It's that time of year again, when we begin pimping the Southeast Music Alliance's annual In The Raw acoustic-show series so hard you'd think we own stock in the damn thing. We don't, of course (though we'd be remiss not to disclose the fact that SMA spearhead/Auditorium frontman Joran Oppelt is a Planet employee). We just know from long experience that In The Raw consistently presents many of the best songwriters in the Bay area in an unbeatably intimate and fairly casual atmosphere; often, the über-supportive crowds are as much a part of the show as the performers. And judging by the way those crowds have grown over the last three years, discerning original-music fans know we're talking about a really good thing here.
This Wednesday kicks off the latest round of biweekly shows, which has moved from St. Pete's State Theatre to find a new home down the street at The Bank Nightclub & Concert Venue. The premiere features performances by aforementioned Auditorium mouthpiece Oppelt, as well as Soulfound's Ivan Pena, the unimpeachable Rebekah Pulley, Human Condition principal Dean Johanesen and Jacksonville's wonderful Christina Wagner, whom the scene seems to have adopted as its own.
