Acoustic Alchemy – 9:00 PM

“It’s been quite a while since the release of the last album, and in that time an awful lot has happened.” is the opening line from Greg Carmichael’s notes for Acoustic Alchemy’s brand new album, 33 ^1/3, and never a truer word has been written. The last studio album from the band, Roseland, was released in 2011, followed by a live double album, Live In London, in 2014. “It has almost become a running joke,” says Miles Gilderdale, “after every single show we are constantly being asked, ‘When’s the new album coming out?’ It’s nice to finally have an answer for them.”

For over three decades Acoustic Alchemy has been at the forefront of contemporary jazz, even if the band’s signature eclectic mix of styles  has meant they have never comfortably fit snugly into any one genre; “We’ve had a lot of labels over the years, at the start there were all these names flying around like New Adult Contemporary, New Age music, and then it became Smooth Jazz, but we’ve never really thought about ourselves as being in any one particular genre. We just make music we like.” Says Carmichael, “At the core it’s always been about one simple concept: the sound of the nylon and steel guitars working together, but that leaves a lot of scope for exploring all sorts of musical ideas.”

Yet with all wide range of styles, the new album manages to still sound like classic Acoustic Alchemy, as Gilderdale explains, “The band has changed a lot over the years, different personnel, different eras, different influences, but we always somehow make it sound like Acoustic Alchemy. I think every band tries to do that, to make something that’s new and interesting, but the fans still hear it and go, that’s them!”

Acoustic Alchemy Website
(Ticket Includes 5% City of Santa Cruz Admission Tax)