Even if you’re not from the North Bay, you’ve seen their name around here many times — the Arlene Francis Center in Santa Rosa is a mainstay of Sonoma County’s music community, and has been since the ’90s.
Like many, many, many other venues, the pandemic has hit them in the pocketbook pretty damn hard. So they’re doing what we all do best right now: Hosting a livestream-slash-fundraiser. Actually, this one is pre-recorded — but it’s debuting online tonight. Catch sets from Slugger, Down Dirty Shake, and Heidi Benjamin, emceed by our own Derek Nielsen.
How can you help? By tuning in to said livestream below, and buying the 7″ of local (to the North Bay) bands they’re releasing in accordance with this. We’re happy to help them out, and hope you’ll toss them a few bucks like you all did for us back in December.
From Fogbelt Brewing, the festival’s organizer:
“The Arlene Francis Center has been a bastion of local music, art, and politics in Sonoma County since 1996, and with your support will continue to be for many years to come. With the unforeseen threat of COVID-19 ravaging our local venues and businesses, we at Fogbelt Brewing want to do our part to preserve our community spaces. This is why we are pressing this vinyl record featuring three local bands with a deep connection to the AFC, and donating 100% of the profits to keep it alive. We collaborated with bands from our community who embody the DIY spirit of the AFC. So crack open a beer, enjoy the hell out of this record, and we hope to see you at a live AFC show again soon.”
