IF YOU'RE DRAWN IN... by the sound of an instrument being played, before your very ears, whether it is a piano in the upstairs apartment down the street or a guitar rocking inside a club around the corner, you know the eternally seductive draw of live music. But it is rather rarer for that music to spring from a single type of instrument, at least when several instruments are all together in one spot. Usually you'll have some drums or percussion, and a guitar, and maybe some keyboards and a tambourine. Step back from that image for a moment, if you will, and picture, with your mind's ear, how "Lady of Spain" played by several accordionists might flow. Would it be a magical moment filled with bellows-based enchantment and magical wheeze? Would you ever want to return to the world where many different instruments play at a time, rather than a set of accordions of various shapes and wheeze-a-bility? Best get to Cotati in August then, and the...
COTATI ACCORDION FESTIVAL, the "multi-cultural" and "multi-generational" event that draws solo accordion artists as well as groups featuring an accordion or two. The 2017 dates are Saturday, Aug. 19 and Sunday, Aug. 20, and the schedule once again includes the famous "Lady-of-Spain-A-Ring" ("audience participation" is welcomed). Live performances by the Mad Maggies, The Great Morgani, Royal Jelly Jive, and Oddjob Ensemble are all on the full-full-full schedule, as are some oppotunities to dance to polka, Cajun, and more foot-stomping vibes. It's a stand-out sound spectacular on our state's calendar, and one that draws both players and fans alike. Love a whimsical wheeze? How about thousands of wheezes over a single weekend? Cotati is your rendezvous point, bellows buffs.
