Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor —

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Back in 2018, the furniture store Period Modern decided to offer its customers – and other San Antonians – something special by hosting live music performances on its premises.

“It was a really cool experience, having people sitting on the eclectic furniture and watching a band play,” said Roberto Martinez, the Texas Public Radio’s digital marketing director and a musician himself. But there were noise complaints and the store eventually received a notice from the city, ordering it to discontinue the concerts.

That’s when Martinez stepped in, and in collaboration with Lonesome Rose’s owner Garret T. Capps, moved the live music series to Capps’ establishment that bills itself as “the oldest honkey-tonk on the St. Mary’s strip. (Opened in 2018!) Together, they transformed the bar into a concert venue and launched the Lonesome Lounge Sessions to bring notable national touring acts to San Antonio to perform in a unique and intimate setting. Artists such as Erika Wennerstrom, Bill Callahan, Robert Ellis, William Tyler and Augie Meyers played for grateful audiences.

But all the fun stopped in mid-March as the fear of COVID-19 induced authorities to issue restrictions and outright bans on larger gatherings. To keep the music playing, the producers chose to go virtual, with a focus on San Antonio artists. A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts’ CARES Act Fund helped them implement the change.

“I have played here and I have played in Austin, and I have to say that the music scene here is much more authentic and enriching than in Austin,” said Martinez who plays multiple instruments, including the saxophone, guitar and accordion. “The people who come to hear live music here, come because they really love it.”

For the Lonesome Lounge Local Sessions, he and Capps have been reaching out to San Antonio musicians of different genres who have lost performing opportunities due to the pandemic. Started on Aug. 31, the series has so far featured singer/songwriter Alyson Alonzo and the garage-band rockers Los #3 Dinners. Still to come are rapper Mr. Pidge (Sept. 28), the jazz group Tony Romero & the Spiders (Oct.12), and country ‘s original Kathryn Legendre (Oct.26). Shows are broadcast bi-weekly, starting at 7 p.m. and can be watched, free of charge, on the Texas Public Radio Facebook page, on YouTube, and TPR’s website, www.tpr.org.

“At first when we started this brand, we wanted to push roots music, and that’s everything from folk to conjunto to country – American roots music. But since we started promoting local musicians, there has been a variety of genres, including rap and hip-hop,” explained Martinez. “The whole point of what we were doing was to transform the place with chairs (as a concert venue), but since we can’t do that with virtual shows, we are transforming it with different music genres. It’s no longer a honky-tonk but more of a performance space for different artists to share their music.”

Martinez said that another set of six shows will follow, stretching the series into January. “We are hoping to keep the series going because who knows when we will be able to go back to live, in-person shows,” he noted. “Eventually, we hope to pivot back to doing more in-person events. Now what’s important is to help people (musicians) who need help now.”

In addition to new concerts, the public will also have access to videos from previous sessions, recorded before the lockdown: Robert Ellis on Sept. 21 and Bill Callahan on Oct. 5. More will be announced for November and December.