut: sly, funky jams like “Bell” and “Gold Tooth” revolve quite literally around a celebration of the bell shape and Hayes’ gold tooth, respectively; while “Joy” is a seductive, slow-burning afternoon love song, and “Invisible Weight” sings the praises of a simple apology, no matter how long overdue. Taken together, these tracks comprise a meditation on balance and acceptance — on learning to see life’s bruises and heartaches as necessary parts of the ride.
“To me, the phrase Be Like Water is about being patient,” says Hayes, of the record he made during a year when such a mantra felt perhaps more necessary than ever. “Rolling with your nature, and trying to stay present. I think of it as James Brown meets the I Ching: You have to get up to get down.”
http://www.seanhayesmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/seanhayesmusic
http://www.twitter.com/seanhayesmusic
https://www.youtube.com/user/seanhayesmusic
Lila Nelson
“Did you grow up in a cult?” No, says singer and songwriter Lila Nelson who has toured internationally, playing with notable artists including Ben Folds and the late Richie Havens. But she describes an upbringing wherein a rigorous family art aesthetic forced her into her secret songwriting chamber to find her singular voice. No one sings like Lila Nelson. Her music reveals a rich inner life, an irrepressible sense of humor, and a profound facility for poetry. Nelson draws her audience into intimate conversations, making each performance a rich, enchanting musical stew.
“Nelson possesses something rare: the ability to live passionately in the world while at the same time sharply observing it. She’s a poet.” - KOOP, Austin, TX
"Fans of Leonard Cohen and Kate Wolf will love Lila Nelson." - Performing Songwriter Magazine
"In a sea of throw-away pop idols it's nice to see a few real musicians still around." - East Bay Express