John Lester, Teja Gerken, Doug Young and Mark Kostrzewa will perform during Meeting of Acoustic Minds to raise funds for farmworkers following the Jan. 23 mass shootings at Terra California Garden and Concord Farms.
To help those affected by the recent Half Moon Bay mass shooting, a Feb. 11 concert bringing together acoustic musicians will donate its proceeds to local nonprofits helping farmworkers.
The show, called Meeting of Acoustic Minds, will feature organizer Mark Kostrzewa from Montara, singer and bass player John Lester from El Granada, former editor of Acoustic Guitar Magazine Teja Gerken and current editor Doug Young. All proceeds will go to Coastside Hope in El Granada and Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, or ALAS, which both help farmworkers.
Kostrzewa started the concert series on the coast more than a decade ago to bring notable musicians from around the Bay Area together for an evening of music. While he planned the concert for April, Kostrzewa decided to push it up to try and help the community after people recommended he use his music to help. The event is at Odd Fellows Hall in Half Moon Bay at 526 Main St. Each musician gets 20 minutes before everyone comes on stage together in the second half. He has done several other benefit concerts, but this one is the first to benefit a specific cause. His goal is to meet a negative event with some positivity to raise community, money and awareness.
“The unfortunate event expedited the need to use the power of the concert to help these organizations out,” Kostrzewa said.
Chunli Zhao, a 66-year-old Half Moon Bay farmworker, is accused of murdering seven people, mostly other farmworkers, on the afternoon of Jan. 23 at Terra California Garden and Concord Farms. Those residing on the farms included 37 people, including 11 children, making up 18 families. Many have been displaced and are temporarily staying in hotel rooms as they look for a return to a daily return. Kostrzewa said ALAS is offering food support and other critical services to the families of the victims, while Coastside Hope has a Coastside Hope Farmworker Fund that goes to individuals and families affected for lost wages, funeral expenses and other support. Kostrzewa’s friends have told him about ALAS and its commitment to helping the farmworker community, while he has done several concerts to benefit Coastside Hope in the past. Kostrzewa wants to see better conditions for farmworkers in the future, given the emerging information about their living conditions.
Kostrzewa said many people are dealing with grief and shock, as he and others knew where it happened and drove by the shooting areas every day.
“We’re on the map for all the wrong reasons, and unfortunately, like every other shooting you see in the United States, the answer is that should never happen here. We never thought it would happen here,” Kostrzewa said.
Tickets are $40. The concert fundraiser will be on Saturday, Feb. 11, from 7-9:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. An online stream will also be available. People can go to hmb-odd.org/events/6211 for more information and tickets.
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