Star-powered San Jose blues benefit fights human trafficking
Cathy Lemons, Terrie Odabi, Tia Carroll, Laura Chavez and others will perform at Bliues Saves Lives, a benefit for Freedom House.
Blues music has never shied away from life’s harsh and unforgiving vicissitudes, confronting heartbreak, betrayal, violence and loss with blunt and unblinking honesty.
Rather than wallowing in pain, the music is a celebration of survival, which makes it an ideal art form to raise funds for Freedom House, the Bay Area nonprofit that runs a safe house and long-term aftercare program for adult female survivors of human trafficking.
Organized by award-winning San Francisco vocalist Cathy Lemons, the third annual benefit, this year called the Blues Saves Lives concert, is at The Studio at Poor House Bistro in San Jose. It features a power-packed array of women, including blues sensation Terrie Odabi with guitarist Terry Hiatt, high-octane belter Tia Carroll, blazing guitarist Laura Chavez, rising vocalist Marina Crouse and The Lucky Losers, Cathy Lemons’ project with harp ace and vocalist Phil Berkowitz.
Blues star Tommy Castro is also on the bill, and like all the artists, he’s donating his performance so all the funds raised support Freedom House. What’s most striking about the lineup, which encompasses down-home blues, vintage R&B and American roots music, is that “it’s women standing up for women, saying ‘No more!”’ Lemons says. “These women are behind this cause, and everyone has their own #MeToo stories to tell. We want to raise awareness about trafficking, which is much more common in the Bay Area than people realize.”
Details: 4-8 p.m. Oct. 6; The Studio at Poor House Bistro, San Jose; $25-$30; 408-292-5837, www.facebook.com/theluckylosersband