Point Richmond Acoustic
The Best in Acoustic Music - Up Close and Personal!
Point Richmond Acoustic is co-sponsored by Point Richmond Music, Folk Unlimited and The Point Richmond First Methodist Church. The Church is an intimate place for concerts, and music is an important part of its program. Built more than one 100 years ago, the hexagonal shaped sanctuary accentuates the up close and personal nature of the music.
Point Richmond Acoustic is located at the First Methodist Church of Point Richmond, 201 Martina Avenue. As you can see from the map below, Point Richmond is conveniently located to San Rafael and South Marin, as well as RIchmond, El Cerrito, Berkeley and Oakland. So mark your calendars and plan to spend some time with us!
Booking for 2012-2013 will take place in the late spring and summer. Contact between April and June for consideration for next season’s line up.
If you are interested in volunteer to help with publicity, postering, ticket taking, etc., please email us. Thanks for visiting!
Our outdoor summer Point Richmond Music concert series starts Friday, June 11 at 5 pm. We’ll be back here in October for the next season of Point Richmond Acoustic.
Point Richmond Acoustic Concerts presents acclaimed finger-style guitarist Rick Ruskin, Friday, May 11, 2012 at the first Methodist Church of Point Richmond, 201 Martina Avenue. Show starts at 8 pm, tickets are $15. Songwriter Claudia Russell opens the show.
Now residing in Seattle, WA, Rick Ruskin is a world class finger-style guitarist, composer, songwriter and arranger. He’s recorded 16 albums and had his original compositions/arrangements featured on The Daily Show, Oprah, The Antiques Roadshow, PBS, NBC and Warner Brothers TV to name a few. He’s released 6 instructional books and videos, published articles in Frets and Acoustic Guitar Magazine and is on the staff of the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, as well as being the former director of Seattle’s Musical Arts Workshop.
Many of today’s steel string players credit Ruskin with inspiration. Former Waybacks frontman Stevie Coyle says, “Rick Ruskin is a bona fide guitar hero. He's been an absolute fave of mine since the 1970s. He's one of those rare guitarists that's got a real voice, an unmistakable style. Don't ruin your life by missing him.”
Born in Detroit, Ruskin found his way to the guitar as a young boy and while still in junior high school, had the opportunity to open for the Reverend Gary Davis at Detroit’s legendary Retort Coffee House. Davis was so taken with Rick’s skill and enthusiasm that he invited Rick to spend that summer with him studying at his Long Island home. By summers end, he stopped teaching Rick and told him “It’s time you started paying attention to your own music”…advice Rick has followed ever since.
Ruskin played on many albums for other artists, and, in 1974, got the chance to complete a solo debut album of his own. The self-titled recording was released under the Takoma Records label and is filled with numbers like "Break Out the Wine," "Here Comes the Sun," "Teddy Bear's Picnic," and "The Temptation Rag” all performed in Ruskin’s precise and emotive guitar style.
Guitar Player Magazine says about Ruskin:…”So brilliant at times that he seems to transcend normal approaches to the guitar….Ruskin may be the smoothest technical player around. Flashy, fast, inventive and musical, and that ain’t easy!”
The San Diego News Press says “…Ruskin creates some of the most beautifully toned guitar solos ever heard.”
Resident songwriter Claudia Russell is familiar to Bay Area audiences and around the USA. She’s known primarily as a singer and songwriter, but once you get over Russell’s remarkable vocal talents, a second listen reveals an able finger-style guitarist with a deft touch and inventive ear. Russell returns from a trip to Europe to perform and track down the haunts of her father, Val Rosing, a prolific Big Band singer from the 1930s British Dance Hall era. Russell has won numerous honors including best Musician from the East Bay Express Readers' Poll and Best New Artist from WUMB-FM in Boston.
The Point Richmond Acoustic concert series, finishing its second season, is sponsored by Point Richmond Music and the First Methodist Church. The Church itself is intimate and an acoustic marvel. The 100-year-old building is an octagonal wooden prism that appears to be built by nautical carpenters. “It’s like listening to music inside a guitar.” Series co-producer Kaplan explains, “Our program is nonsectarian and people of all faiths, or no faith are welcome. It’s a friendly no-pressure environment. So even if it’s been a few decades since you have set foot in a church no one is going to bite you…but we will offer you a cookie or cup of coffee. It’s all about the music here!”
Come see another fine evening of acoustic hand made music, up close and personal, at Point Richmond Acoustic, Friday May 11, at 8 pm at the First Methodist Church in Point Richmond, 201 Martina Avenue.
