This past Sunday, in the Bath neighborhood of Holiday Hill, Bobby Siegfried and a few neighborhood musicians joined forces to bring some musical joy to the community.
Live From Studio B, Special Edition, Neighborhood Jam, took place around 2 p.m. after neighbors, Bobby Siegfried, vocals/guitar/piano, Bob Evraets, guitar, Rob Evraets, Jr., drums, Tony Eppolito, guitar, and Dan Knouse, vocals, decided to come together in a more than regulation social distancing way to perform a front lawn concert.
“This past Sunday was really just about musicians wanting to jam together and hopefully entertain our neighbors and immediate community in a safe way. We are all so thankful that is was so well received,” says Siegfried.
Studio B is a recording studio that Bobby Siegfried built in the mother-in-law suite of his home. He has been a singer, songwriter and musician since he was a young child after his parents were told by their church organist that he could sing on key. He trained classically on the piano, but always had a desire to add a more modern twist to the music he played. He turned to the guitar in high school and throughout college.
“I owe my parents a debt of gratitude that I don’t think I can ever repay. Music is everything to me and the piano, even though it took a back seat in my early 20’s, is what really sets me apart. I don’t think a day has gone by since I started playing the piano that I haven’t played it,” comments Siegfried.
Siegfried always had a soft spot for R&B and wanted to create music that was a fusion of R&B, soul and rock and roll, music that made you move involuntarily. Now What?, an album he released in 2015, presented four songs, “Bleeding Dry”, “Bring on All the Rain”, “Hold On”, and “Love Can Take It All”. His new single is scheduled to be released soon and he is looking forward to hopefully returning to Musikfest this summer.
“I am a storyteller who gravitates to storytellers like James Taylor. I want my music to tell a story and it’s important to me that there is meaning behind my lyrics,” says Siegfried.
Let Love In, Siegfried’s tour that began a year ago, is a church concert tour that flips the script on what a church concert typically is. As an Alternative Worship Director at Emmanuel’s Lutheran Church located in Bath, the Let Love In tour was designed to unite the secular with the church goers and unify the two in an inclusive way through music that inspires, energizes and is inviting to all. The tour is ongoing and was supposed to end in 2020 but will most likely be extended through 2021 due to current cancellations as a result of COVID-19.
“I want the music I play at a local winery to also be played at a local church and to have my music unify the two and be inclusive of everybody,” comments Siegfried.
“I am not ashamed of my faith, but I also don’t want people to think of me as a Christian artist. I want people to recognize my music and find their inspiration in it where they find it. I don’t want to take over the meaning of one of my songs by people thinking it is about religion. People turn to music for all different reasons and depending on whatever journey they are on, they take something different away from it and I don’t want to take that magic away,” adds Siegfried.
Siegfried performs solo, with a duo, trio and with his full band, Chasing Daylight, and he has also played with a few of the neighbors who joined him Sunday afternoon for the front lawn concert.
“We all live in the same neighborhood, except for the drummer, and have played together in different bands throughout the years. Since we live so close, we said let’s get together, stay more than the regulated space apart, and do something nice in the process. It was a fun jam session where we all came together and played the songs we all know and love,” says Siegfried.
“We wanted to do this because obviously we get a lot of joy out of playing music, but also to help people feel normal for a couple of hours. When I saw some of the videos coming out of NYC and Italy, I was inspired and thought maybe we can do this outside and create a safe space for the community to enjoy an outdoor concert. I talked to Bob and he sent me a message that said, ‘The weather is supposed to be pretty nice,’ so we did it. All of a sudden, people started showing up in their cars, lawn chairs came out, it was great and that’s what this was all about,” says Siegfried.
After the musicians started packing up, Siegfried played a few solo songs and Hillary Speck sang a few songs as well.
“Music heals and brings hope, the two things so many people need right now. I am blessed to even play a small role in that,” says Siegfried.
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“I end every single show and every interaction with the people I meet by saying, ‘It is good to be good to each other,’ and I try to live that way as best as I can. I want my music to convey that to people and I think we all brought that to the community on Sunday,” Siegfried says.
