Unlocking the Lockdown Festivals

Regular readers probably know by now of my efforts to follow Karl Evangelista’s Lockdown Festivals, whose streamed offerings provided a valuable platform for performing through prevailing pandemic conditions. The most recent of these was Lockdown Festival VI, which was streamed at the end of this past September. Now that many of the performing arts organizations seem to be resuming their usual schedules, Evangelista has announced an Unlocked Festival, which will serve as an opportunity for the more adventurous members of the Bay Area music community to convene, gather strength, and forge ahead.

As the “fine print” on the poster shows:

the Unlocked Festival is basically the transformation of what would have been Lockdown Festival VII. As was the case for Lockdown Festival VI, the program will present eight sets, most of which will be half an hour in duration. However, this will be a “live” performance at the Temescal Art Center in Oakland, and an audience will be admitted. Those attending will be required to show proof of vaccination and wear masks at all times. For those of us preferring to remain in San Francisco, the entire concert will be live-streamed; and the YouTube URL has already been created.

Like the sixth offering, the new Festival program will present eight sets, most of which will be half an hour in duration, with 45 minutes allocated for the last two. It will begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, and run until 8:30 p.m. The schedule for the eight performances will be as follows:

1. 4 p.m.: Positive Knowledge (Oluyemi and Ijeoma Thomas)
2. 4:30 p.m.: duo B. (Jason Levis and Lisa Mezzacappa)
3. 5 p.m.: Tongo Eisen-Martin
4. 5:30 p.m.: Lenora Lee and Francis Wong
5. 6 p.m.: Evicshen
6. 6:30 p.m.: Grex (duo of Evangelista and Rei Scampavia)
7. 7 p.m.: Tom Weeks, Kazuto Sato, and Gerald Cleaver
8. 7:45 p.m.: Rova Saxophone Quartet

As was the case with the Lockdown Festivals, there will be no charge for admission to the Temescal Art Center. Support for the program comes from donations. Contributions may be made through electronic mail to LockdownIII2020@gmail.com. The alternative is to purchase one of the albums on the Bandcamp Web page for Grex. All items are purchased on a name-your-price basis, and the proceeds will serve as a donation to the Festival, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Milford Graves Memorial Fund.