Join us for our first benefit for Blanket The Homeless, featuring the Bay Area's own Scott Mickelson, Francesca Lee, and Ken Newman at The Secret Garden on Geary Street in San Francisco (address provided after RSVP or Ticketleap purchase).
BLANKET THE HOMELESS is a Bay Area charity committed to improving the day-to-day experience of people living on the street. Volunteers hand out small parcels containing emergency blankets, socks, first-aid supplies, and other essential items.
Homelessness is a complex, nation-wide crisis and one that cannot be easily solved. Blanket The Homeless' goal is not to solve the larger problem, but to address the immediate suffering of men, women and children living on the streets and to offer a small degree of comfort. This gesture of assistance can give our homeless population more than just help… it can give them hope.
All donations from this event will go to support the BTH mission of delivering care packages to people living on the streets of San Francisco.
Seating is limited, so reserve your spots now with an advance donation here on Ticketleap.
If you prefer to make a cash donation in the tip jar at the show, please RSVP by email to drew at insidelands.org, and I'll reply with the address and details.
Thanks,
Drew Pearce
InsideLands.org
ABOUT SCOTT MICKELSON
Through a career that spanned five full-length releases with his band Fat Opie, a struggle with a long-term illness and a career as a children’s book author and fine artist, Scott Mickelson has persevered. In 2015, Mickelson released his debut full-length Flickering which made the Grammy Ballot in two categories, “Best Folk Album” and “Best Roots Music Performance”.
Mickelson appears in numerous publications both nationally and locally including NPR Radio, Jimmy Lloyd Show (NBC), Huffington Post, CBS Morning Show, No Depression, Paste, Glide Magazine, PopMatters, TheBayBridged, Alternative Press Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, SF Weekly, and with the Folk Alliance. He also gained national recognition after winning a band search contest sponsored by MTV/7-Up with a prize of $15,000 and a song in the feature film Along The Way.
In the nineties, Fat Opie was managed by the legendary manager Elliot Roberts/Lookout Management (Neil Young, Tom Petty). While under contract in LA he had the opportunity to work side by side with Grammy arranger Jimmy Haskell (Steely Dan, Chicago, Simon & Garfunkel). At age seventeen he signed his first record deal with DSM Productions in NYC while playing infamous clubs like CBGB's. His colorful earlier years in NY included playing with Dave Van Ronk and receiving career guidance from Sid Bernstein (Beatles promoter).
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Mickelson has lived in the Bay Area since the 80’s. In San Francisco, Mickelson can be seen performing at the top venues including The Fillmore and Great American Music Hall. When not on tour, Mickelson produces from his Marin studio.
Mickelson’s second full-length record A Wondrous Life will be released in May of 2018. Unlike Flickering which featured more than twenty of the best musicians in the Bay Area, A Wondrous Life is truly a solo effort. On it, he was not only the producer and engineer, but also performed nearly all the tracks except drums/horns. A Wondrous Life leans more towards an Alt-Rock sound and is his finest work to date.
Mickelson has opened for acts that include David Bromberg Quintet, Matt Nathanson, Larry Campbell and Terese Williams (Grammy producer), Jim Lauderdale (Grammy artist), Griffin House, Nick Lowe, Dr. John, Smashmouth, Jonathan Richman, Peter Case and Rob Hotchkiss (from Train, Grammy artist).
ABOUT FRANCESCA LEE
“San Francisco's, Francesca Lee writes songs that tell intimate stories of the human heart that are intensely honest yet soulful and soothing. She is best known for her rich velvety voice and stripped-down acoustic style in the folk/pop genre.”
Confiding narratives and striking melodies illustrate the songs of Francesca Lee. Layered and lustrous, the music on her new full-length release, The Pieces Left, radiates from an organic center colored by electronic shadings and beats. As sonic light breaks through the opaque mist of a dense soundscape, the sound mirrors the drama of her locale: San Francisco, home to generations of visionaries. “Nothing is more dreamlike than the adventure of walking in this city,” she says. “I look out my window to see people in the street, a bus moving, a couple fighting on the corner, a homeless man. The inspiration for the album comes from what I visualize every day.”
In addition to crafting the recordings, Francesca has been headlining with her band The New Believers at high profile NoCal venues like Yoshi’s, Café Du Nord and her home base, Hotel Utah. Selected for inclusion for the KFOG Local Scene 6 CD, Francesca was featured in a live broadcast and interview from San Jose on the station’s Morning Show to celebrate the station’s Local Music Month where she was greeted by a line of fans familiar with her song “Maybe Today” from its regular radio rotation.
Additionally, she was featured in a live performance and an on camera interview on KOFYTV 20 Cable 13 in San Francisco and selected as an artist for “Born To Play Live Acoustic” for Gap, Inc., when the retail giant hosted live music in 700 stores nationwide. Attracting cross-cultural audiences is her trademark: the mix of acoustic roots and electronic edges that she titles “Introspective Dream Pop” resonates to a wide spectrum of listeners including artsy indie kids and fans of serious songwriting.
The daughter of a Polish mother and a Japanese-born Korean father, Francesca grew up between the Bay Area and Texas. She graduated from high school in Alameda, California where she says she “kept to myself and wrote songs.” Her dream was to live in England. Accepted into the prestigious Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) the college founded by Sir Paul McCartney, Francesca raised tuition money with street performances and personal fundraisers.
“Doing that set my foundation for what I do now – organizing and promoting music. I knew I could make it happen if I really wanted it,” she notes.
As a creator, Francesca incorporates an intuitive approach to songwriting. “I have to feel that it comes from the subconscious, from another place. I can feel the story coming out as I let the words channel through me. Some of it is random, but if keep doing this I will get a lyric, or a feeling about what to write about. After that, I just let it flow and then I start making sense of it. But in the beginning I let the music come from my soul.”
This soul connection reverberates within The Pieces Left, in the wistful questions and celebratory moments that inhabit her songs. “I always have hope,” she says. “These songs are more of an observation than anything. They are not about me; they express the emotions that I feel. This is what I work to capture.”
ABOUT KEN NEWMAN
Ken Newman is a San Francisco-based Singer/Songwriter. He currently performs solo and with his band, “Berkeley Bronx,” (w/ Andrea Hensler and Mario Ornelas) Prior to that, he was lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the band, “Last Bastion.”
For the past six years, his earnings from music have all been donated to a variety of homeless charities; specifically, Compass Family Services, Larkin St. Youth Services, and Raphael House. More recently, he and a number of fellow musicians have been supporting a program called, “Blanket The Homeless.” Started with his friend, Bronica Blue, their mission is to package up emergency blankets, hand warmers, socks, first aid kits, and other items and distribute them to people living on the streets of San Francisco. Since October of 2016, thousands of these ‘care packages’ have been given out.
In late 2014, Ken became involved with a program called “Be Robin.” Started by Comedian, Margaret Cho, “Be Robin.” was a homeless outreach program that celebrated the memory and philanthropy of her dear friend, Robin Williams. The goal here was simple: to organize street performances, collect money and distribute it to the homeless. It started with a small crowd of people in the Haight Ashbury, gathering around Margaret and her friend and fellow performer, Gerri Lawlor. A simple sign on the ground said, “If you have, give, if you need, take” And people gave. A LOT.
Be Robin soon developed into a number of street shows at locations around San Francisco and then into larger events at The Oasis, The Condor, The Boom Boom Room, The Edge and other venues. Many talented local musicians like Roger Rocha, Bob Mould, Mia Simmans, Josh Zee, Ari Gorman, as well as promoter, Donna Merlino helped it go viral. And then, comedian and documentary fillmaker, Kurt Weitzmann immortalized it by creating the film, “Be Robin – The Movie” which is now winning awards at festivals throughout the country.
Ken is currently working on his album, “Fiasco,” produced by Scott Mickelson The plan is to release it in Spring of 2018. All proceeds from album sales and downloads will also support our homeless outreach programs …