Press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2009

60 BANDS – 30 VENUES – ONE TICKET
Left Coast Live Makes its Debut

SAN JOSE, CA – Music lovers, industry professionals and downtown businesses are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Left Coast Live, the music festival and conference that promises to ignite downtown San Jose for an entire week this May.

The festival, premiering May 11-15, is poised to be one of the Bay Area’s signature cultural events, featuring five days of panels, interviews and workshops centered on the music industry. Throughout the week, the festival will flow through downtown’s cafes, restaurants, bars and galleries, culminating on Friday evening with a live concert event that will showcase over 60 bands on 30 stages in and around the city’s downtown core. Headliners at this time include Lyrics Born, Miggs, Aloe Blacc, Marcus Shelby, the Mumlers, and Grammy-winner Ernie Watts with the West Valley Jazz Orchestra. Popular local cover bands will also perform.
Like San Jose itself, Left Coast Live is expected to be a breeding ground for new ideas and is expected to attract more than 10,000 music lovers, performers and professionals to the festival over the course of five days.

Festival events include “Gypsy Cinema” screenings, an outdoor movie event including “Before the Music Dies,” which documents American music at this precarious moment in time, and a series of award-winning music videos plucked from the Alice 97.3 Three Minute Film Festival.
Other highlights include “The Sound of Things to Come,” a forum exploring industry trends through intimate artist discussions and interaction. Included in the forum is a panel discussion with San Jose Rocks, an organization dedicated to Silicon Valley’s “role in rock.”

The festival embraces music in all forms and all genres, and showcases local, regional and national talent. Free preview concerts will be held in venues ranging from Gordon Biersch, Hotel De Anza and local art galleries including the Institute of Contemporary Art.

Monday through Thursday events are free and open to the public. The Friday night all access ticket is $25 with advance purchase and $30 at the door. Advance purchase tickets are available at a special discounted price of $18 until April 15.

The impetus behind the Left Coast Live stems from an ad hoc group of musicians, entrepreneurs, city leaders and business people with a shared vision of San Jose as the perfect destination for live performances and a vibrant music scene. Giant Creative Services, well known for producing cultural events for economic and community benefit, is the event producer.

Because Left Coast Live is an event designed with and for downtown businesses, it promises to boost the local economy. Geoff Roach, CEO of San Jose Jazz and key organizer of Left Coast Live, quipped that this kind of event is “instrumental” in boosting downtown’s economic recovery.
Event sponsors include 1stACT Silicon Valley, Metro Newspapers, Alice 97.3, Live 105, KFOX, Channel 104.9 and Mix 106.5. Left Coast Live is produced in conjunction with the City of San José, the San José Redevelopment Agency and San Jose Downtown Association.

For more information and a detailed schedule of events, visit www.leftcoastlive.com.