Imagine getting out of a stuffy classroom and spending the day in the fresh air, surrounded by music, art and food.
That end-of-the-semester fantasy will become a reality as Z’s Live Music hosts “Chico Live” on Saturday.
Chico Live is a two-part event that aims to keep everyone who is downtown entertained for an entire day.
The first part will take place from 2 p.m. to about 8:30 p.m., at City Plaza and will feature local bands Soul Union, Biggs Roller, Izabella and Papa Mali.
There will also be artists on hand to dazzle people with live-art performances, said Azariah “Z” Reynolds, owner of Z’s Live Music.
The second part will be a concert starting at 9 p.m. at the El Rey Theatre, Reynolds said.
The daytime portion of the event is free to the public. Tickets to the nighttime concert are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
The nighttime concert will be headlined by Bill Nershi, lead singer of The String Cheese Incident. He will be performing with his side project, Nershi’s Honkytonk Homeslice. The show will also feature Darol Anger and his band, Strings for Industry.
Reynolds has been planning the event since the beginning of this semester, along with friend Thomas “T.J.” Renna, a recreation major at Chico State, who said he got involved with planning Chico Live as a project for school.
The event really came together as local businesses such as Cafe Culture, Lost on Main and LuLu’s helped sponsor the event, Reynolds said.
Jeff Burkhart, member of Biggs Roller, is excited about the family-friendly vibe of the show, he said.
“This is the only time that I can bring my children to my show and everyone can enjoy the park in a safe environment,” Burkhart said.
“That’s an awesome thing and Chico needs more of these events.”
One of the local artists featured at Chico Live is David Sutherland, co-founder of Crux Artist Collective.
“I think people should go (to Chico Live) for inspiration and culture and to be involved in something special,” Sutherland said. “It’s going to be a good cultural event and it will offer a whole dimension of creativity.”
Tickets for the nighttime concert can be purchased at Cafe Culture, BOHO, Chico Natural Foods, or on the Z’s Live Music Web site.
Angela Perez can be reached at:
aperez@theorion.com
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