The Britannia Arms is an authentic English pub, complete with fish n’ chips and waitresses that call you “love,” and is a popular drinking spot in Aptos. However, on the evening of Tuesday, May 11, the area around the bar was nearly empty. Everyone was crowded instead into the upstairs area where the Singer-Songwriter Showcase was about to begin. When the MC/Judge appeared at the microphone in the corner of the room, she thanked the sponsors and directed the room’s attention to a guitar on the wall, which was to be raffled off later. She mentioned, ominously, that although this event was free, nobody would be allowed out of the building without a raffle ticket.
What followed this introduction was more than three and a half hours of performances by local artists—not of the latest hits or popular standards, but of songs they themselves had written. These songs ran the gamut from traditional-sounding to very eccentric, demonstrating both the variety and depth of musicianship in the Santa Cruz area.
Subject matter ranged far and wide. There were anti-war songs, Christian-themed songs, songs about loved ones who had passed on. Some were lighthearted, others sad. One contestant, when describing his song, said, “It’s about what females can do to the male persuasion,” while another introduced his tune by saying, “This is a song about work and death, not necessarily in that order.” One of the best performers, using vivid lyrical imagery, sang a song about the rain, which she said was inspired by a dry spell last year.
The singer-songwriters did not confine themselves to one style of instrumentation. One musician started out playing quickly and choppily on his guitar, but switched to gentle and faint picking for his second song. And while most performers delivered a one-man or one-woman show, some were accompanied by a partner. One player, for example, sang and strummed his guitar furiously, but stopped his vocals and brought his strumming down at intervals to make room for his friend’s harmonica playing. Most contestants were guitarists, so it was a surprise to see a large electronic keyboard set up and a young woman use it to play two bluesy piano songs.
One performer, who fell silent after messing up the beginning of his Old West-themed ballad, continued after a round of encouraging applause from the onlookers. The audience was certainly supportive, and who could blame them when their fellow Santa Cruzians are such talented musicians?
THE SINGER-SONGWRITER SHOWCASE FINAL ROUND starts Tuesday, May 25 at 7pm at Brittania Arms, 8017 Soquel Dr, Aptos. Free.
