The City of Austin is honoring John Gaar who has been singing and playing the blues for years. John and the band will do a song for City Council at noon. Parking tickets at City Hall will be validated inside City Hall. Join us to honor John!
“I’ve been very fortunate to play with many excellent and extremely talented musicians in Austin over the last 23 years. Austin is my home, not just the place I live, but the place I LOVE and call my home.” ~ John Gaar
The City of Austin is incredibly proud of its local music culture. Every Austin City Council meeting includes a "Music Proclamation" live performance by an Austin musician or band, which is broadcast live on ATXN.tv and shared as a City Hall Sessions episode.
Performers are bestowed the honor of a “Music Proclamation Day” with an accompanying certificate and their band name permanently included in the City calendar. These musicians will have their own City of Austin “Day” for the rest of their lives,
MORE ABOUT JOHN:
John Gaar
John Gaar is a native of Louisiana but has called Austin his home for the last 23 years. He is a self-taught guitarist and vocalist with three albums of original songs recorded and released. He’s also played on many recordings for different artists.
John picked up the guitar at age thirteen. In Louisiana he steeped himself in many different musical tastes and styles from Rock, Rhythm and Blues, Serious Blues, to Cajun, Country and Zydeco. Before graduating high school he’d already landed steady work at a local nightclub in his hometown. By 1980 John was holding down 4 nights a week shows with his older brother, singer songwriter Burton Gaar and famed Zydeco artist Rocking Sydney of “Don’t Mess with My Toot Toot” fame.
From there John went on the road for 2 years with an 8-piece Rhythm and Blues group touring the South and Southeast. In 1984 he started doing regional and national tours with Louisiana phenomenon “Miss Molly and The Passions”. His first show with Molly was at the fabulous Antone’s on Guadalupe, AND he also played the very FIRST SXSW with Molly. By 1987 John had relocated to the West Coast, to the San Francisco Bay Area where he worked with several notable musicians and artists and again toured.
While in the Bay Area John finally put together his own “John Gaar Band” where he sang and played guitar as its leader. In 2002 John’s band was picked to play “The Monterey Blues Festival”. In 2003 John and his wife Saundra relocated to Austin, Texas. John always loved Austin after years of touring through the city while on the road with other bands, so it just made sense to move to Austin. Back in Austin John began networking and assembling a band and began preparing to record his first album. In 2003 John released “Bittersweet Success,” his first record, which was selected for “America’s Best Independent Artist” program and awarded nationwide distribution at Target stores.
In between touring regionally and playing in Austin he had a chance to do a show with the wonderful and unbelievable “Miss Lavelle White”. After the first show with Miss Lavelle he became a vocalist and guitarist with her for many years. John also began performing with Malford Milligan shortly after sharing a slot at a Summer Festival in Omaha, Nebraska, that began a long run of performances with Malford as member of his band and as a duo.
In late 2018 Gaar’s third album “Roll Like That” launched along with the World Video Premiere of the same title. Artistrack said “Incredible showmanship, an excellent rock album, boasting a wide range of styles and a stunning production!” The Roll Like That video also took home top honors by winning an Independent Music Award (IMA), honoring the year’s most exceptional artists, at their ceremony in New York City in June 2019.
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