After more than a year of virtual performances, the Americana Community Music Association in Fort Myers has announced the return of in-person shows in August.
The ACMA is home for original Americana music. The ACMA provides a venue for local and touring artists, many are award winning performers in the Americana/folk community. All shows are in a quiet, intimate setting and every show is a meet and greet with the artists. YouTube any of these artists and be prepared to be impressed by the talent that is available to you all year round for a cost of an $18 donation. The headliners are touring “under the wire, should be famous” musicians. Each show has a local songwriter that performs at a professional level open for the headliner.
In the upcoming season, the ACMA will be hosting performances at four different venues. They include the All Faiths Unitarian Congregation in Fort Myers, The Cornog Plaza at the Fort Myers Regional Library (downtown), Lovers Key State Park on Fort Myers Beach (indoors) and the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers.
Brian Smalley
The first ACMA concert will be held Saturday, Aug. 7 and feature Brian Smalley.
Brian Smalley is a Florida guitar picker with 10 crafty fingers, a variety of musical styles and multiple personalities. Having played guitar all his life, Brian has developed some skill on the git-box, and possessing a creative (and somewhat disturbed) imagination, he is a master storyteller. Before “Chosen,” he’d recorded six projects. His acoustic novel “ChickensPigs” received the Best Florida Folk CD award from The Florida Times Union in 2013. And thousands have enjoyed the tale of Painter Kellet, a homeless man in Key West, from the acoustic novel “Key.”
Teaming up with Gatorbone Recording Studio, Brian and friends give us some real ear-candy with “Chosen.” Over the top production value, musicianship to beat the band, and a riveting storyline makes this a pleasurable and thrilling listening experience.
Matt Hannam will open for Brian Smalley. Hannam is a cover artist and songwriter who performs as a solo artist, and with his six-piece band The Collective. Matt is a former school teacher that has worked in the telecommunications industry for the past 21 years. He has been a member of the ACMA since the founding year, and is a former board member of both the ACMA and Hope by Song.
Since The Collective’s formation in 2015, his band has shared the stage with such notable national artists as Fuel, Buckcherry, Cracker, Filter, 10 Years, Cinder and Smile Empty Soul.
PLEASE NOTE: On July 30, the ACMA announced the cancellation of Ellen Bukstel’s Aug. 14 show.
The ACMA welcomes Ellen Bukstel on Saturday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. Jim Visone will open that evening.
She’ll present her new songs (crafted during COVID) as well as revisit her classics.
From Menopause to Marijuana! …Peace to Politics! …Poignant to Provocative! … Ellen Bukstel writes and sings about it all! This type of happy-sad, life embracing, fear-overcoming emotional schizophrenia truly captures the spirit of modern independent music making—whatever the artist feels in that moment, she shares…and whatever else Ellen is, she’s not shy about it making her audience “sit up and think…laugh til they cry…and sometimes all at the same time!”
No stranger to the ACMA stage, Jim Visone also plays regularly with Pine Island Sound Trio.
“I played neighborhood bars and restaurants in 1957 and ’58 and then started playing in the Village until I moved to Texas in ’65. I quit playing in public for several years and started up again in Las Vegas. Met some good pickers there and played for about seven years. I retired and moved to Florida and started playing and hosting open mics about eight years ago. I cut a CD two years ago and I’m playing around town regularly now. No plans of stopping,” says Visone.
Singer songwriter circle returns
The singer songwriters circle has also returned and is held every other Sunday from 2 – 4 p.m. All Faiths Unitarian Congregation at 2756 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers. The circle is for acoustic songwriters of all levels. Songs and experiences are shared in a non-judgmental, casual atmosphere. No membership required. All are welcome to come and play or just to listen. Check Facebook for schedule.
The ACMA is a non-sectarian not for profit organization. Most concerts are held at All Faiths Congregation.
For more information, visit online at www.americanacma.org and follow the on Facebook.
