The Board and Staff of Bread & Roses would like to thank all of the performers, volunteers, donors and sponsors who participated in our March 22 benefit concert, "Take Heart." We couldn't have done it without your support. And what a night it was, complete with dinner, music and dancing! The following is a slideshow of photos taken at the event:
All photos by Ken Friedman, courtesy of Bread & Roses.
If you attended the event, please leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts.
We are so grateful that Peter Merts has been actively documenting our work for the past ten years. He has been involved in supporting Bread & Roses for over thirty years having worked with Mimi Fariña as an event coordinator in the late 70s and early 80s. We are truly blessed to have his continuing contributions; the beautiful images that help us tell our story in so many ways.
Take our upcoming benefit on Match 22 at the Regency Ballroom for example. Peter’s images grace our invitation and program. His photos also make up a large part of the slide show we will be screening for the first time at the event showing the power of the institutional shows recently performed by our benefit musicians.
With red, white and blue balloons bobbing cheerfully in the breeze, the band Moonalice played an upbeat Bread & Roses concert for the veterans at the VA Hospital in Menlo Park on Labor Day 2011. Blessed with beautiful sunny weather, this early afternoon special event was held on Monday, September 5 on a small stage in a grassy area to the right of the front door of the Community Living Center.
Our audience was a mix of veterans -- most from World War II who lived in the nursing unit close by and enjoyed the performance from a covered deck. They were assisted by other vets from the Vietnam era who came from a residential rehab program in a nearby building.
Photo: Moonalice performing a Bread & Roses show at Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco.
A band of seasoned musicians, Moonalice features Roger McNamee on rhythm guitar, bass and vocals; Ann McNamee on keyboards and vocals; Pete Sears on keyboards, guitar, vocals and bass; Barry Sless on lead, pedal steel and bass guitars; and John Molo on drums and vocals.
Pete Sears launched the set with "Down the Road", a crowd pleaser and apt metaphor for this traveling band that goes all over the country playing outdoor festivals and parks as a living embodiment of their belief that music is a communal experience that should be shared.
Budding jazz chanteuse Lucy Krakow is a featured “Whiz Kid” on this week’s Larkspur Corte Madera Patch. While at Redwood High School, Lucy was a volunteer performer for Bread & Roses who did concerts for three different facility audiences. An inventive jazz singer with her own distinctive style, Lucy is also a talented singer-songwriter as well as guitarist.
For her Bread & Roses shows, she brought her talents as a creative collaborator to the forefront by recruiting three musicians to perform with her. At Marin Services for Women (MSW) she performed original songs she co-wrote with Katie Hamilton who is now at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. At Aldersly in San Rafael, a residential community for seniors, she played jazz standards with saxophone player Jake Botts. At Our Common Ground, a rehab for teens in Redwood City, she performed in a charming and inspirational duet with her brother Roger.
OIGC Director, Terrance Kelly takes a turn at the microphone.
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir -- their name says it all. Buddhists, Christians, Jews and others join their voices to sing traditional and contemporary Black Gospel music. Many races and ethnicities blend into one beautiful chorus. Residents of Crossroads Homeless Shelter in Oakland were engulfed by the powerful sound that filled their dining hall during a recent Bread & Roses concert there. Some laughed, some cried as songs of trials and faith touched their hearts. “Never Alone,” “All I Need,” and upon request “Amazing Grace” buoyed the spirits of folks facing a hard time in their lives.
Volunteer host Barb Withers who attended the show wrote, “There was a shared energy in the room and it just kept encircling everyone with love and strength. It was hard to believe how much the music filled the room, and as it did, more and more of the audience stood smiling, clapping and singing to the inspiring music.”
After the show, a young choir member said that she was especially happy to be working with Bread & Roses. She had been inspired by seeing shows while attending a high school for students with special needs. She was now able to give back to the organization that gave to her.
OIGC has been blessing Bread & Roses audiences since 1990, performing regularly in detention centers, rehab facilities and shelters.
Volunteer teen performer, Alexis Forchette, is a talented singer-songwriter/guitarist from Los Gatos who has done many programs for Bread & Roses audiences including Center Point RWC, a rehab facility for women in San Rafael, CA.
Please note these photos are to promote the mission of Bread & Roses and are not to be modified or used for commercial purposes. Use by permission only - contact info@breadandroses.org
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