Submitted Kay Renz, Public Relations
Florida’s premier Grateful Dead tribute band will help you celebrate National Guitar Month at Old Town Untapped, everyone’s favorite cultural arts and music block party on April 5, 2024. Come to Bailey Contemporary Arts Center to meet the featured artist in residence of the month, Oscar Montoya, and explore his studio and his beautiful classical style oil painting. Enjoy a night filled with live music and a local DJ, gallery exhibitions, local art vendors and food trucks. Old Town Untapped takes place on the first Friday of the month from 6 – 10 pm and is FREE for all ages to attend. Learn more at www.pompanobeacharts.org.
Live Music: Crazy Fingers
Crazy Fingers is a Grateful Dead tribute band known for their authentic sound, improvisational skills, and loyal following of Deadheads. As soon as the music starts, you’ll feel like you’ve been transported back to the heyday of the Grateful Dead, as Crazy Fingers takes you on a musical journey through their extensive catalog of hits. Their music, including Grateful Dead covers and original tunes, will transport you to a world where the music never stops, and the good vibes flow freely! The band has played thousands of live shows, allowing them to sustain a devoted following and a nationwide reputation as one of the very best Grateful Dead tribute bands ever.
Crazy Fingers performed their first official show at a private party at Ultimate Farms in Delray Beach, Florida on Halloween in 1990. That night made history and the band began touring the state, opening for national acts, and writing original music which has been recorded on two CDs to date. Throughout the years the band went through a series of brief changes in the lineup and has now settled its talented roster of musicians that includes Pete Lavezzoli on drums and vocals, Bubba Newton on bass, Rich Friedman on guitar and vocals, Josh Foster on guitar and vocals, and Johnny Nichols on guitar and vocals.
BaCA AiR Featured Artist: Oscar Montoya
In April, Oscar Montoya will present his poignant Strokes of Resilience exhibit which reflects both his own and his subject’s experience fighting cancer. Born in Medellin, Colombia, Montoya studied classical painting at Restrepo at the Institute of Fine Arts of Medellin and apprenticed in the workshop of Maestro Luis Horacio Sanchez. Celebrating the timeless allure of classical oil paint, he embraces this traditional medium as an integral part of his artistic process, enabling him to add depth and emotion to his creations. Evoking a sense of nostalgia, he captivates viewers, inviting them to journey into the realm of art and imagination.
While at university studying business administration, Montoya participated in several exhibitions with artists Orlando Restrepo, John Jaime Osorio, and Miguel Santis, and had had three individual exhibitions of his work in Colombia at Gallery Atifaz de Medellín, Comfama de Envigado, and House of the Culture of El Retiro. After moving to the US in 1999, he continued taking classes and has excelled in the realm of the Old Masters.
About the City of Pompano Beach Cultural Affairs Department
The mission of the Cultural Affairs Department is to provide cultural programming that includes visual arts, digital media, music, film, theater, dance and public art for the enjoyment and enrichment of residents and visitors to Pompano Beach, Broward County, and the greater South Florida area. The department programs and manages the City’s premiere cultural arts venues, including the Pompano Beach Cultural Center, Ali Cultural Arts Center, Bailey Contemporary Arts Center, and the Blanche Ely House Museum. The department also oversees the City’s Public Art Program and the Artist in Residence (AiR) initiative.