The Ocean Beach restaurant Portugalia regularly hosts a medley of musical groups with influences from all over the world, ranging from Brazilian belly dancing to bluegrass. But for the next month, Thursday night diners will also hear alternative artists who sing about world unity in a concert series hosted by the Southern California-based Sarva Dharma Production.
The “LIVE at the PORT” series recently featured Mary Arden Collins on July 19, and has lined up performances the remaining Thursdays for the next month by singer/songwriters Marya Stark, Emily Richards & 2012AM, and Stephanie Erdel.
The series is organized by Sarva Dharma, a production company that promotes alternative folk, rock and reggae artists and as well as music festivals on the West Coast. According to Kennedy Cole, president of Sarva Dharma, the series mines talent from “a family of musicians who don’t go out to the big [music] labels, but headline all the top peace festivals instead.”
Cole, who lived in Ocean Beach for over a decade, said he enjoyed the underground music scene cultivated by Java Joes, which is no longer operating.
“There hadn’t really been anything to fill in that gap for alternative, acoustic, folk and world [music],” Cole said, “But when Portugalia opened up and started showcasing belly dancers and acoustic world music, I said, ‘Hey, here’s our venue.'”
The entertainers that Sarva Dharma has organized to perform at Portugalia this summer bring a different message, he said.
“They’re not like your regular singers who sing about a broken heart,” said Cole. “They have more of a message about the oneness, a synergistic feeling that is felt when we see ourselves as one people.”
Richards is one such artist affiliated with Sarva Dharma, who says she wants her music to “unify people.”
“Any renaissance of thought always begins with an art community,” Richards said. “There are depressing things going on in the world, and music inspires people to bring about change in a way that nothing else can.”
Richards, a San Diego resident, is the president of the website Mp3.com and is the site’s most downloaded artist. Richards will be performing on Aug. 2 with her new band 2012AM, which experiments with electronic acoustics and a break-beat DJ, while Richards sings and plays the piano. Her partner, Jason Brock, plays the guitar. Richards and 2012AM most recently performed at the 2007 Earth Fair in Balboa Park.
The performance slated for tonight, July 26, features Stark, who also performed at the 2007 Earth Fair.
Stark is studying Music Therapy at Chapman University, and recently collaborated with director Tessa Shields on a documentary film called “Out of the Silence,” about the healing effects of sound and music. Her performance will begin at 9 p.m.
Portugalia, specializing in Portuguese food, is located at 4839 Newport Ave.
For more information about the concert series, visit www.sdportugalia.com.