TUNES FROM OUR BACKYARD

TUNES FROM OUR BACKYARD
Doors: October 19, 2025 2:00 PM


During the Great Depression, San Francisco-native Sidney Robertson carried out a remarkable ethnomusicological survey—the WPA California Folk Music Project. From 1938 to 1940, with support from the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration, the University of California, Berkeley and twenty staff handpicked from the California relief rolls, Robertson recorded and documented the diverse musical traditions in the state.

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC and the UC Berkeley Music Library maintain this remarkable archive of songs, photographs, writings, and drawings. This collection inspired “Tunes From Our Backyard,” a musical program by composer and musician David Gerard Steinberg.

“Tunes From Our Backyard” celebrates the musical traditions of California’s ethnic communities, featuring live performances by Bay Area musicians and vocalists, Robertson’s original field recordings with video animation, and artifacts from the WPA collection.

Purchase Tickets: https://www.etix.com/ticket/servlet/s/38218451

You may also like the following events from Sweetwater Music Hall:

• This Wednesday, 13th August, 08:00 pm, Wailing Souls in Mill Valley
• This Thursday, 14th August, 08:00 pm, Sgt. Splendor with Pretty Boy Chance in Mill Valley
• This Friday, 15th August, 08:00 pm, Della Mae in Mill Valley

Also check out other Music events in Mill Valley, Entertainment events in Mill Valley, Arts events in Mill Valley.