In my post of June 26th, I shared some thoughts about original material and mentioned that BRQ has been preparing for a while now to move into more concert-style, listening-oriented performance situations. I concluded the post by promising to "keep you posted" about engagements of this nature that we were working on.

Between then and now we have booked our first two straight-up concert dates. I announced this to our mailing list subscribers last week, so in the interests of "keeping you posted," here is the notice I sent out:

** Special Announcement: Two Upcoming Concert Dates **

As many of you know, during 2019 The Bob Roden Quintet has been preparing to move into some more concert-style performing situations -- festivals, house concerts, more listening-oriented venues and the like. (By "preparing," I mean rehearsing original jazz compositions and arrangements that are outside of our normal repertoire.) It has been a bit of a leap of faith. We assumed that if we prepared ourselves to play in those settings, the opportunities would follow. And so it seems to be. We have booked two concert dates that we want to make you aware of. First: On Sunday, September 22nd, at 1:00 p.m., we will play a one-hour set at the Piedmont Jazz Festival. This is a lovely outdoor, family-oriented annual event. We're honored to have been selected to hold down the one "jazz combo" slot allotted each year. Second: On March 6, 2020 (still a long way off, we know, but get it on your calendar!) BRQ will play an hour-long daytime concert (starting at 12:30 p.m.) at the Cadillac Hotel in San Francisco. The hotel has been putting on free public concerts in the Tenderloin for the last 12 years, and we're happy to be able to support and participate in this very worthwhile endeavor. If you work in SF, come join us on your lunch hour! Both events are free, and for us they are special opportunities to move in the direction we've been wanting to go. We'll send out our usual reminders as the dates draw closer, but want to make you aware of them now for planning purposes. See you soon, we hope! Bob

These are exciting developments for us, and more are in the works. We'll keep you posted on those too. But most of all, we hope you'll find a way to join us when these events roll around.

#future #venue #plans #band