YOUR AD HERE »

‘California Rock’ theme of new TAMA show

ABHUTCHISON, Sierra Sun

Truckee Alliance for the Musical Arts will rock into its 10th anniversary with the upcoming “California Rock” show.

The show, scheduled at Tahoe-Truckee High School, will feature music that is strongly identified with California.

“We’re kind of going back to our roots. We get to play with a lot of people we haven’t seen in awhile,” said Bob French, one of TAMA’s founding members and director of the show.



Ten years ago, the group of musicians performed its first show, “Fillmore,” at the high school. French refers to the theme of this year’s big show as their “TAMA alumni theme.”

TAMA is a group of local amateur and professional musicians who volunteer time by giving local performances. Not only do they play music, but they use the organization to raise money for scholarships for high school students. The group has given approximately $50,000 in scholarships and grants since it started.



In this year’s production, TAMA musicians will cover several artists and songs that are indicative to the theme. They will be covering such artists as the Beach Boys, the Grateful Dead, Jackson Brown and the Eagles, to name a few. The show will consist of four groupings of musicians.

“We had all of these recording studios in L.A. that would attract artists from all over. When you pick a theme like California Rock, it kind of opens a lot of doors for us,” said French. “It will feature artists whose careers were started in California.”

TAMA is a sister organization to the Truckee Actors Guild, a group of local amateur actors that was organized 17 years ago. Local musicians worked with TAG in a production entitled “Celebration 88,” and decided to create their own organization dedicated to the task of creating musical shows for local musicians.

TAMA currently has more than 50 members in its organization right now, high school age and up. They play anything from big band to bluegrass and get together according to what shows they are working on. They hold auditions for each show.

In preparation for “California Rock,” musicians have been meeting as their schedule allows, at members’ houses and available space at the Sierra Mountain Middle School. On any given night, there may be four different rehearsals going on, said TAMA President Merri McKee.

The show opens Thursday, April 15, at TTHS starting at 7:30 p.m. It will also run on April 16-17, starting at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12.

For information, call (530) 587-9082.


Support Local Journalism

 

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and beyond make the Sierra Sun's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.