CMC 15th Anniversary events include Sam Pacetti concert

CMC 15th Anniversary events include Sam Pacetti concert
September 2008

The Civic Media Center will present a concert with renowned guitarist, singer songwriter Sam Pacetti on Thurday evening October 16 at the Spanish Court of the historic Thomas Center in downtown Gainesville.

The concert will be the kickoff of three days of events marking the CMC's fifteenth anniversary. Concert tickets will be $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets will be at Wild Iris Books. Doors will open at 7:30 with the concert at 8pm.

Refreshments will be available , but due to new rules at the Thomas Center, alcohol is BYOB only, sorry for the inconvenience.

This description from the website of his solo album "Solitary Traveler" captures Sam well: "Sam Pacetti grew up in St. Augustine, Florida. At age 13, he saw Chet Atkins on TV and thought, "Yeah, that's the way guitar should be played." So Sam bought a couple of finger-picks and grew his nails. "I was terrible," he admits. Fate intervened shortly afterwards in the person of Gamble Rogers, the legendary picker and raconteur from St. Augustine who took the young Pacetti under his wing. After hearing Pacetti play, Rogers asked the high school student if he'd like to get together and pick a little guitar. Pacetti and Rogers met and played weekly for the next year.

Tragically, Rogers died while trying to rescue a tourist caught in a rip current at Flagler Beach, Florida. Pacetti counts Rogers as his most important influence. Tradition and innovation neatly balance in Sam Pacetti's music, the whole infused by a relentless intelligence.

The concert is cosponsored by WUFT-FM and the City of Gainesville Dept of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs.